Wheatbelt NRM's Sustainable Agriculture program helps landholders maintain a productive agricultural industry that is environmentally sustainable. We seek to improve landholder resilience by supporting farm practices that achieve triple bottom line outcomes—economic, environmental and social.  

The program is:

• strongly focused on soil health

• anchored in maximising ground cover
• contributing to methods of building soil carbon and improving the biological function of soil.

The team supports practice change through on-farm demonstrations and extension. An extension is based on peer-to-peer learning and is underpinned by Roger’s Curve of Practice Adoption which transitions farmers from initial awareness through to the adoption of practices.

While our activity is firmly rooted in the WA Wheatbelt, we actively pursue opportunities to work on projects taking place at the State and National level to ensure that we remain innovative and responsive to new ideas and practice.

In 2017, Wheatbelt NRM became a member of the CRC for High-Performance Soils. This Cooperative Research Centre brings together scientists, industry and farmers to determine practical solutions for Australia’s underperforming soils. These underperforming soils cost Australian farmers billions of dollars in lost revenue every year. The CRC has funding until 2027. We see our participation in this initiative as a highly valuable opportunity to sit at the forefront of soil health, innovation, trends and research.  We are a partner in a CRC for High-Performance Soils regenerative agriculture project (LINK).

A key element of our Sustainable Industries delivery is the Regional Agriculture Landcare Facilitator (RALF). www.wheatbeltnrm.org.au/what-we-do/sustainable-industries/regional-agriculture-landcare-facilitator-ralf-project  Program Manager Felicity Gilbert is our community’s first port of call for the services we offer. Assistance on offer includes:

• Helping you access government services such as grants
• Helping you access information on areas of interest
• Informing you of changes in government policy affecting the Agriculture industry

• Informing you of the latest ideas, trends and practices to improve productivity and sustainability

Felicity Gilbert can be contacted by calling 9670 3112 or emailing fgilbert@wheatbeltnrm.org.au

Every second year we hold the Talkin’ Soil Health conference.  Wheatbelt NRM is committed to delivering this forum as the largest, public, soil health event in WA. The team works in partnership with other Natural Resource Management regions in Western Australia. Wheatbelt NRM funds the project administration with out-of-pocket expenses reliant upon sponsorship.  We aim to attract the highest quality speakers while maintaining affordable ticket pricing.

Red Card for Rabbits and Foxes is a community-driven feral animal management project run by Wheatbelt NRM across the southwest corner of WA. Up to 1000 community members cull rabbits, foxes and feral cats each autumn and spring. www.wheatbeltnrm.org.au/what-we-do/sustainable-industries/red-card-rabbits-and-foxes

Case studies of sustainable agriculture projects across the seven natural resource management regions of WA can be found on the AgTrials website.  https://www.agtrialswa.com.au