Background
There are more than 9 million ha of arable sands in the southern cropping region of south- eastern Australia. In many cases sandy soils have a number of constraints to crop production and a large gap exists between actual yield and water limited yield potential. The GRDC project ‘Sandy Soils II: Management to sustain production potential in the low to medium rainfall environments of the Southern cropping region’ (CSP2403-017RTX) is a collaboration between the Grains Research & Development Corporation (GRDC), CSIRO, University of South Australia, University of Sydney, Soil Function Consulting, Frontier Farming Systems, Trengove Consulting, EPAG Research and the South Australian Research and Development Institute and will run from 2024-2028.
The three programs of this work include:
- Where, when and how to ameliorate in the sandy landscape.
- How to maintain and feed the new yield potential in ameliorated soils.
- Post-amelioration management.
It follows the successful project ‘Increasing production on sandy soils in low and medium rainfall areas of the southern region’ (CSP00203-CSP1606-008RMX), with many of the outputs from this investment available on this website.
This collaborative research explored management options to either mitigate (provide lower cost options to work with) or ameliorate (more transformational and less frequent options) constraints to production on sands and in the resources section we share information about:
- Knowing your constraints.
- Which treatments will best manage the constraints, and how to best set up machinery for these options.
- What responses to expect from the treatments available.
Thanks for visiting our site and feel free to reach out our team with further enquiries.
Sandy Soils Project
Learn about the Sandy Soils II Project, a collaborative effort where our goal is to tackle pressing issues within sandy landscapes through rigorous research and practical solutions.
Sandy Soils Global Conference
The conference theme ‘Shifting Sands to Sustainable Solutions’ is focused the challenges of managing and protecting the natural capital of sandy soils in the face of a changing climate.
Perth Australia July 2025
Sandy Soils II Project Sites
Towns close to sandy soils II sites
Sites displayed include output 1, 2 and 3, for 2024 and 2025 and 2026.
Site names that are displayed are mapped to the closest town to protect landholders’ privacy.
Project Factsheets
Project Factsheets The sandy soils project produced a series of factsheets to support the identification of key constraints to crop production in sandy soils and to provide guidelines on the engineering tools (including their set up and operations) to overcome these constraints.
Sandy soils App – sandbox
This interactive web application allows the users to identify which constraints and treatment options are relevant, to explore yield results at sites with relevant climates and soil constraints and linked to information about how to optimise the setup of the selected treatments for trialling on-farm. View App. Access database of sandy soil trial results.
