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'Just flat out wrong': why CSIRO is testing regenerative farming on Australian paddocks
The full story behind my Short: A five-year, farmer-led CSIRO project, STRAP, funded by almost A$8 million from the Future Drought Fund, is trialling intercropping, legumes, alternative fertilisers and integrating pasture into cropping across SA, Victoria and NSW.
The short version
Can you copy a farming practice from Europe's fertile, humid farms and assume it works in dry Australia? "Assuming a practice from Europe's fertile, humid farming systems will work in Australia's dryland systems is just flat out wrong," says CSIRO's Dr Mark Farrell, project lead of STRAP (Stress Testing Regenerative Agriculture Practices). The five-year, farmer-led project, led by CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, will help farmers across South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales test which regenerative practices could help grain producers cope with a more volatile climate. It is funded by almost A$8 million from the Australian Government's Future Drought Fund, and responds to questions raised by growers through their local farming systems groups. The trials test intercropping, legumes as a nitrogen source, alternative fertilisers and integrating pasture into the cropping system. Australian soils are older and more weathered and rainfall far more variable, so the evidence base has to be built here. Small plot experiments are analysed together as one multi-environment study, alongside a pasture-focused trial and four larger demo trials, and CSIRO is building data systems linked to AI and geospatial platforms covering emissions, input use and economic risk. It is a new five-year project, and the release reports no results yet (CSIRO, 13 Oct 2026).
5 yearsfarmer-led STRAP project led by CSIRO [1]
~A$8malmost A$8 million from the Australian Government's Future Drought Fund [1]
SA · Vic · NSWtrials in very different environments, answering growers' questions [1]
No results yeta new five-year project; the release reports no findings yet [1]
What they found
STRAP (Stress Testing Regenerative Agriculture Practices) is a five-year, farmer-led project led by CSIRO, testing which regenerative practices could help grain producers in South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales contend with a more volatile climate. It responds to questions raised by growers through their local farming systems groups, coordinated by Ag Excellence Alliance, and is delivered with partners including Mallee Sustainable Farming. It is funded by almost A$8 million from the Australian Government's Future Drought Fund (Long-term Trials of Drought Resilient Farming Practices Program, Round 2) [1].
The practices being tested include intercropping, using legumes as a nitrogen source, alternative fertilisers and integrating pasture into the cropping system. Dr Mark Farrell, a Principal Research Scientist at CSIRO and project lead, says: “Assuming a practice from Europe’s fertile, humid farming systems will work in Australia’s dryland systems is just flat out wrong. Our soils are older and more weathered, and our rainfall is far more variable. We need to build the evidence base here.” [1]
Small plot experiments are designed to be analysed together as one multi-environment study; a pasture-focused small plot trial and four larger demo trials augment this. CSIRO is building data systems linked to AI and geospatial platforms, covering greenhouse gas emissions, input use and economic risk. Dr Penny Roberts, Research Manager at Mallee Sustainable Farming, works in a region with fragile soils and low, unreliable rainfall; she says the project gives growers “answers from our own paddocks, alongside results from right across the southern region” [1].
Watch the Short
AI voice note: the narration in this Short is my own voice, cloned with AI.
About this page
The release reports no results yet, so the Short describes what is being tested, not findings. Trial-site photos are from CSIRO's media release (credited to CSIRO / STRAP); the other images are CSIRO ScienceImage photos via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0).
Why it matters
- Local evidence. Practices from other climates may not transfer to Australia's old soils and variable rainfall [1].
- Farmer-led. The project responds to questions raised by growers through their local farming systems groups [1].
- Early days. It is a new five-year project and the release reports no results yet [1].
Full narration (transcript)
Assume a European farming practice works in dry Australia? One scientist calls that just flat out wrong. A new five-year CSIRO project is putting regenerative farming to the test. It's called STRAP, with trials across South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales. It's backed by almost eight million Australian dollars from the Future Drought Fund. They're testing intercropping, legume crops, alternative fertilisers and pasture. And it's farmer-led, answering questions raised by growers. Here's where it gets interesting. Project lead Mark Farrell says: assuming a practice from Europe's fertile, humid farming systems will work in Australia's dryland systems is just flat out wrong. Australian soils are older and more weathered, and rainfall far more variable. Small plots are analysed as one big study, plus four larger demo trials. Data on emissions, inputs and economic risk will be analysed with AI. As one local research manager puts it, farmers get answers from their own paddocks. For the full story, follow the link in the description.
Sources
- [1] CSIRO (2026). “Farmers put regenerative agriculture to the test.” CSIRO news release, 13 October 2026. csiro.au
Credits
Photos: CSIRO / STRAP (media release) and CSIRO ScienceImage via Wikimedia Commons: CSIRO media release image: csiro_EPAG.JPG (CSIRO / STRAP project, press/article photo, credited); CSIRO ScienceImage 1400 CSIRO building.jpg (CSIRO, CC BY 3.0); CSIRO media release image: csiro_Murrayville.png (CSIRO / STRAP project, press/article photo, credited); CSIRO media release image: csiro_Penny_STRAP_Intercrop.jpg (CSIRO / STRAP project, press/article photo, credited); CSIRO media release image: csiro_MSF-Balranald-seeding.png (CSIRO / STRAP project, press/article photo, credited); CSIRO media release image: csiro_Mark-and-Jade-2.jpg (CSIRO / STRAP project, press/article photo, credited); CSIRO ScienceImage 4405 Cracked soil at Chowilla SA.jpg (Willem van Aken, CSIRO, CC BY 3.0); CSIRO ScienceImage 4277 Wheat stubble near Ardlethan NSW.jpg (Gregory Heath, CSIRO, CC BY 3.0). Sketches and animation: my own. Narration: AI clone of Nasper Mushonga's own voice (Chatterbox TTS by Resemble AI, MIT licence), used with his consent.