Project background
The SA Discovery Farms project is one of 6 national trials funded through Round 1 of the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund, via the Long-term Trials of Drought Resilient Farming Practices Grants program.
The program has invested $38 million in long-term trials that aim to develop practical innovations to boost climate resilience in Australian farming systems.
Led by Associate Professor Rhiannon Schilling (Flinders University) and delivered by SARDI in partnership with more than 40 collaborators, the SA Discovery Farms project will run for five years.
The total investment includes:
- $8 million from the Future Drought Fund
- $3.7 million in cash and in-kind contributions, including $1 million from the South Australian Government
Objectives
This project aims to improve the climate resilience of South Australian cropping, livestock and mixed farming systems by conducting innovative, applied, long-term trials.
Key objectives include:
- establishing a network of SA Discovery Farms and Innovator Sites across a range of rainfall zones
- testing and demonstrating climate-resilient practices through on-farm trials in diverse environments
- engaging with local growers, advisers and research partners to co-design and deliver trials
- evaluating the performance of practices in relation to productivity, profitability, and sustainability
- building regional capacity through collaboration with farming groups, researchers, industry, and government.
Research approach
The project brings together a wide network of collaborators across sectors, including:
- leading farmers and farming systems groups
- agribusinesses and plant-breeding companies
- Rural Research and Development Corporations (RDCs)
- landscape boards and advocacy groups
- university and SA Government researchers
SA Discovery Farms and Innovator Sites are located across South Australia’s rainfall zones to capture variation in climate, farming systems, and soil types:
- 4 Discovery Farms host core trials and grower engagement:
- Minnipa Agricultural Centre
- Loxton Research Centre
- Struan Research Centre
- Turretfield Research Centre
- 43 Innovator Sites operate on commercial farms across the state
Trial formats include full or split paddock trials, field trial plots and strip trials.
Zones covered:
- Pastoral (<200 mm)
- Low rainfall (200–300 mm)
- Medium rainfall (300–400 mm)
- High rainfall (500+ mm)
Co-design is central to the project’s structure. Initial co-design meetings were held in February 2023 and continue throughout the trial period to ensure the work is grounded in local experience.
Farmers contribute to:
- identifying necessary practice changes
- sharing local knowledge and environmental insights
- testing, refining, and delivering drought-resilient innovations in dryland cropping, livestock, and mixed systems.
In 2024, the project had significant statewide reach:
- 43 trials established across 281,148 ha
- 1371 participants involved across 90 meetings
- 56 researchers engaged in trial activities
- Over 24000 raw data points collected.
Each research partner is responsible for regional extension, supported by Long-term Trials Coordinator Zoe Starkey. Outreach activities include:
- crop walks and field days
- workshops and webinars
- podcasts, fact sheets, and more
- regular updates via:
- Bi-monthly newsletter (email PIRSA.SADiscoveryFarms@sa.gov.au)
- X: @SADiscoveryFarm
- this website.
Long-term trials focus on cross-sector innovation across grains, livestock, soils, pasture, genetics, water, and climate. Key themes include:
- tailor-made climate-smart grain and feed
- soil health improvement
- precision livestock health strategies
- increased landscape diversification.
Specific innovations under trial include:
- virtual fencing to manage feed on offer
- adapting pastures for dry conditions and post-containment recovery
- heat-stress tolerance in wheat and barley biomass improvement
- hybrid disc-seeding in high-residue systems
- real-time moisture sensing for seeding depth adjustment
- soil ameliorants and microbiome modification
- phosphorus and nitrogen management in summer stubbles
- seed priming
- integration of cultural learnings
- landscape hydrology and water retention.
All trials incorporate knowledge sharing to support the adoption of drought-resilient practices at the farm level.
Outcomes
The long-term trials aim to deliver the following outcomes:
- Build farmer capacity to prepare for and respond to drought and climate change
- Enable farmers and land managers to trial drought-resilient practices and innovations
- Strengthen networks for knowledge sharing and adoption of drought resilience approaches
- Deliver targeted extension activities to increase on-farm uptake of innovations
- Reduce exposure to drought risk and improve economic, environmental and social resilience
