Sector Recovery and Resilience Grant

Industry

Title

Project Description

Total SFIRP Funding

Oysters and Mussels

Investigating Water Quality for the Optimal Production, Sustainable Management and Expansion of Aquaculture in South Eastern Australia

This research project aims to better understand coastal water quality and its links to rainfall, shellfish growth, mussel fouling organisms and food safety issues.
As part of the project, hydrology sensors will be rolled out adjacent to existing mussel farms to better understand the impact water quality has on production. This information will support the industry’s sustainability, add value to production and support product diversification in South-Eastern Australia.

$766,862

Oysters and Mussels

Supporting Increased Aquaculture Production Through Reduced Harvest Closures

This project will develop estuary specific models in 10 NSW aquaculture growing areas that have been highly impacted by sewage spills during and following floods.
Research of the models will be used to produce a report as well as a decision support tool to help reduce the number of days lost to shellfish harvest, which will improve productivity, sustainability and resilience of the aquaculture industry. The research will also inform decision making and best-practice application for improved food safety.

$1,446,900

Oysters and Mussels

Physical Resilience Of Aquaculture

The project will support resilience and innovation of the aquaculture sector with improved infrastructure for oyster farming. The project will involve the design, build and testing of a new metal raft and pontoon system for the purpose of creating a platform that is more flood resistant, requires less maintenance and will be less environmentally harmful.

$798,160

Oysters and Mussels

Improving Brood Stock in the NSW Oyster Industry

This project will test different tanks and tank components for holding efficacy, with the aim to preserve reproducible condition of Sydney Rock Oyster broodstock.
The project involves a research trial where the design, build and testing of a new broodstock holding tank system is undertaken. The other project components involve the retrofitting of the designed holding tank system and retrofitting in-situ water rafts.
The aim is to build longer-term solutions for consistent supply and also prepare for spikes in demand when restocking is needed after flooding events.

$399,600

Oysters and Mussels

Preparing the NSW Oyster Industry for Future Disasters

This two-year project aims to improve the resilience and preparedness of the NSW oyster industry through the development and implementation of four key initiatives including, the development and implementation of a new disaster handbook for producers, a feasibility study for a new network of emergency oyster relays, the creation and distribution of new marketing tools for producers, and the development of carbon neutral tools to educate producers about  a carbon neutral industry.

$512,422

Oysters and Mussels

From Waste to Product - Identifying Plastic and Shell Recycling Pathways in the NSW Oyster Industry

Working with government, industry and environmental groups this project will support clean, productive and resilient estuaries for increased oyster production.
The project will include a feasibility study to identify cost-effective recycling solutions for plastics used in oyster production, it will clean-up flood-impacted estuaries by establishing a timber recycling subsidy for oyster farms to access, and it will include the trial of plastic recycling options, which could involve establishing plastic and oyster shell recycling regional hubs.

$800,000

Industry

Title

Project Description

Total approved funding

Dairy

Better Response and Short-Term Recovery for the NSW Dairy Sector

This project will involve the development and implementation of an industry framework to better prepare the sector to respond to natural disasters through data sharing across government, industry and local communities.
This project will also involve the research and development of a response manual that farmers can implement during a natural disaster to guide decision making for health, well-being and on-farm productivity.

$960,750

Dairy

Better Preparedness, Lower Risk and Improved Resilience for the NSW Dairy Sector

This project will work to increase preparedness, resilience, and adaptation of dairy farming practices by better understanding climate change risks to the industry.
The project will research and develop climate suitability models to identify ways the industry can adapt to climate risks and increase their understanding of climate risks by applying real-farm studies and research into the interrelationship of soil moisture and livestock production.

$2,332,281

Dairy

Supporting Industry Development in the NSW Dairy Sector

The aim of the project is to support sustainable jobs by increasing preparedness, resilience, and innovation through knowledge-based networks and information sharing techniques. Training and upskilling in areas such as professional development and leadership will be delivered across multiple communication platforms to improve supply-chain efficiencies, market expansion and other innovative activities to support jobs.

$2,898,525

Industry

Title

Project Description

Total approved funding

Broadacre cropping

Soils, Storms and Floods - Understanding Waterlogged Soils in Flood Affected Areas for Improved Soil Productivity and Future Resilience

This research and development project aims to better understand the impacts of extreme weather conditions, such as floods and droughts, on soils and crop productivity. The project will study the impacts of extreme conditions using two field sites in disaster-declared local government areas (LGAs). The research will culminate in the development of a toolkit for farmers and advisors on best-practice management for flood inundated soils.
The outcome of the two-year project is to better inform post-flood management of agricultural soils exposed to extreme flooding events and increase the sector’s resilience across NSW.

$1,653,660

Extensive Livestock

StockPlan Plus - Building resilience in extensive livestock industries

This project aims to increase the resilience of the agriculture sector by developing a toolkit to support decision making under drought, storm and flood conditions. It involves the development of a climate risk planning and decision support toolkit to assist livestock producers to design and evaluate management options to ensure business continuity. This project will utilise artificial intelligence and mobile technology to provide farmers with real-time, effective tools for decision making, which will be delivered in consultation with farmers.

