The Cool Soil Initiative — Supporting a Resilient Australian Agricultural Sector

At Foodbuy, we recognise procurement’s role in fostering sustainable change for our communities and the environment. By collaborating with innovative partners like Kellanova Australia, we provide our clients with new opportunities that enhance their sustainability efforts.

You don’t need to search hard to see the devastating effects of climate change on our country – with extreme weather conditions expected to become more and more prevalent in coming years.

To help support our agricultural industry, Kellanova Australia (previously The Kellogg Company) proudly joined forces with other industry and agricultural leaders and researchers in 2020 with the Cool Soil Initiative.

The Cool Soil Initiative is a ‘soil to spoon’ partnership involving almost 200 wheat, corn and canola farmers across eastern Australia, covering 187,000 hectares of agricultural land. The program is expanding into WA in 2024 further increasing the scale and impact of the program.

In partnership with Corson, PepsiCo, Mars Petcare, Manildra, Allied Pinnacle, Charles Sturt University, Food Agility and the Sustainable Food Lab – Kellanova Australia’s involvement in the Cool Soil Initiative is about helping farmers implement new practices that will help improve soil health. In turn, this has a real impact on the ground, to identify long-term farming practices that have a tangible and meaningful benefit for their long-term viability and livelihoods.

The program is implemented with farmers through regional farming systems groups (FSGs) to test and validate management practices that can mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on-farm and support the ongoing sustainability, productivity, and profitability of farming enterprises.

To help measure the impact of the program, participants use the Cool Farm Tool – a greenhouse gas, water and biodiversity calculator, to monitor soil carbon sequestration and its impact on emission values.

Farmers who participate in the program receive GPS-located soil testing services on up to 5 locations on their farms each year, along with technical support for interpreting Cool Farm Tool results and soil tests. Farmers also receive advice on management options that address key factors in their farming systems, focusing on recommendations that result in productivity, managing for weed resistance, water availability in dry years, and short and long-term carbon benefits.

Farmers who have adopted the recommended farm management practices including minimum/no-tillage, controlled traffic, deep liming, stubble retention and pasture fallow have seen improvements in their overall soil health, increases in the soil organic carbon levels, reduction in the amount of Nitrogen fertilizer applied and positive impacts on yield.

Through the Cool Soil Initiative, there is evidence that an increase in organic matter in the soil improves the soil’s moisture-retaining capacity – meaning farmers are better able to prepare for and manage drier conditions.

Increasing soil carbon also helps to improve the fertility of soil supporting healthier crops that require less synthetic fertilisers, such as nitrogen, a key source of GHG emissions on farms.

Recently conducted research by Kellanova, shows that soil health is also a key focus for farmers as they manage the changing conditions, with around two-thirds of farmers prioritising improving soil health to help counteract drier weather patterns.

Almost half of the farmers (45%) surveyed have kept the soil as undisturbed as possible and covered the ground (46%) to retain moisture (61%).

The Kellanova team are extremely passionate about working closely with Aussie farmers who have been a key part of the company’s 100-year history in Australia. Of the 42 million tonnes of cereal produced each year from the factory in Botany, NSW, the vast majority are made with high-quality Aussie ingredients, a feat made possible only through the partnership with Australian farmers.

Becoming involved in The Cool Soil Initiative provided a significant opportunity for the company to invest in Aussie farmers’ futures and help find long-term solutions to safeguard the harvest against the impact of climate change.

At the same time, the project will help Kellanova ANZ deliver on its commitment to reduce the environmental impact of its business by reducing some of
the greenhouse gas emissions  (Scope 3 emission) on farms in the supply chain.

To find out more head to https://www.kelloggs.com.au/en_AU/our-story/Nurturing-our-Planet/the-cool-soil-initiative.html