GRDC National Grower Network - Variable Soils Amelioration Upskilling

Reference number: PROC-9177179

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Release date:: Tuesday 10 December 2024
Closing time:: Friday 31 January 2025, at 05:00 PM ACT local time
Enquiry deadline:: Friday 24 January 2025, at 05:00 PM ACT local time

Summary

Choosing the optimum amelioration option for every constraint within a paddock with variable soils can seem difficult or impossible, some growers are opting to do an "OK" job on all soils rather than undertaking the ideal solution on all of their soils. However, there are some growers successfully ameliorating soil constraints across variable paddocks using the best compromises of operations, machinery, inputs and management.

Importantly, by looking across their whole farm, growers will be better able to make more informed financial and logical decisions on which areas and constraints should be targeted first.

When assessing the benefits of amelioration the simplest calculation is: Improved margin = (yield uplift x grain value) – cost

While amelioration costs look daunting at the start of the process, by looking at the potential financial benefits prior to beginning, growers will have more confidence in achieving their desired outcomes. Reported benefits include: more confidence applying fertiliser and pesticide inputs, improved root growth and WUE when root growth is improved, and overall improvements in resilience of crops.

Offer period

Offers will remain open for acceptance by the GRDC for a period of 6 months after the Closing Time.

Document contact and enquiries

Attention: Laura Baugh
Grains Research and Development Corporation
Email: western@grdc.com.au

Make all requests for further information or clarification in relation to this procurement in writing (email) prior to 24 January 2025.

GRDC will publish all requests and responses to requests on the GRDC website under Questions and Answers at the bottom of this webpage.

Consortia response

GRDC will not accept Tenders from Consortia.

Lodgement of Tender

Submit your Tender response electronically through the Grains Investment Portal.

AusTender

TBC.

Description

Soil constraints are estimated to cost Australian growers lost grain production of more than $4 billion every year (Dr Steve Davies, GRDC (YouTube) 2019). Done correctly, ameliorating soils can significantly boosts yield and profit, however when implemented incorrectly could do a large amount of damage to soils over the long term. While some soil constraints are easier to understand and to implement the required amelioration practice, variability (two or more constraints) across paddocks makes the decision on how and where to ameliorate more difficult. Choosing the optimum amelioration option for every constraint within a paddock with variable soils can seem difficult or impossible, some growers are opting to do an "OK" job on all soils rather than undertaking the ideal solution on all of their soils. However, there are some growers successfully ameliorating soil constraints across variable paddocks using the best compromises of operations, machinery, inputs and management.

Importantly, by looking across their whole farm, growers will be better able to make more informed financial and logical decisions on which areas and constraints should be targeted first.

When assessing the benefits of amelioration the simplest calculation is: Improved margin = (yield uplift x grain value) – cost

Outcome

Outputs

Output 1: By June 2025, grower will have the knowledge and methods to be able to decide on the best amelioration options to manage paddocks with variable soil constraints.

A review will be undertaken on the amelioration and machinery options currently available that can be used to ameliorate the many soil constraints across the Western Region. A decision tree, or similar, will be created from this review, that will allow growers and advisers to quickly assess the soil types and soil constraints across their paddocks, and then to find the best management solution.

This review should also engage with the GRDC investment led by University of Sydney - UOS2206-009RTX Next Generation Machine Learning models for 3D soil-mapping applications - to ensure all technology avenues are explored and included in the decision tree.

Output 2: By June 2028, growers with variable soils will have full understanding of their amelioration options on farm.

Workshops will be organised across the Western Region, in areas with variable soils, to distribute the decision tool created in Output 1. As part of the workshops, growers will also be able to access experts on the economics of soil amelioration, as well as amelioration machinery experts and general WA soil experts.

The economics session of the workshop will use the ROSA tool to show growers the best order to tackle different soil constraint issues and the financial benefits of each option. Any updates to the ROSA tool will be incorporated through the life of this project.

