The FFI CRC’s end-users are 72,000 SMEs (small to medium enterprises) – broadacre primary producers who manage 60 million hectares of Australia’s landmass. It will seek to increase the adoption of innovative perennial plant-based farming systems on 7.4 mha of agricultural land, establish new regional industries on 100,000 hectares and under conservative estimates delay or prevent salinity impacts on 1.6 mha in the
crop-livestock and high rainfall zones. In addition, the CRC will provide decision support tools and technologies for catchment management organisations and regional groups to target and implement land use change at multi-enterprise scale.
The powerful collaboration of FFI CRC participants, particularly in agribusiness and agricultural innovation, has allowed identification and targeting of three business opportunities in which Profitable Perennials™ will add value to outcomes:
An Adoption and Commercialisation strategy for the FFI CRC is under development by John Powell Adoption Manager, advised by an Adoption and Commercialisation panel comprising Participant and client representatives.
The activities of the CRC are predominantly under project management, and contribute to products and outputs that are the responsibility of Programs. FFI CRC is a three-tiered structure:
The Annual Operating Plan 2007-08 comprises 48 projects; 30 continuing from CRC Salinity and 18 transitional projects covering new activities in 2007-08:
Project Number |
Project
Name |
Project Leader |
Continuing or Transitional |
Program 1 - Future Livestock Production |
P1 FP01 |
Improved perennial grasses |
S Clark |
C |
|
Chicory management and utilisation
|
|
Seeking additional funding
|
P1 FP03 |
Enrich phase 2 |
D Revell |
C |
|
Oldman saltbush improvement
|
|
Seeking additional funding
|
P1 FP05 |
Acid tolerant lucerne rhizobia |
A Humphries |
C |
P1 FP06 |
EverGraze V: the next phase |
A Avery |
C |
P1 FP07 |
Productive persistent tropical grasses |
G Moore |
C |
P1 FP08 |
Lotus commercialisation |
G Sandral |
C |
Program 2 - Future Cropping Systems
|
P2 FP09 |
EverCrop and EverCrop Decide |
R Llewellyn |
C |
P2 FP10 |
Perennial wheat feasibility study |
P Larkin |
C |
P2 FP11 |
Drought tolerant legumes |
C Revell |
C |
P2 FP12 |
Salt tolerant cereal |
T Colmer |
T |
Program 3 - New Woody Crop Industries
|
P3 FP13 |
Direct seeding woody crops |
M Bennell |
C |
P3 FP 14 |
Woody crop feasibility study |
B Ostendorf |
C |
P3 FP 15 |
Industry feasibility assessment |
J Bartle |
C |
P3 FP 16 |
Woody crop harvester system |
R Giles |
C |
P3 FP 17 |
Breeding woody crops |
R Mazanec |
C |
P3 FP 18 |
Water for woody crops |
R Harper |
C |
Program 4 - Farming Saline Landscapes
|
P4 FP19 |
Understorey |
A Craig |
C |
P4 FP 20 |
Enhance (formally HIGHPAK) |
H Norman |
C |
P4 FP 21 |
The Saltland Knowledge Exchange (SKE) |
N Edwards |
C |
P4 FP 22 |
SaltCap and SaltDecide |
R George |
T |
Program 5 - Biodiversity and Water
|
P5 FP 23 |
Biodiversity in Grazed Landscapes |
S McIntyre |
Seeking additional funding |
P5 FP 24 |
Biorisk |
R Vogwill |
C |
P5 FP 25 |
CATplus |
K Lowell |
C |
P5 FP 26 |
Weed and genetic risk |
M Byrne |
C |
P5 FP 27 |
Production perennials for biodiversity |
P Smith |
C |
Program 6 - Economic, Social and Policy Analysis
|
P6 FP 29 |
Economic analysis of perennials |
B Farquharson |
C |
P6 FP 30 |
Adoptability planning tool |
R Llewellyn |
C |
P6 FP 31 |
INFER |
A Ridley |
T |
Program 7 - Education and Training
|
P7 FP 33 |
Postgraduate professional development program |
Daryll Richardson |
T |
P7 46 |
EverTrain phase 2 |
Deb Slinger |
T |
