ABOUT THE FORUM
There is currently high interest in the economic opportunities associated with improving soil health. However, the economic drivers of improving soil health are complex and not well understood.
At this forum, you will hear some of Australia’s leading experts discuss economic considerations that may drive practice change to improve soil health.
The forum is for policy advisers and decision-makers from Australian Government and state and territory government departments, advisers, banking/finance, agriculture industry and agribusiness sector representatives.
Both onsite and virtual registrations options are available. Face to face attendees can take advantage of the opportunity to network with the National Soils Advocate and forum speakers and ask questions during sessions. Virtual attendees have access to all the sessions and the ability to ask questions in real time via the Virtual Platform.
The National Soils Advocate Forum 2022: Economic considerations and market-based drivers of soil health change is hosted by Australia’s National Soils Advocate, the Hon. Penny Wensley AC and supported by the Office of the National Soils Advocate.
FORUM HANDBOOK
The program is available via the program tab or you can download the handbook with the speaker abstracts from here
REcordings
Below are the recordings from the Forum
A/Prof Vanessa Wong
President of Soil Science Australia
Associate Professor in Soil and Land Management: Monash University
Adjunct Associate Professor Beverley Henry
Faculty of Science, School of Biology & Environmental Science, QUT
Philip Mulvey
CEO, Carbon Count
Dr Stuart Whitten Principal Economist, CSIRO Food and Water
Dr Nick Pawsey Senior Lecturer in Accounting, Charles Sturt University
Prof Mark Morrison Environmental Economist, Charles Sturt University
Dr Kate Burke Managing Director, Think Agri
Prof David Pannell Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of WA
Dr Oliver Knox
Associate Professor of Soil Systems Biology, University of New England
Panel discussion
Facilitator: The Hon Penny Wensley, AC
National Soils Advocate
SPEAKERS
The Hon. Penelope Wensley AC
National
Soils Advocate
Australia
Former Governor of Queensland and distinguished Australian diplomat, the Honourable Penelope Wensley AC, has a long-held interest and substantial experience in natural resource management, environmental and sustainable development matters, and in Australia’s response to national and global challenges in these areas.
Ms Wensley was a key contributor to the negotiation of several landmark international treaties to address environmental challenges though the United Nations.
Associate Professor
Vanessa Wong
President, Soil Science Australia Associate Professor in Soil and Land Management, Monash University
Associate Professor Vanessa Wong is based in the School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment at Monash University and accredited as a Certified Professional Soil Scientist (CPSS).
Her research focuses on biogeochemical processes and their interactions in soils, sediments and water in agricultural and natural environments. She is an interdisciplinary soil scientist and collaborates on projects across disciplines including in Indigenous archaeology, earth sciences, engineering, and the social sciences. She has published over 90 articles and reports, including >50 peer reviewed journal articles and >30 technical reports which have underpinned land and water management plans.
She is the current President of Soil Science Australia, Vice Chair of the Acid Sulfate Soil Working Group in the International Union of Soil Sciences, Editor in Chief of Land Degradation and Development and facilitator in Homeward Bound, a global leadership program for Women in STEM.
Adjunct Associate Professor Beverley Henry
Faculty of Science, School of Biology & Environmental Science, QUT
Beverley
Henry has been involved in research, policy and industry roles across
agriculture and land use sectors for 30 years. Her work has largely been in the
areas of climate change, climate variability and environmental management,
including in greenhouse gas and carbon credit accounting and monitoring. She
holds an adjunct position at Queensland University of Technology, undertakes
consulting in agriculture and climate questions, and is a member of several
domestic and international panels and committees including the present co-chair
of the Scientific and Technical Committee of the ‘4 per 1000 Initiative for
Food Security and Climate’.
Dr Nicholas Pawsey
Senior Lecturer, School of Business, Charles Sturt University
Dr Nicholas Pawsey is a senior lecturer from the School of Business, Charles Sturt University. Dr Pawsey's expertise relate to accounting for environmental assets with a focus on soil and water. He has published a number of commissioned reports, journal articles and book chapters on these topics.
Dr Pawsey's most recent projects have considered opportunities to activate banking and investment markets to reward soil stewardship. These projects have required extensive consultation with financial market participants and grower groups and have been supported by the Cooperative Research Centre for High Performance Soils (Soil CRC) and Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB).
Dr Kate Burke
Managing Director,
Think Agri
Dr Kate Burke is an agri-strategist, author and keynote speaker with specialist knowledge in the science and strategy of broadacre farming and direct investment in farmland. Kate connects the dots between science, commerce and human behaviour to build better farmers, better farms and better understanding to help policy makers, researchers and supply chain participants play their part in a sustainable and prosperous future for Australian Agriculture.
Kate recently published Crops People Money and You, The Art of Excellent Farming and Better Returns and regularly contributes to The Guardian Newspaper and Rural Business. Kate was also the 2021 recipient of the GRDC Seed of light award.
