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CeRDI Newsletter Winter 2023

In this issue:

 

Message from the Director

Associate Professor Helen Thompson  

Associate Professor
Helen Thompson

  
   

Collaborative partnerships are at the forefront of the research we conduct at CeRDI. In this issue we highlight a selection of our many projects that are collaborative in nature and offer real world solutions for broad benefit.

Substantial progress has been made on the Soil CRC-funded projects that CeRDI is leading and / or collaborating on. The Enabling Soils Data project has involved research leading to new insights and that will guide soils data management in the future. The Knowledge Sharing for Good Soil Stewardship, a collaboration led by researchers at Southern Cross University, is developing industry insights with practical solutions and ideas for knowledge sharing within the agriculture sector. The Data Partnerships Initiative, funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation, involves 12 partner organisations working collaboratively to find solutions to managing and improving access to grains and cropping data for future accessibility and data driven, industry decisions.

In another project, we are working with the Field Applied Research (FAR) Australia, the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC; project funder), and other project partners on a project examining crop phenology manipulation for improved crop tolerance to frost.

 
 

Improved soil data management

Improved soil data management  
   

The Managing and Enabling Soils Data project is an initiative of the Cooperative Research Centre for High Performance Soils (Soil CRC) that is being led by CeRDI’s Dr Nathan Robinson, with Jude Channon, in collaboration with industry partners and University researchers. The project aims to develop a fit-for-purpose approach to better manage data for future Soil CRC projects and will provide solutions for improved sharing and reuse of national soils data. Special attention will be given to sensor data streams and developing and sharing use cases in soils data management for best practice.

The project has been designed in response to the rapid advances in technology that are leading to exponential growth in available soils data. Current and evolving technologies such as soil sensing and inference systems are two current examples where increased soils data is now available. Technologies are leading to new scientific insights and discoveries about soil management, yet practices for managing this data have been largely ignored. Documenting soil data for posterity is essential for improved soil security in response to global challenges with climate change, food security, environmental and ecosystem services including water infiltration and habitats for all. Key challenges to soil data management are the difficulties and costs associated with managing this data as an enduring asset. Ensuring the interoperability and availability of soil data is essential as new technologies are being used.

Interactive database of parasitic diseases

Interactive database of parasitic diseases  
   

An interactive database of parasitic diseases for Victoria will be developed in a new research partnership between CeRDI’s Dr Christiane Bahlo and Dr Sarah Preston from Federation University’s Health Innovation and Transformation Centre.

Parasitic worms are a major welfare and production issue in production animals (i.e. sheep, cows, goats) and in companion and sporting animals such as horses. The growing resistance of parasitic worms to chemical treatments presents a challenge, especially in Victoria where parasitic worm populations are reportedly more widespread.

An interactive database for recording parasitic disease data would offer Victorian producers, owners and consultants’ access to data to inform their decisions in diagnosing and treating animals for parasitic worms. The database could improve the approach that Australian animal producers use to document, manage and respond to future parasitic disease outbreaks.

Knowledge sharing for good soil stewardship

Knowledge sharing for good soil stewardship  
   

Dr Hanabeth Luke of Southern Cross University is leading the Soil CRC’s research effort  to address the challenges and opportunities associated with sharing knowledge to improve soil-stewardship and management, with the aim of increasing farmer uptake of new research outputs. CeRDI is collaborating on the project, conducting research to understand the role and contribution of digital engagement linked to knowledge sharing for farmers.

“Effective knowledge sharing processes between farmers, scientists and key knowledge brokers is essential for enhancing soil stewardship,” Dr Luke said. “Hundreds of millions of dollars is invested each year in agricultural science and technology, but adoption rates for many technologies are still quite low.” 

“For example, of six regions studied through our Soil CRC Survey Project , in only one region are more than 50% of farmers undertaking precision-farming (WA Wheatbelt). This links very closely with farmer self-assessed knowledge of how to apply these technologies,” she said.

Enhancing frost tolerance for Australia’s grains and cropping industry

Enhancing frost tolerance for Australia’s grains and cropping industry  
   

Frost damage to Australia’s grain and cropping industry causes significant devastation, with impact on lost production estimated at $400 million annually (Government of Western Australia, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development , 2023). Research funding has been allocated by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) to tackle this problem and reduce the substantial impact of frost for Australia’s wheat, barley, and canola crops. The Enhancing Frost Tolerance for Australia’s Grains and Cropping Industry project is being led by Field Applied Research (FAR) Australia, with other project partners including CeRDI.

This research involves examining crop phenology manipulation and chemical and mechanical interventions for improved tolerance and/or avoidance to frost. It also involves manipulating the physiological stages associated with crop development using novel agronomic practices including the application of plant growth regulators and mechanical defoliation. Crops are then tested for tolerance and protection against frost and are assessed separately or in combination against different phenological manipulations, thus generating insights for frost avoidance and protection.

