The long-running Cool Soils Initiative (CSI), run by Charles Sturt University, has received a shot in the arm after being awarded grants of over $2.1 million over three years.
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The CSI is designed to help farmers make on the ground change to bolster soil health and cut carbon emissions.
It has won funding from beverage giant PepsiCo and AgMission, a global initiative funded by the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR).
The cash injection will allow CSU to spread the initiative into new regions and commodities, building on the foundations since the project's launch in 2018.
Nick Pagett, executive director of CSU's AgriSciences Research and Business Park, said the CSI showed the university's commitment to cutting edge agricultural innovation.
"It's a great honour to be one of only three recipients of this global grant and to have the opportunity to provide the Australian cropping sector with new insights into climate smart practices," Mr Pagett said.
"It's great to see companies like PepsiCo, who is one of the six partners of the Cool Soil Initiative, looking for opportunities like AgMission to support climate smart agriculture in Australia and around the world."
In 2023, PepsiCo helped to extend the reach of the Cool Soil Initiative, bringing canola to the greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction program for the first time.
The partnership enabled PepsiCo to contribute to supporting farmers in future-proofing their farming systems, while ensuring PepsiCo can continue to source canola from Cool Soil regions into the future.
The new grant will enable Charles Sturt researchers to leverage the learnings and insights from the Cool Soil Initiative's five years' worth of on-ground support and GHG reporting across wheat, canola and corn farms on the east coast of Australia, while establishing a new farmer cohort for oats in Western Australia.
Researchers are evaluating more than 300 Australian farms to understand how different agricultural practices and geographic locations influence soil health, to understand current climate-smart agriculture innovation for each major Australian cropping system.
Cool Soil Initiative Director Ms Fiona McCredie said the funding provided a tremendous opportunity to expand understanding of climate-smart agricultural practices across different regions in Australia.
"In having this understanding, we can then work with farmers to build resilience as they navigate climate-related challenges," she said.