Cash for soil data

A new Australian government program will see farmers and other land managers receive payment in exchange for sharing historical soil test data.

Minister for Agriculture David Littleproud said $21-million would be available to land managers wanting to contribute their soil data to a national database.

“The Historical Soil Data Capture Payments Program is part of a national soil strategy that aims to build knowledge for land managers to benchmark their soil against regional or type averages,” he said.

“We know there is a lot of privately held soil data captured for agricultural management and other purposes. This program aims to gather and preserve soil data and make it centrally and publicly available for others to use.

“Better soil data will lead to improved research, technology and policy outcomes and will benefit all Australians.

“The Australian government is seeking suitably qualified service providers to act as data brokers to help deliver the program.”

Land managers can contribute their data when the program launches by engaging with Data Brokers.

More information can be found online at minister.awe.gov.au/littleproud.