Climate Smart Agriculture
Building climate-smart & productive agricultural landscapes in South East Queensland. Empowering farmers to enhance soil health, adopt sustainable practices, and build climate resilience.
Building farmers' knowledge and skills to implement management practices that drive productivity, protect natural capital, and increase their capacity to adapt to climate change.
Healthy Land & Water is leading the delivery of climate-smart agricultural practices to support farmers in South East Queensland.
The project is working with farmers to improve soil health and grazing land condition while protecting and enhancing the natural capital that underpins the region's agricultural productivity and profitability.
Through established engagement and extension methods, including workshops, field days, on-farm trials, and demonstration sites, the project aims to build farmers' knowledge and skills to implement management practices that drive productivity, protect natural capital, and increase their capacity to adapt to climate change.
Supporting farmers to adopt sustainable practices for agricultural growth and climate resilience
What we are doing
What we are doing
Improving knowledge, skills, and capacity of landholders.The project focuses on:
- Building knowledge and understanding of soil health, characteristics, and constraints to enable appropriate management practices.
- Improving understanding of key drivers affecting soil loss, pasture condition, native vegetation condition, and biodiversity.
- Supporting farmers in adopting practices that reduce emissions and build resilience to climate change.
- Implementing climate-smart agricultural practices that protect and enhance natural capital.
Measuring success
As a result of the program, many activities to achieve agricultural outcomes are being delivered:
- Targeted capacity-building programs, such as workshops, field days, case studies, and a regional forum.
- Farmers supported in trailing and adopting climate-smart agricultural practices through on-farm projects.
- Farmers supported to reduce on-farm emissions and engage with natural capital markets and sustainability frameworks.
Why these project are important
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Rural areas make up over 85% of South East Queensland (approximately 1.9 million hectares), with grazing being the dominant land use covering over 50% of the landscape. Intensive agricultural activities occupy up to 8% of the region, including the Lockyer Valley, known as "SEQ's Salad Bowl." The project addresses critical challenges faced by farmers, including limited knowledge of soil health management, understanding of environmental drivers, and confidence in implementing climate-smart practices. By building capacity in these areas, the project plays a crucial role in preserving ecosystem services, including water quality and biodiversity, while supporting sustainable agricultural productivity. |
Project snapshot
| Project name: | Climate Smart Agriculture Project (2024 - 2028) $1,400,000 |
| Project manager: | Vanessa Smolders, Healthy Land & Water |
| Project Team: | Bruce Lord and Lene Knudsen |
| Catchment: | South East Queensland |
| Funders/Partnerships: | This project is supported by the Australian Government through funding from the Natural Heritage Trust under the Climate-Smart Agriculture Program. |
Project collaborators
This project is supported by the Australian Government through funding from the Natural Heritage Trust under the Climate-Smart Agriculture Program.
