Australia’s conservation farming revolution

Australian farmers are leading the world in conservation agriculture technologies – a fitting way to mark 2012 as Australian Year of the Farmer, according to Dr John Kirkegaard from CSIRO plant industry.

In an Australian Academy of Science public lecture entitled From dust bowls to food bowls: The conservation farming revolution, Dr Kirkegaard asserts that Australian farming systems are innovative, efficient and productive, and a far cry from perceptions of a ‘European’ style agriculture unsuited to Australia’s unique conditions.

Dr Kirkegaard will describe the development and adoption of more environmentally aware farming methods developed over the last 30 years including no-till farming and precision agriculture using satellite-guided precision seeding, spraying and harvesting to provide highly efficient food production.

Today’s lecture is the second in the Academy’s 2012 public lecture series on Caring for the Australian countryside: lessons from the past and present. The series will examine sustainable communities, mining, agriculture, culture and environment in country Australia.