History

MSF Inc. formed in 1997 in response to the recognition that conservation farming practices had not been widely adopted across the region. Research data had shown that grain productivity increases in the Mallee had lagged behind increases being made in higher rainfall cropping zones. Therefore, there was a need to identify the issues restricting the adoption of technology that would enhance the development of profitable and sustainable farming systems.

MSF Inc works in collaboration with research organisations and state government extension agencies through a Tri-State Extension Agreement. Partners include:

• CSIRO - Sustainable Ecosystem and Entomology Departments, Adelaide, South Australia;
• NSW Department of Primary Industries;
• Department of Primary Industries, Victoria;
• Department of Primary Industries, Walpeup;
• Rural Solutions, South Australia;
• Lower Murray Darling Catchment Management Authority;
• Mallee Catchment Management Authority; and
• South Australian Murray Darling Basin Natural Resources Management Board

During its first nine years of operation, MSF has achieved a great deal. MSF continues to strive to be relevant to farmers information needs whether they be in the sphere of cereal cropping or livestock management and have developed a number of successful extension activities to communicate new and timely information to landholders. Such activities include but are not limited to, Farmtalk fact sheets, Farm walks, Trial Sites, Field Days and Research Compendium publications.

Dryland farming in the Mallee tri-state regions includes the cropping of a wide variety of cereals and pulse crops. They include barley, wheat, triticale, vetch, lupins and canola. Livestock that form a part of many farms operations include sheep for their wool products and lambs for their quality meat. Beef cattle are also present on some farms and goats have become a burgeoning commodity in recent years.

A number of challenges face farmers throughout the MSF region into the future. These include the impacts of climate change on farm profitability such as less water availability during the seasons of winter and spring, the rise in the cost of farming inputs such as fertiliser and fuel, the falling numbers of farmers in the Mallee area and the increasing competitiveness of gaining funds in the government and private sectors to invest in research and extension in the region.