Whole farm planning raises profit despite burgeoning climate crisis.

The climate crisis challenges farmer livelihoods as increasingly frequent extreme weather events impact the quantum and consistency of crop production. Here, we develop a novel paradigm to raise whole farm profit by optimising manifold variables that drive the profitability of irrigated grain farms. We build then invoke a new decision support tool-WaterCan Profit-to optimise crop type and areas that collectively maximise farm profit.

Enhancing the application of organic fertilisers by members of agricultural cooperatives.

Scientific literature has reported that participation in agricultural cooperatives has positive effects on small farmers' preference for organic fertilisers over chemical fertilisers. However, there is limited focus on enhancing the voluntary use of organic fertilisers by small farmers who have joined an agricultural cooperative. This paper describes an agent-based model for simulating small farmers' decision-making with regard to fertiliser selection.

The role of root architectural traits in adaptation of wheat to water-limited environments.

Better understanding of root system structure and function is critical to crop improvement in water-limited environments. The aims of this study were to examine root system characteristics of two wheat genotypes contrasting in tolerance to water limitation and to assess the functional implications on adaptation to water-limited environments of any differences found. The drought tolerant barley variety, Mackay, was also included to allow inter-species comparison.