GRDC Data Partnership Initiative

GRDC Data Partnership Initiative  
   

The July-August issue of Groundcover, the monthly publication from the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), features a story about the GRDC $2.8M Data Partnership initiative. 

The project involves a partnership of twelve organisations that are collectively making yield, soils, genetics and climate data available under the internationally recognised FAIR principles, which state that data should be findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable. Federation University is a foundation partner on the project. 

Historically, data generated from GRDC’s investment portfolio, comprising hundreds of projects managed across decades, have been maintained by individual organisations and managed in diverse ways. This limits the ease by which data can be found, accessed and used. The Data Partnership Initiative is developing organisational capacity in managing research, development and extension data (RD&E), and facilitating collaborations to make current available data findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable. 

Staff Profile: Dave Ryan, Project Officer

Dave commenced with CeRDI in February 2023 having spent 37 years working with state government, starting at the Department of Conservation, Forests and Lands in 1985, through many department name changes, and finishing with Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning in June 2022.

Dave began his career in Crown Land Management, then worked in Drafting Services, Fire Protection, Natural Resource Management, The Victorian Titles Office, Land Information Systems, and Land Use Victoria. Dave is a cartographer by trade and has used Geographic Information Systems since 1990. Dave has also managed many projects employing resources from Vicmap both here in Victoria and New Zealand.

Since commencing work in CeRDI, Dave has been assisting on a range of projects including Australian National Soil Information System (ANSIS) and Visualising Australasia’s Soils. This has involved significant external engagement activities and research administration. He has also provided data updates to the project teams and preparing sample data sets from project partners for later analysis by the project team members.

In addition, Dave has been assisting CeRDI Research Associate Rick Pope on an as-needed basis with geospatial analysis work, including mapping within CeRDI web applications, mapping soils, forests, and other datasets for other projects, and more recently sourcing and examining comprehensive data lists for the Northern Territory and Queensland Rangelands and preparing elevation mapping from electromagnetic soil sensor data.

Higher Degree by Research student profile: Pramod Gautam

Pramod Gautam  

Pramod Gautam

  
   

Pramod commenced his PhD at CeRDI in May this year. His research focusses on systems that support farmers’ decisions, helping them to achieve net zero carbon emissions. He will explore how farmers are using decision support system for monitoring carbon emissions and will also develop a Decision Support System (DSS) using sensors, artificial intelligence to access the quantity and quality of data for carbon monitoring, modelling to achieve net zero carbon for agribusiness. Pramod’s research is supported by a Destination Australia Scholarship, in partnership with the IBM Watson Centre in Ballarat.

Pramod has a background agriscience, having completed a Master’s degree in plant science from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway, and Bachelor of Science (Agriculture) from Tribhuvan University, Nepal. He has worked in a range of different non-governmental organisations across the agribusiness and environmental sectors for more than eight years. 

 

News snippets

Pete Dahlhaus presenting the VAS Project at the Soil Science Conference in Darwin.  

Above: Pete Dahlhaus presenting the VAS
Project at the Soil Science Conference
in Darwin.

  
   

Soil Science Conference - Darwin 25-30 June 2023: CeRDI staff attended and presented at the recent Soil Science Conference in Darwin. Presentations included:

•    Assoc Prof Peter Dahlhaus; Presentation title: Assessing the impacts of creating a soil data and dissemination system.
•    Dr Nathan Robinson; Digging deeper on soil data management.
•    Dr Megan Wong; Presentation title: Controlled vocabularies for improving soil data utility in a web-enabled world.
 

Higher Degrees by Research news

Presentations by CeRDI PhD candidates at the CeRDI seminar: CeRDI Higher Degree by Research candidates showcased their research at the July CeRDI Research Seminar with Elissa Ashton-Smith, Peter Weir and Rob Clark presenting updates on their research. CeRDI’s latest student recruits, Pramod Gautam (PhD candidate) and Simon Christie (MAppSci candidate), also gave overviews of their proposed research programs. Information about the research undertaken by CeRDI Higher Degree by Research candidates is available here: Higher Degree by Research Students (cerdi.edu.au)

About CeRDI

The Centre for eResearch and Digital Innovation (CeRDI) is a research centre at Federation University Australia focused on:

  • the application of information and communications technology (ICT) and the development of innovative, world class knowledge management systems;
  • significantly advancing the digital literacy and knowledge management capabilities of partner organisations;
  • fostering partnerships for the development and implementation of eResearch with industry, government and academia; and
  • measuring the impact of eResearch and digital innovation through longitudinal research.

Contact CeRDI

For further details about CeRDI’s diverse portfolio of research please visit our website: www.cerdi.edu.au, or contact Director, Associate Professor Helen Thompson: h.thompson@federation.edu.au

Mailing Address

Centre for eResearch and Digital Innovation
Federation University Australia
PO Box 691
Ballarat Vic 3353

Office Location

Suite 15, Greenhill Enterprise Centre
Ballarat Technology Park
University Drive
Mount Helen Vic 3350

Phone: +61 3 5327 9314
Email: support@cerdi.edu.au

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