Upper North Farming Systems

The Upper North Farming Systems Group covers a diverse geographical region in the Upper North Region on South Australia. The region includes two distinct localities 1) Coastal plain characterised by a mix of sandy and clay soils with warmer winters and hot summers and 2) Interior undulating higher altitude country with cold winters and generally heavier soil types. The Upper North Farming Systems Group’s mission is to facilitate capacity building and empowerment of the Agricultural Community across the whole of the region.
The Group aims include;
1. To validate the application of research results, new technologies and management strategies for the Upper North to speed up their integration and adoption into farming systems.
2. To promote agricultural excellence within the region by encouraging sharing of information and resources.
3. To assist growers in developing new and improved technologies and strategies in the low rainfall region of the Upper North that minimises risk and maximises profitability and ecological sustainability of whole farm systems
4. To increase the adoption of risk management strategies to improve profitability and ecological sustainability.
5. To engage with existing community organizations to participate in steering the direction of future agricultural research and development in the region.
6. To increase social capital in the low rainfall region of the Upper North and so strengthen agriculture and the community as a whole
7. To act as a link between community, industry and government to ensure that the farming community in the region has access to necessary information to promote agriculture into the future.
8. To promote the importance of agriculture and improve awareness of available career opportunities. To develop the necessary linkages and alliances to improve farmer’s terms of trade and increase the prosperity of the region.
9. To ensure the dissemination of the outcomes of programs through scientific publications, and newsletters, reports, media releases and field days for farmers and their communities
10. To foster long term commitment and funding from interested stakeholders in the field of dry-land cereal and livestock farming

Through a range of projects delivered by the Upper North Farming Systems Group landholders in the Upper North have gained greater knowledge and understanding of soil characteristics and productivity, enabling better targeting of inputs and land management actions. The UNFS group has focused on stubble retention and soil cover to reduce wind and water erosion, increase water infiltration and conserve soil moisture. Previous and current projects have increased adoption of no-till and stubble retention across the region with enhanced timeliness of sowing and more timely summer weed control increasing plant available water and nutrients. The group has also undertaken numerous projects to increase the skills and knowledge of farmers around grazing land management and has increased the adoption of improved cover management and reduced soil erosion throughout the region.