About
The FDF long term trials have been established to undertake 4-year trials of farming systems practices (with a focus on mixed farming) that are hypothesised to improve drought resilience and protect natural capital. Social research has been included in the project to investigate pathways and impediments to adoption of relevant practices.
Objectives of our research
Overall:
To investigate whether greater diversity of mixed farming provides greater drought and climate resilience
- To establish multi-year (long-term) field trial sites implementing farming systems as ‘mini-farms’ or farmlets, from intensive cropping to mixed farming of varying intensity to grazing management systems
- To assess resilience in terms of productivity, profitability and sustainability of the investigated systems
- To use farming systems modelling validated with field trial data to extrapolate findings spatially and in time, including future climate scenarios
- To better understand how current conceptualisations of resilience and adoption held by RD&E actors influence the design of activities targeting improved drought resilience
- To use this understanding to support enhanced design of extension approaches targeting improved drought resilience in mixed farming regions of southern Australia.