Australia has lost significant soil fertility over two centuries of European agriculture — through clearing, over-cultivation, erosion, and inappropriate land management. Healthy soil is fundamental to food security, water quality, and climate — soils can store vast amounts of carbon (sequestering greenhouse gases) and healthy soil microbiomes produce food with higher nutritional value. Regenerative agriculture — farming that restores soil health rather than depleting it — is a rapidly growing movement in Australian agriculture. Grant funding supports research into soil health, farmer transition to regenerative practices, soil carbon measurement, and the community-level composting that builds soil health in urban and peri-urban settings.
The state of Australian soils
Why soil health matters
Regenerative agriculture
Regenerative agriculture practices restore soil health:
- Minimal or no tillage (preserves soil structure)
- Cover crops (keep soil covered and biologically active)
- Composting (adds organic matter)
- Mob grazing (mimics natural grazing patterns, builds soil carbon)
- Diverse cropping systems
- Reducing chemical inputs
GRDC (Grains Research and Development Corporation)
Soil research for grain farming.
MLA (Meat and Livestock Australia)
Grazing systems and soil health.
Department of Agriculture
Carbon markets
Soil carbon credits — some farmers accessing voluntary carbon markets.
Australian Sustainable Agriculture Foundation
Regenerative agriculture research and transition.
The Myer Foundation
Environment including agriculture.
Landcare Australia
Community land management including soil health.
Rodale Institute (Australian programmes)
Organic and regenerative agriculture research.
Various farming community foundations
Regional agricultural philanthropy.
Farmer transition
Research
Soil carbon
Composting and organic matter
Landcare and stewardship
Urban soil health
Indigenous land management
Education and awareness
Australian farmland represents a significant potential carbon sink:
- Soil carbon sequestration through regenerative practices
- Avoided emissions through sustainable soil management
- Voluntary and compliance carbon markets creating financial incentives
The Carbon Market Authority has approved methodologies for soil carbon credits — giving farmers financial incentive to build soil carbon. Grant funding for soil carbon measurement, methodology development, and farmer access to carbon markets enables this opportunity.
Farmer-led
The most effective soil health programmes are farmer-led — peer learning, demonstration farms, and farmer networks outperform top-down extension. Applications with farmers at the centre are more credible.
Measurement and verification
Soil carbon claims require rigorous measurement. Applications with strong measurement frameworks — baseline, monitoring, verification — are more scientifically credible.
Whole-system thinking
Soil health connects to water, biodiversity, climate, and food quality. Applications that articulate these connections — not just yield improvement — are more compelling to environmental funders.
Urban-rural loops
Urban organic waste (food scraps, garden waste) is a valuable soil amendment — but most goes to landfill. Applications creating urban-rural organic matter loops (composting urban waste for agricultural application) address both urban waste and rural soil carbon.
Tahua's grants management platform supports soil health funders and regenerative agriculture organisations — with project tracking, soil health outcome data, carbon sequestration measurement, and the reporting tools that help soil health funders demonstrate their investment in restoring Australia's soil for food security and climate.