Soil CRC
Soil CRC is Australia's largest collaborative soil research cooperative, established in 2017 with $167M in federal and participant funding to develop practical sensing, data, and AI tools that help Australian farmers manage underperforming agricultural soils through a 39-partner university and grower-group network.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersNewcastle, Australia
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Soil CRC does
The Cooperative Research Centre for High Performance Soils (Soil CRC) is Australia's largest collaborative soil research effort, established in 2017 under the Australian Government's Cooperative Research Centres Program and headquartered at the University of Newcastle, NSW. It operates as a federally-funded cooperative, convening 39 participant organisations — including 10 major universities, multiple state government primary-industries departments, 20+ grower groups, and industry partners — to address underperforming agricultural soils that cost Australian farmers significant lost revenue. Total committed funding is $167 million across both federal cash contributions ($39.5M) and combined participant cash and in-kind contributions ($133M), with confirmed funding until 2027.
The technology portfolio comprises proprietary soil-sensing hardware (BANDICOOT smart penetrometer, QUOLL electronic nose, BILBY underground communications node, and a Lab on a Chip microfluidic device with patent application pending), a public soil-data aggregation portal (Visualising Australasia's Soils / Soil Data Portal), and early-stage AI decision-support tools (AI-HYDRA for irrigation, machine-learning-based soil water and carbon models). Research is structured across four programs delivered by 82+ projects to date (49 completed, 33 active), supported by 32-39 PhD students across 12 Australian universities, with 15 PhDs already completed.
Soil CRC is a non-commercial research organisation rather than a product company. Revenue is derived from federal CRC Program cash, in-kind and cash contributions from participant organisations, and supplemental project grants (notably the $3.94M Future Drought Fund grant in August 2023 and $400,000 from Sugar Research Australia). Outputs are disseminated publicly through a 438+ resource Knowledge Hub, 43+ webinars, regional workshops, and grower-group extension activities rather than via commercial sales. The organization is approaching a planned wind-down with its final conference scheduled at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in April 2027.
Soil CRC firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Soil CRC
- Legal name
- Cooperative Research Centre for High Performance Soils
- Website
- https://soilcrc.com.au
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Soil CRC is Australia's largest collaborative soil research cooperative, established in 2017 with $167M in federal and participant funding to develop practical sensing, data, and AI tools that help Australian farmers manage underperforming agricultural soils through a 39-partner university and grower-group network.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Soil CRC industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Agricultural Research Services
- NAICS
- Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Soil Health & Regenerative Agronomy Consulting (AFACABAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Soil Carbon & Regenerative Agriculture Removal (Soil Organic Carbon Credits) (EUABAFAG), Soil & Biomass Carbon Measurement (Soil Sampling, Forest Inventory, Blue Carbon) (EUABACAH)
Keywords
Where Soil CRC is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Newcastle
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices1 record
Markets served
Soil CRC business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Australian Government CRC Program Funding: Core funding from the Australian Government through the Cooperative Research Centres Program. The Soil CRC has funding until 2027.
- Participant Contributions: 39 participant organizations contribute cash and in-kind contributions to the CRC. Participants include universities, government research agencies, grower groups, and industry partners.
- Additional Project Grants: The organization receives additional funding for specific projects such as the $3.94 million Future Drought Fund grant for Long Term Trials and funding from Sugar Research Australia for Lab on a Chip technology application.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Soil CRC product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Soil CRC is a cooperative research centre that delivers collaborative soil science research to address underperforming Australian agricultural soils, funded jointly by the Australian Government and 39 participant organisations. It produces proprietary soil-sensing hardware, soil-data platforms, AI-based decision-support tools, PhD training, and publicly accessible knowledge resources for farmers, growers, universities, and government research agencies.
Product overview
Soil CRC operates as a research organization rather than a commercial product company. It has developed several proprietary sensor technologies (BILBY®, BANDICOOT®, QUOLL®) and software platforms (Visualising Australasia's Soils, Soil Data Portal) through its research programs. These products work together as a soil data ecosystem: sensors collect field data, the Lab on a Chip provides nutrient analysis, AI-HYDRA processes sensor data into irrigation decisions, and the VAS/SOil Data Portal aggregates and visualizes soil data. Technologies are at various commercialization stages, with BANDICOOT® and QUOLL® listed on AgriFutures growAG, BILBY® partnered with Sentek, and Lab on a Chip at patent application stage.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Soil CRC: Trading name for the Cooperative Research Centre for High Performance Soils
Products and services
- BANDICOOT smart penetrometer Smart soil probe that measures soil moisture and strength in-field, enabling faster, cost-effective soil assessment. Developed by Soil CRC and registered as a trademark with IP Australia; listed on AgriFutures growAG for commercialisation.