$4,000,000

Industry

Title

Project Description

Total approved funding

Plant nurseries

Identifying and Mitigating Water Storage Contamination Concerns During and Post-Flood Events

The project will deliver a decision-support framework and associated resources to assist the NSW nursery industry minimise biosecurity impacts from water contamination as a result of storm and flood events. The project will increase preparedness, resilience, and innovation through identifying and mitigating water storage contamination concerns across multiple industries, improving water quality, crop productivity and supply-chain efficiencies post-flood events.

$879,883

Turf

Turf Industry Flood Preparedness and Recovery Program

The project will involve the development of response tools and training for long-term flood preparedness and recovery. One part of the project will include drain clearing work in the Hawkesbury region and the other part of the project will see SES and Turf NSW train turf production businesses to utilise real-time data tools and applications to predict and track flood levels, so that they can prepare for floods in a proactive manner.

$647,154

Turf

Turf Industry Flood Research and Development Project

This project is a research-based initiative that will investigate the removal and treatment of flood silt, the contaminants on turf crops and the use of turf for riverbank stabilisation. The research components are complemented by practical, on-farm trials for silt removal and preventative methods such a modifications to farm topography.
This project outcome is to build the industry’s sustainability and provide valuable information to optimise crop recovery and financial planning for future natural disaster resilience.

$797,590

Berries

Hort360 for a Sustainable and Resilient Berry Industry

The project will provide local growers and land managers with tools and resources to implement on-farm practices across their whole business that will help the berry industry deal with future flood and weather events. The project will also be used to monitor the industry in order to identify key risk areas where further training and support is required.
The project will involve components such as providing dedicated staff to engage with growers, the development of a web-based management tools and the delivery and evaluation of educational programs for growers on industry standard farm management processes.

$1,000,000

Turf

Drought Resilience for Turf Production

This project will develop a simulation model that combines soil and irrigation data with turf stressors and applies a cost-benefit analysis overlay to provide an informative tool for turf farmers. This tool can be used by farmers to develop farm drought management plans and by homeowners to inform best-practice turf management techniques during drought.
This project will also investigate the viability of improved aeration techniques to streamline turf irrigation by evaluating the potential to reduce water and chemical consumption while accelerating turf growing times during drought as well as evaluating the potential to recover from water inundation and associated impacts during flood inundation.

$1,443,420

Vegetable

Building Biosecurity Capacity and Resilience within the NSW Vegetable Industry

This project aims to enable growers to protect their farms from biosecurity risks by building capacity, strong biosecurity practices and encouraging growers to report early. This will be achieved through the development and sharing of educational materials direct to vegetable farmers.

$500,000

Vegetable

Building Capacity and Resilience in the NSW Vegetable Protected Cropping Industry

This project will be delivered over two years to better-inform vegetable producers on crop-specific natural disaster preparedness.
This project provides dedicated, linguistically-diverse staff to develop a range of technical, educational materials who will, in collaboration with multiple growers associations, deliver the materials to producers through accessible, on-the-ground engagement.
The engagement of producers will help to inform ongoing needs of producers to ensure, profitable, resilient and sustainable growth in the NSW vegetable protected cropping sector.

$500,000

Cut Flower

Minimising Chemical, Pest and Disease Risk to the Cut Flower Industry

This two-year project will focus on creating materials to educate producers on biosecurity options to manage risks from pests, disease and chemical contamination post-disaster, while also teaching techniques for emergency response.
This project will build greater levels of preparedness across the entire cut flowers industry, with focus on the culturally and linguistically diverse industry members. This project will lead to a more-collaborative, sector-wide response to biosecurity risks.

$500,000

Cut flower

Reducing the Use of Plastics in the Cut Flower Industry to Support Resilience and Industry Development

The project aim is to work with growers in the cut flower industry to investigate opportunities and alternatives to reduce single-use plastics currently used during cut flower production in NSW. 
The long-term benefit of the project will be a reduction in damage caused by plastics following natural disasters and supporting the industry sustainability my meeting market expectations for reduced use of non-recyclable materials.

$500,000

Industry

Title

Project Description

Total approved funding

Education and Careers

Primary Industries Careers - Creating Resilience Through School Curriculum Empowerment

This project aims to create more pathways for school-based students into careers in primary industries. It will involve components such as the creation and deployment of teaching resources, the development of stand-alone curriculum relating to local primary industries and the provision of dedicated career advisors.
By supporting the growth of youth career opportunities in the primary producer sectors, it will improve the sustainability and resilience of disaster-impacted industries within regions.

$2,000,000

Planning

NSW Farm Developments - Building Resilience Through Planning

This project will develop a planning tool to help farmers understand and comply with planning requirements when building or re-building on-farm infrastructure post-natural disaster. The project will enable data-informed planning decisions and deliver a streamlined application process.
The online, interactive tool will allow farmers to visualise their proposed site for development and identify flooding and other constraints on a real-time map. The tool will also display the relevant legislation, regulations and special considerations for development compliance and show a comparison of sites, building the capacity of the farmer to optimise siting for proposed developments.

$2,000,000

Education and Careers

Young Farmer Resilience Accelerator

Through a series of workshops, conferences, training and farm tours this program will support the resilience of the next generation of primary producers prepare for, respond and recover from adversity.
The project will be delivered in a multi-faceted way with delivery support from the University of Sydney Agricultural Society, Young Farmers Connect, NSW Farmers' Association, NSW Young Farmers Council and the Future Farmers Network.
The intended outcome for the project is for a better-prepared workforce in NSW agriculture, horticulture and aquaculture sectors.

$2,000,000