Professor David Pannell
Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of WA
David Pannell is Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Western Australia; Director, Co-Centre for Environmental Economics and Policy; ARC Federation Fellow (2007-2012); Distinguished Fellow and past president of the Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society; Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia; and a Director of Natural Decisions Pty Ltd. His research includes the economics of land, water and nature conservation; environmental policy; farmer adoption of conservation practices; risk; and economics of farming systems. David has won awards for his research in the USA, Australia, Canada and the UK.
Philip Mulvey
CEO, Carbon Count
Philip Mulvey is on a mission to restore 10% of the world's degraded land in his lifetime. A specialist in soil and water chemistry with over 40 years of experience in soil science, land repair and groundwater, Phil is an ambassador for soil health and is championing its essential role in regulating the earth's climate worldwide. Determined to mitigate climate change and build global soil security so it can feed our booming population, Phil's motivators are his 7 grandchildren, as well as all grandchildren the world over. He has co-authored a book on climate change, trained over 1000 earth scientists and is the founder of Environmental Earth Sciences, Australia's leading environmental geo-science group. After 15 years of R&D, his team recently launched Carbon Count; a SaaS platform of measurement and administration for soil carbon farming, aiding farmers everywhere to repair their land, the climate and their communities.
Dr Oliver Knox
Associate Professor, Soils Systems Biology, University of New England
Oliver’s interests are holistic, working with cropping systems and how the plant, abiotic and biotic soil components interact at a range of scales - from broad acre farm management to the microscopic life of our soils. To connect these scales he has been instrumental in developing and delivering #soilyourundies to Australia as a means to assess your soil health.
Dr Stuart Whitten
Principal Economist, CSIRO Food and Water
Prof Mark Morrison
Environmental Economist, Charles Sturt University
Mark is Associate Dean Research in the Faculty of Business, Justice and Behavioural Sciences. He is an applied economist, with substantial experience in marketing and entrepreneurship, and in agricultural and environmental projects. In recent years he has led various Soil CRC funded projects focusing on activating markets to better reward landholders for use of soil stewardship practices.
He has previously completed projects on use of compost and evaluation of soil carbon trading. He has completed or received 30 external research grants valued at about $3 million, and completed 24 consultancy projects working with CSIRO, Murray Darling Basin Authority, IPART, Sydney Water, Australian Communications Authority, Museums and Galleries NSW, ABARE, NSW Department of Primary Industries and others. He has been an expert witness in the Federal Court where he oversaw the first successful use of choice modelling in an Australian court, and recently was an expert witness for RMS in the NSW Land and Environment Court.
PROGRAM
Economic considerations and market-based drivers of soil health change
| THURSDAY 5 MAY | |
| 9.30am | Registration |
| 9.45am | Welcome and introduction |
| 9.50am | Opening address |
| SESSION 1 – INTRODUCTION TO THE COMPLEXITY | |
| 10.00am | More than just carbon: What is soil health and why should we care? |
| 10.30am | Soil Organic Carbon – why are we all talking about it and why is it so complex? |
| 11.00am | Morning Tea |
| SESSION 2 – MARKET BASED INSTRUMENTS TO DRIVE CHANGE | |
| 11.30am | Schemes, costs and benefits of soil carbon sequestration on farms Topics covered will include: |
| 12.00pm | Natural Capital Accounting and Environmental Stewardship payments as drivers of soil management change |
| 12.30pm | Finance issues – Green debt and equity investment opportunities |
| 1.00pm | Activating consumer and other markets to better reward soil stewardship practices |
| 1.30pm | Lunch |
| PRACTICALITIES AND ADOPTION | |
| 2.15pm | Soil health improvement in practice - opportunities and challenges for Australian farm businesses |
| 2.45pm | Adoption and behaviour change in Agricultural Policy |
| 3.15pm | Sustainable cotton production - an example of what drives change |
| 3.45pm | Panel discussion |
| 4.30pm | Event Close |
VENUE
Old Parliament House
The Forum will take place at Old Parliament House in the Members’ Dining Room. This space was once a banquet hall where parliament hosted royalty, heads of state, ambassadors, and other significant visitors.
Parking
Parking can be accessed from King George Terrace. Fees apply Monday to Friday. Accessible parking is available at the front of the building next to the ground level entrance.
Additional parking can be found at the National Archives of Australia, The John Gorton Building and the Treasury Building.
Public Transport
Buses run regularly from Canberra City Centre to the museum.
- Parliament House Federation Mall stop (400m walk) - Bus routes 57, 58
- John Gorton Building Parkes Place stop (650m walk) - Bus routes 2,6
- Commonwealth Avenue, opposite Albert Hall stop (750m walk) - Bus routes 4,5,7,10
Access