Picture a scientist conducting research at The University of Western Australia. Are they tucked away in one of the many laboratories on the Crawley campus? Are they wearing a white coat?
It’s unlikely that the first location to come to mind is the rolling hills of Pingelly – a small country town in Western Australia’s Wheatbelt, about 90 minutes’ drive south-east of Perth.
You almost certainly didn’t imagine knee-high gumboots slick with mud, a busted wide-brimmed hat and layers of thermals to stave off the chill.
And yet, this is the reality for many university researchers, students and collaborators who consider UWA Farm Ridgefield to be the epicentre of their agricultural and environmental studies and innovative research pursuits.
A 1600-hectare mixed-enterprise (sheep and cropping) farm in West Pingelly, UWA Farm Ridgefield is situated on Gnaala Karla Booja and under the spiritual and cultural custodianship of the Noongar people, whose connections to the land can be traced back more than 45,000 years.
At the farm, The UWA Institute of Agriculture manages and operates the Best Practice Farming Systems (BPFS) Project, which aims to find best-practice solutions for resilient dryland farming systems, environmental stewardship and community engagement.
Institute Director Hackett Professor Kadambot Siddique said the BPFS Project developed and supported multidisciplinary research that was economically viable, environmentally credible and created tangible social benefits.
“The pursuit of innovative and profitable dryland farming systems, progressive environmental stewardship and strong regional communities is central to all activities at UWA Farm Ridgefield,” Professor Siddique said.
“It would be impossible for us to achieve these goals without harnessing valuable collaborations with numerous state and federal departments, fellow universities, research institutes and nongovernment agencies such as WA grower groups and other specialised agencies.”
Someone who knows first-hand the value of UWA Farm Ridgefield from a research and teaching perspective is soil geomorphologist and Head of the UWA School of Agriculture and Environment, Associate Professor Matthias Leopold.
“UWA Farm Ridgefield captures millions of years of landscape development, preserving ancient laterite soil profiles and associated plants and animals next to areas influenced and shaped by modern agriculture,” Professor Leopold said.
“Our society depends on agriculture for food and fibre production.
“The farm is an excellent area for environmental studies that target the human impact on natural systems.”
A significant model for large-scale ecological restoration on the farm is the Ridgefield Multiple Ecosystem Services Experiment.
Established in 2010, this ongoing project provides a unique site to demonstrate how to provide multiple ecosystem outcomes for both farmers and the broader public, through restoration of agricultural land.
Professor Leopold said he fondly saw UWA Farm Ridgefield as an “outdoor classroom” where students could be exposed to case studies within a real operating farm.
“This is the most applied form of learning, as it provides understanding of agricultural and environmental systems beyond what they read in their textbooks,” he said.
“Digging and analysing soil properties, studying annual water circles, understanding the challenges of managing mixed-enterprise agricultural systems under changing market and climatic conditions … this inspires our students and prepares them for their future.
“Not to mention, there is also an enormous mental, physical and social benefit for students on these field trips, which is an excellent way to foster UWA student experience.”
Reproductive biologist Dr Kelsey Pool has a busy research schedule that frequently requires her to spend days and even weeks at UWA Farm Ridgefield.
As the current EHB Lefroy Fellow, Dr Pool aims to contribute to a better mechanistic understanding of reproductive biology in sheep while providing tangible outcomes to the Australian livestock industries.
“UWA Farm Ridgefield provides a rare opportunity to run intensive research in a true commercial farming system,” she said.
“This is incredibly valuable, not only for capturing biologically relevant data in animal physiology, but also for understanding how this is impacted by regional climate and day-to-day operations that would normally occur on a commercial property.”
Dr Pool said UWA Farm Ridgefield’s manager and staff were very knowledgeable about the farm – both as a business and biological system.
“Their valuable feedback and advice to researchers streamlines our studies to better contribute to agricultural industries,” she said.
“We can’t replicate those conditions, or these people, on a city campus.”
On the national and international stage, Dr Pool said UWA Farm Ridgefield gave UWA a “unique edge” as it boosted the adoption potential of its research.
“Demonstrating that research strategies can work in a commercial system to improve agricultural outcomes is a powerful thing,” she said.
“There are not many institutions where you can effectively take science from the lab to the farm, which is the perfect workflow for agricultural research.”
At any one time, there may be dozens of research projects under way at UWA Farm Ridgefield.
The big picture aim of these projects include mitigating on-farm greenhouse gas emissions, adaptations for the changing climate, enhancing profitable and ethical production systems, and restoring ecosystems and biodiversity.
The UWA Farm Ridgefield 2023 Open Day on Friday 6 October presents a unique opportunity for all members of the public to attend in-field demonstrations and learn about the science from lead researchers.
Find out more and register to attend the UWA Farm Ridgefield 2023 Open Day
Breaking new ground with OZCZO tech
Earlier this year, a real-time soil sensing device, known as the Sensoil Vadose-zone Monitoring System, was installed in a cropped field at UWA Farm Ridgefield.
The VMS was the most recent of numerous sensing and monitoring infrastructure established at the farm, as supported by TERN and AuScope.
In 2013, UWA Farm Ridgefield became the first Australian node of the Critical Zone Observation (OZCZO) network, which explores below and above-ground connectivity between soil, sediment, water and plants.
“The cereal-pulse-oilseed-pasture rotations at UWA Farm Ridgefield capture a representative and responsible Australian agricultural practice,” School of Engineering Associate Professor Sally Thompson said.
We can also link into longer-term fundamental questions about landscape evolution and how the soils, water and ecology of the Western Australian grainbelt work together."
A panorama of the Avon River Catchment Critical Zone Observatory at UWA Farm Ridgefield
Shift to non-mules enterprises
UWA Farm Ridgefield has helped blaze the trail to end the practice of mulesing sheep.
The Meat & Livestock Australia-funded joint project between UWA and AgPro Management demonstrated the impact of shifting to non-mules to both producers and the wider industry.
Recognising the inevitability of the technique being banned, Emeritus Professor Graeme Martin said UWA Farm Ridgefield stopped mulesing in 2010.
“It had long been clear that mulesing would end at some stage, with highly visible campaigns by animal rights groups that, justifiably, labelled it as unacceptable,” Professor Martin said.
“We now have more than a decade’s experience in managing non-mulesed Merino sheep.”
RSPCA WA recognised the Non-Mulesing Producer Demonstration Site Project for its “positive influence on animal welfare” with the 2021 Agriculture Award.
Emeritus Professor Graeme Martin at UWA Farm Ridgefield
Deep roots of research and experience
For world-renowned soil scientist Emerita Professor Lynette Abbott, UWA Farm Ridgefield is truly one of a kind.
“The farm provides a unique opportunity for me to conduct long-term carbon research on a commercial farm,” she said.
Professor Abbott established the Land Restoration Demonstration Site with a grant from the National Landcare Program, which shows how upscaling novel soil restoration practices can re-establish productivity on degraded areas of farmland.
Professor Abbott said she was proud that UWA was fully committed to supporting ongoing research and development at UWA Farm Ridgefield.
“Over the years, I have especially enjoyed how our undergraduate and postgraduate students have risen to the challenges of learning on the farm,” she said.
“Seeing how they proactively contribute to their own education, as well as build upon the farm base and connect with the local community, has been enormously rewarding.”
Emerita Professor Lynette Abbott (first from left) with UWA student volunteers at the Land Restoration Demonstration Site
Read the full issue of the Winter 2023 edition of Uniview [PDF 2.7Mb]. The Uniview accessible [PDF 2.9Mb] version is also available.