Boolah Trial Farm Field Day: Data, Collaboration, Innovation Cuts Emissions, Keeps Profits Strong

Boolah Trial Farm Field Day reveals how data, collaboration and innovation are key to cutting emissions while keeping profits strong

The 2025 Boolah Trial Farm Field Day has reinforced how trials at Boolah are leading the way in innovative commercial-scale regenerative agriculture, with around 400 growers, agronomists and industry experts undeterred by wet conditions in Pallamallawa, NSW, yesterday to see first-hand how data and technology are shaping the future of Australian agriculture.

Boolah CEO and Founder, Stuart Tighe, shared how the industry’s success lay in its ability to collaborate.

“The quicker we come together, the stronger the industry will be,” Mr Tighe said. “Boolah is built on collaboration with commercial partners and trial participants, because no single product or practice is a silver bullet. With ESG reporting now mandatory over the next three years, the value lies in embracing it and combining the right tools and data to deliver both economic and environmental returns.”

Operating 23 replicated, rigorous trials across 1,000 hectares and a further 39 demonstration trials over 8,500 hectares, Boolah is Australia’s largest commercial-scale regenerative trial farm. Its objective is clear: reduce emissions and build carbon while maintaining yield and quality.

During the event, attendees reviewed results from these trials, covering fertiliser strategies, soil biology, crop nutrition, carbon measurement and data systems.

A highlight of the day was an exploration of how many of Boolah’s trials have involved the use of biologicals, and the carriers which enable the effective application of getting these biologicals in the soil and making it available for the crop to use.

Boolah Head of Research and Development, Brooke Sauer, showcased Boolah’s newly launched Regen4real Program and announced Boolah’s ambitious emissions goals.

“We are committed to reducing emissions by 30% by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2050 – so we must try things outside of the box and ensure it’s done in a verifiable way. We’re pushing the ordinary farming system to do more with less.

The Regen4real Program has, over the past 12 months, been developed into a fully operational, 72-metric framework built in line with global standards to help those trying to reduce their carbon footprint. It’s simple to understand, straightforward to report against and makes data a tool everyone can use.

“For partners like Asahi, we’re already reporting against 21 indicators including land and water management, natural resource use and productivity.”

During the event, panel session speakers explored the value from data for ESG reporting; collecting data for future opportunity; and the importance of balancing profit, productivity and sustainability.

Cameron Wilson, General Manager Raw Materials Procurement, Asahi Beverages, highlighted the growing pressures on businesses – from supply chain risks to rising costs and consumer expectations. “Where we get our ingredients and how we source them matters,” he said. “85% of our ingredients are locally sourced, so who we do that with and how we do it really matters. Our goal is to work closely with the supply chain – whether that means quality or sustainability.”

Mr Wilson also emphasized shifting consumer expectations, “If two products are roughly price equivalent, a consumer is going to pick the sustainable product. Consumers aren’t going to pay for it now, but they’re going to come to expect it. If we don’t have sustainable products in the market – which comes all the way back to sourcing sustainable barley – then we’re not going to be able to sell. There will be a shift in time where it becomes the expectation. Our way forward is innovative thinking and partnerships – that is what Boolah provides us with.”

Philip Robinson, President – APAC, Barrett Burston Malting, pointed to the tangible on-farm insights generated at Boolah. “Australian ag is leading the world in regen, and the Boolah Trial Farm gives us practical experience of what happens when you apply these practices to day to day operations. These conversations we’re having at Boolah is helping us find that balance between profitability and sustainability,” Mr Robinson said.

Craig Baillie, General Manager, Applied Research, Development & Extension, GRDC, said the organisation has invested an extra $75 million to sustainability initiatives over two years. “It’s all about people, profit and planet,” he said. “Ultimately, what we’re driving to do is reduce emissions.”

Richard Heath, CEO, Zero Net Emissions Agriculture CRC, echoed the call to keep profit and productivity at the forefront: “Profitable and productive – don’t reduce emissions at the removal of these.” He announced the CRC’s $800,000 Fertiliser Evaluation Framework project, which will lay the groundwork for how CRC tests and invests in fertilisers that reduce emissions.

The 2025 Field Day wrapped up with networking over a delicious beer brewed from trial-farm-grown barley – an appropriate reminder that Boolah’s theme, “Dirt to Data”, is not just about research but about delivering value from paddock to end user.

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