Digital Twin Adoption for Water & Soil Management

WHY THIS PROJECT IS NEEDED

Waterlogging, erosion and poor surface drainage can significantly impact crop performance, farm infrastructure and profitability. As seasonal conditions become more variable, understanding how water moves across the landscape is becoming increasingly important for making informed farm management decisions.

This project will demonstrate how digital twin technology and spatial planning tools can help growers and advisers better understand their farms, identify production constraints and make practical decisions to improve water and soil management. Through on-farm demonstrations, training and extension activities, participants will build the skills and confidence needed to use digital mapping tools to support more resilient and productive grain farming systems.

Many grain growers already have access to valuable digital data, including elevation maps, soil information and satellite imagery. However, turning this information into practical on-farm decisions can be challenging.

Without a clear understanding of how water moves across paddocks, farms can experience:

• Waterlogging and reduced crop yields
• Soil erosion and loss of valuable topsoil
• Damage to roads, tracks and infrastructure
• Inefficient use of farm resources
• Increased production risk during extreme weather events.

By improving the use of existing digital tools, growers can make better decisions about paddock design, drainage, infrastructure placement and crop management.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

This project is bringing digital twin and spatial planning tools onto real farms to show how they can be used in practical, decision-making ways.

We are working with three demonstration farms across the Riverine Plains region to explore how water moves through different landscapes and how this influences productivity, infrastructure and long-term farm planning. Each site will be mapped using digital elevation models, soil data and water-flow analysis to build a clearer picture of paddock and whole-farm water dynamics.

From there, we will identify key constraints such as drainage bottlenecks, waterlogging-prone areas and zones at higher risk of erosion. These insights will then be linked to practical farm decisions, including paddock layout, crop placement, trafficability, and infrastructure planning such as tracks, dams and drainage works.

A strong focus of the project is building capability. We will run workshops and training sessions for growers and advisers to help them interpret and use spatial data with confidence. This includes understanding digital elevation models, reading water-flow maps, and applying this information to real farm scenarios.

Alongside the training and demonstration work, we will develop practical extension materials and host field days and regional workshops. These will share what is being learned on-farm, showcasing how spatial tools can be applied to improve productivity, reduce risk, and support more resilient farming systems in a changing climate.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

By the end of the project, growers and advisers will have greater confidence in using digital tools to support on-farm decision-making.

The project aims to:

• Improve understanding of water movement across farming landscapes.
• Increase adoption of digital twin and spatial planning technologies.
• Reduce the impacts of waterlogging and erosion.
• Support more informed infrastructure and paddock planning decisions.
• Improve farm productivity and profitability.
• Strengthen resilience to climate variability and seasonal extremes.

WHO SHOULD GET INVOLVED

This project is designed for:

• Grain growers
• Mixed farming businesses
• Agronomists and advisers
• Agricultural service providers interested in digital agriculture and farm planning

STAY INVOLVED

Follow project updates, demonstration farm results, workshop opportunities and case studies as the project progresses. Together, we can build the knowledge and skills needed to make better use of digital tools and improve water and soil management across the Riverine Plains region.