WMG on the National stage at Soil CRC Conference
By Nathan Craig, WMG Chief Executive Officer
The West Midlands Group (WMG) team recently attended the annual Soil CRC conference in Wagga Wagga, NSW. This is one of the most anticipated trips of the year for the WMG team, with CEO Nathan Craig, Project Communications Officer Simon Kruger, and Project Officer Kate Parker able to make the trip over and participate.
The Soil CRC, or Co-operative Research Centre for High Performing Soils, is a federally and partner-funded cooperative between various agricultural, educational and research organisations, formed to conduct research on soils that would typically remain unexplored.
The conference provided the WMG Team an excellent opportunity to meet many project collaborators in person, and to strengthen relationships and networks with the seven universities and 25 farming systems groups collaborating to deliver the outcomes of the Soil CRC.
As a result of the involvement with the Soil CRC from inception, WMG now collaborates nationally on 12 projects with numerous universities and grower groups across Eastern Australia. Collaborative universities include Southern Cross University, University of Tasmania and Charles Sturt University, and grower groups include Birchip Farming Group, Central West Farming Systems, Southern Farming Systems and more.
While project topics WMG are involved in vary in their direct relationship to soil health research, WMG is also heavily involved in Program 1 (of 4), where it is now the national lead on two projects focused on developing better tools for the extension and communication of information to the farming audience.
Day one of the conference primarily consists of project meetings and workshops, however in contrast to previous years, this year Nathan participated in the Soil CRC Board meeting following his recent appointment to the Soil CRC Board in July 2024. Consequently, the WMG project meetings were led for the first time by Simon, where he coordinated meetings effectively with multiple commendations on his facilitation skills and professionalism. New to her role as WMG Project Officer, Kate was assigned the task of note-taker for these meetings to ensure progress and outcomes in these collaborative discussions were captured.
Day two featured the main conference session, where WMG again played a significant role. Nathan presented alongside Bret Ryan from Southern Farming Systems in Victoria, introducing their new Soil CRC project aimed at developing a framework for accelerating the adoption of research within the farming community. Nathan also joined Robbie Sefton, Soil CRC Board Member and communications specialist, in a ‘fireside chat’ presentation discussing the art of communicating with the farming audience and the changes observed through various Soil CRC research projects.
While the format of the conference is relatively content heavy, the time spent ‘outside’ of proceedings had multiple objectives and outcomes for WMG. Beyond work hours, the team socialised and networked with project participants, researchers, students, and other industry representatives, further developing these important relationships.
One of the key highlights of the Soil CRC conference was the recognition of the WMG Team’s contributions, with much appreciation expressed by collaborators and industry peers. For a small grower group based in Dandaragan, WMG have demonstrated capability to perform on the national stage. This is crucial for WMG as it validates its efforts in delivering projects to the farming community, ensuring they are comparable to the best across Australia. This alignment with contemporary farming practices further supports the WMG strategy of fostering the sustainable growth of its farming community.
