Unlike a decade ago, building soil health through regenerative farming approaches is no longer niche. Increasing numbers of farmers are looking to soil regeneration as a solution, having seen the benefits that healthy soils have brought to leading farmers around the country.
However, there is a wide gap between interest and action. Changing practices involves risk and requires investment – of time, energy and money. Farmers need support to get to the point where they have confidence to take those risks and make those investments.
In the years ahead, we will focus on building this confidence, to remove barriers and smooth the path for the next cohort of regenerative farmers.
We believe that providing farmers with the knowledge, skills and supporting social infrastructure they need to lead a national effort to rebuild and restore soils will strengthen Australia’s response to climate change while enabling the production of healthy, plentiful food and fibre in ways that are good for farmers, communities and the planet.
Download our strategic plan
OUR FOCUS
Our work is guided by five strategic pillars.
Pillars 1-3 are focused on direct, on-ground support for farmers, through sharing examples, creating opportunities for peer learning, and building farmers’ capacity to take their own soil health measurements and observations, so they can trial and adapt their practices over time.
Pillar 4 focuses on using everything we learn from our on-ground work with farmers to inform system-level decision making and drive system-level change.
Pillar 5 focuses on the health and function of our organisation.
HOW WE WORK
Soils for Life takes a collaborative approach to our work
Our work puts the farmers we work with, and our partners, at the centre. We prioritise humility, constructiveness and credibility in all we do and say.
We see soil as a fundamental resource that underpins our food system and makes all life on earth possible
We value farmers’ knowledge and capacity for innovation, and aim to complement and support this
We take care to ensure that our work is credible, informed by the best available science while recognising that soil science is rapidly evolving
We take a holistic approach that values people and communities, the environment and the economy
