This project supports dairy farmers to improve soil health and productivity, reduce input costs and build climate resilience on their farms through field days, a peer to peer program, and a demonstration site at a dairy farm in South Gippsland.
Name of Project: Dairy Resilience Project
Funded by: Soils for Life
Partners: Soils for Life, The Tracy family (Stuart, Jacqui, Angus and Ruby Tracy), Maffra and District Landcare Network, Cradle Coast NRM (Tas), Lower Blackwood Land Conservation District Committee and South West NRM (WA), SQ Landscapes (SE Qld).
Timeframe: 2025-2028
Status: Field day on 7 Oct 2026 open to all. Expressions of Interest open for the Peer-to-Peer Program.
Project Manager: Cassie Wright, cassie@sgln.net.au
About the project
This project supports Gippsland and Bass Coast dairy farmers to explore practical ways to build soil health, increase feed quality and climate resilience, and reduce input costs.
Practices the project explores may include:
– Multispecies pastures
– Adaptive grazing management
– Integrating trees
– Biological inputs (including novel effluent management)
– Reducing ground-applied fertilisers, increasing foliar applications
– Plant and soil monitoring and analysis
What’s involved
– A demonstration site in South Gippsland, at the Tracy family’s dairy farm, tracking and showcasing the production, financial, ecological and social outcomes of these practices over time.
– Two field days at the demonstration site to see these practices on the ground, hear directly from the farmers involved, and talk through the practicalities, costs and benefits.
– A peer-to-peer network of dairy farmers, meeting for five facilitated sessions, with farm walks, practical training with relevant specialists, and opportunities to share ideas with each other.
Part of a national program
The Dairy Resilience Project is one of only five demonstration sites nationally, alongside sites at Maffra, South East Queensland, North West Tasmania and South West Western Australia. You can see results so far from the Maffra Soils for Life demonstration farm at soilsforlife.org.au/neaves-mirams-agriculture
Get involved
Dairy farmers from South Gippsland, West Gippsland and Bass Coast are warmly invited to the first project field day, 7 October 2026 at the Tracy family farm, Waratah Bay, run in collaboration with GippsDairy. Details and registration [here – link coming soon]
Dairy farmers from across the region are also invited to join the upcoming 5 session program to support farmers to improve soil health and productivity, and reduce input costs. It includes funds for soil and plant testing and agronomist support – [click here to complete the EOI – this is coming in next few days].
More info: https://soilsforlife.org.au/dairy-resilience-project/
Maffra demonstration site: https://soilsforlife.org.au/neaves-mirams-agriculture/
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