The challenge
A growing need for early sowing of crops
There is a need for farmers to sow crops earlier than they have been due to erratic opening seasonal rains and larger farms, relative to sowing machinery capacity and labour availability.
Our response
Providing Australian wheat growers with the solution
CSIRO’s work has provided Australian wheat growers with the tools, awareness and implementation support needed to adapt to long-term, climate-related changes by contributing towards:
- increasing Australian wheat yields
- addressing the needs of consolidated farms.
The results
Greater wheat yields and more efficient management practices for wheat growers
The uptake and adoption of work has led to greater wheat yields and efficient management practices for wheat growers. With global climate change expected to exacerbate and accelerate the occurrence of drought, the scientific community foresees greater adoption of this work by wheat growers in the coming years.
The cost-benefit analysis (including dead weight loss) suggests a benefit‑cost ratio of 9.2. The work has a prospective net present value of greater than $36 million (assessed for financial years 2012–24).