Cotton’s Nuffield scholar to explore sustainable land development

Mungindi’s Tim Houston will travel from the family farm across the globe to research how to sustainably transition land from grazing to cropping in order to achieve a positive triple bottom line outcome.

Mr Houston has been awarded a Nuffield Scholarship, supported by CRDC and Cotton Australia, to study the topic.

Using the scholarship, he plans to visit countries in South America as well as the US and Canada.

Mr Houston is one of 19 emerging leaders from Australian agriculture who have been awarded prestigious 2023 Nuffield Scholarships.

The scholars will travel in Australia and overseas to study innovative ideas, techniques and systems that will benefit their businesses and the broader agricultural industry.

Thanks to the generous investors, each 2023 scholar receives a $30,000 bursary to invest in travel and research.

They will visit, learn from, and collaborate with some of the world’s leading agricultural businesses and research institutions.

Mr Houston, alongside parents Rob and Sally, runs Sandholes Farming. They crop approximately 11,500 hectares between Mungindi and Inglestone (southern Queensland).

They rotate wheat, barley, chickpeas, sorghum and dryland cotton. They also run a Brangus breeder herd and are diversifying into Australian White Sheep.

Mr Houston will use his Nuffield Scholarship to explore how farmers in other parts of the world are navigating the challenge of land use change and hopes to bring this information back to Australian landholders.

“There are areas in Australia that are suited to dryland farming, but are still underdeveloped. I will study how landholders that wish to develop their land, can do so in a way that provides positive social, economic and environmental outcomes – a triple bottom line,” Mr Houston said in an article published by CRDC.

“There is huge potential for landholders, regional communities and the Australian grains, pulse and cotton sectors to capitalise on the ability to sustainably develop agricultural land.”

Mr Houston is also keen to explore how governments and landholders can better work together to support sustainable farming development.

He feels collaboration between the two groups could be enhanced.

With the United Nations stating in 2009 that world food production would have to double by 2050 to keep pace with global population growth, Mr Houston feels that Australian agriculture has an opportunity, and a responsibility to play its part in meeting future demand.

Nuffield Australia CEO and 2013 scholar Jodie Redcliffe said the scholarships enable producers to learn about farming systems and innovations that can be game-changers for Australian agriculture.

“Nuffield Australia opens the world up for people in agriculture who are brave enough to be out of their comfort zone,” she said.

“A global perspective enables them to learn, be competitive and grow.”

The scholars were announced at the Nuffield Australia awards night and conference at Tamworth.

“We’re so excited by this cohort of Nuffield Scholars. They’re from a wide range of industries – cropping, fishing, livestock and tree nuts – and we’ve got every state and territory represented,” Ms Redcliffe said.

She said this group will tackle a range of issues that are impacting Australian agriculture. Some of those topics are sector-specific and others affect the whole industry.

“All our scholars are tackling topics that are important to the sustainability of the industry they love – whether that’s by optimising productivity, meeting market requirements, enhancing biosecurity, reducing chemical inputs, adapting to climate change or improving animal welfare,” she said.