The machinery experts will understand the different machines that are currently available and how they work to remove different soil constraints (ie. different tyne and point characteristics)

At the completion of each workshop, growers will have a map of their variable soils on farm, understanding of the options for best management and amelioration of these soils, and financial direction on which issue to tackle first, to achieve the best financial return on farm. The workshop should also use the decision tree created from Output 1.

Five workshops per year, will be run across the Western Region, targeting areas with variable and heavy soil types. The first workshops will target growers in Cunderdin, Ardath, Varley, Wagin, and Merredin, There will be a total of 15 workshops as part of this investment.

Output 3: By June 2028, GRDC will understand the impact on growers and advisers of this investment.

Annual Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) will be conducted to determine progress of the project outcomes, outputs, and practice change. The M&E will establish the impact of the investment to growers attending these workshops and will measure changes to local industry practices and grower behaviours resulting from project activities. M&E methodology will focus on the adoption of soil amelioration by conducting - questionnaire surveys or other methods in discussion with GRDC

M&E Details:

This report will articulate the barriers and constraints (perceived or otherwise) to adoption
M &E findings will contribute to national soils amelioration analyses

Proposed Budget

Proposed Contract & Term

GRDC will contract under the terms of the Services Contract.

The schedule(s) attached to the contract will detail the project details: the outcomes, outputs, milestones, budget, participating personnel and required intellectual property.

The template contract containing the proposed Terms and Conditions is available on the Application resources page on the GRDC website.

It is anticipated that any resultant contract in relation to this procurement will commence with a proposed term of 3.5 years.

Conditions for Participation

The following are mandatory conditions with which a Tenderer must comply to participate in this procurement process:

The Tenderer and any subcontractor must not be named on the Consolidated List, being the list of persons and entities who are subject to targeted financial sanctions or travel bans under Australian sanction laws, as maintained by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
The Tenderer and any subcontractor must not have a judicial decision against it (not including decisions under appeal) relating to employee entitlements and who have not paid the claim.
The Tenderer must be a single legal entity or recognised firm of partners
The Tenderer and any proposed subcontractor must be compliant with the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012, the Modern Slavery Act 2018 and any other applicable labour laws and standards in the jurisdiction in which they operate.

Minimum Form and Content Requirements

The following are the mandatory content and format requirements that the Tenderer must complete and provide to participate in this procurement process:

Submit Tenders using the Grains Investment Portal.
Write Tenders in English and express any measurements in Australian legal units of measurement.
Budget details must be submitted on the ‘GRDC Budget Template’ provided in the Grains Investment Portal.

Evaluation Criteria

In the table below are the Evaluation Criteria that the Tender Evaluation Team will use to assess the value for money of all Tenders.

No	Type	Weighting
1	Technical – Qualitative evaluation criteria related to non-price factors such as methodology, project plan, track record, experience.
1a	A clear and thorough plan to deliver the project outcome, specifying: a) expected steps to deliver the outcome (pathway to market) b) identification of target users of the project outputs (who will the project directly deliver to e.g. grower, adviser, plant breeder, pathologist, the GRDC) c) specific information, products and/or services to be delivered to target users	35%
1b	A clear and thorough plan to achieve the project outputs, specifying: a) methods to be used across the different outputs b) proposed milestones c) proposed locations of workshops (if required to deliver project outputs) d) budget (defining the funds sought in each year of the project and the potential investment from all parties) e) project structure and management arrangements	35%
1c	Demonstrated track record of the project team, including: a) relevant achievements of the project leader in providing leadership, co-ordination, management, monitoring and evaluation and the timely delivery of high quality outputs b) relevant technical knowledge and experience of all key personnel (including proposed subcontractors) in the research area c) ability of the project team to collaborate with the relevant research organisations and industry personnel to build on the research (national and international) already undertaken in this area	30%
2	Price - The tendered budget.	N/A
3	Risk - Risks inherent in the application including the degree of compliance with the draft contract and any actual or perceived conflict of interest.	N/A
4	Australian economy - The economic benefit of the procurement to the Australian economy.	N/A