- QUOLL e-Nose sensor Electronic nose sensor that detects changes in soil biological activity through sniffing soil samples. Registered as a trademark with IP Australia and listed on AgriFutures growAG.
- BILBY underground communication node Wireless underground communications node for transmitting soil data over large areas, developed by Soil CRC and commercialised with Sentek Sensor Technologies to enable below-ground soil data communication.
- Lab on a Chip soil nutrient device 3D-printed microfluidic device integrated with smartphone app for measuring soil nutrients on-the-spot, enabling rapid field-based assessment of soil nitrogen status. A patent application has been lodged for aspects of the device, with $400,000 in funding secured from Sugar Research Australia to apply the technology to sugarcane nutrient testing.
- Visualising Australasia's Soils (VAS) portal Web-based soil data portal at vas.soilcrc.com.au that brings public and private soil data into one standardised place, aligned with international soil data standards, with data input templates and educational resources.
- AI-HYDRA decision support tool Early decision-support prototype using AI-based models (EnKF-fsolve and LSTM-PINN) for predicting soil water retention function and moisture dynamics, generating actionable irrigation recommendations from sensor data.
Quantifiable outcome
- 82+ research projects delivered
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use Soil CRC
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Soil CRC technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability6 records
Feature5 records
Soil CRC partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
14 partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.
- University of NewcastlemajorLead university partner and host of Soil CRC headquarters. Home to Program 3 Leader Professor Megh Mallavarapu (Environmental Biotechnology). CEO Dr Michael Crawford's PhD was completed through the former CRC for Soil and Land Management at University of Adelaide.
- Charles Sturt UniversitymajorMajor university partner hosting Program 1 Leader Professor Catherine Allan and multiple research projects including market mechanisms for soil stewardship, farmer decision-making surveys, and PhD student research.
- NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional DevelopmentmajorGovernment research partner hosting Program 4 Leader Dr Lukas Van Zwieten and conducting field trials for soil amelioration research. Contributing expertise in carbon and nutrient cycling, soil function, and climate change impacts.
- Federation University AustraliamajorUniversity partner hosting Program 2 Leader Dr Nathan Robinson and leading Visualising Australasia's Soils (VAS) project and soil performance metrics research.
- Murdoch UniversitymajorUniversity partner hosting PhD research including Dr James O'Connor on food waste valorisation and Professor Richard Bell leading sandy soil research. Key partner in Western Australian field trials.
- Riverine PlainscoreGrower group partner actively involved in delivering AI-HYDRA irrigation decision support project, including grower liaison, farm-based testing activities, co-development of extension materials, and member engagement.
- Western Australian No-Tillage Farmers Association (WANTFA)coreMajor grower group partner leading soil carbon sequestration trials in WA wheatbelt. Dr David Minkey (WANTFA CEO) serves as project leader for new farming methods to sequester soil carbon project across 4 trial sites.
- Sentek Sensor TechnologiesmajorAppointed as commercialization partner for BILBY wireless underground communications node technology, bringing the soil data transmission technology to market.
- Griffith UniversitymajorUniversity partner contributing soil carbon and ecosystem research through Program 4 projects and hosting PhD students including Dr Mehran Rashti (soil resilience research).
- Southern Cross UniversitymajorUniversity partner hosting PhD research on soil microbial function, perennial pasture carbon dynamics, and soil health education. Partner in Wingham Beef Week student outreach.
- University of Southern QueenslandmajorUniversity partner contributing to soil sensor technologies and precision agriculture research, including next generation tools for higher performing soils project.
- University of TasmaniamajorUniversity partner hosting AI-HYDRA project for soil moisture prediction and QUOLL e-Nose development research, including Dr Chenting Jiang's machine learning-based soil water research.
- Ag Innovation & Research Eyre Peninsula (AIR EP)coreGrower group partner collaborating on highly calcareous soil phosphorus research on Eyre Peninsula, SA, including field trial establishment and farmer engagement activities.
- Burdekin Productivity ServicescoreSugarcane industry grower group managing Clare trial site for soil amelioration research in Queensland. Manager Rob Milla joined Soil CRC Board representing grower groups.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Soil CRC competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation): Australia's national science agency conducting large-scale applied agricultural and soil research. Comparable in scientific scope but far broader in mandate; several Soil CRC program leaders are CSIRO alumni.
- Wageningen University & Research: Leading global agricultural and soil science research institution. Comparable in multi-disciplinary soil research approach and public-private funding model; relevant international comparator for scale and methodology.
Direct peers
- Sugar Research Australia: Industry-funded R&D corporation for the Australian sugarcane sector. Direct funding partner of Soil CRC ($400K for Lab on a Chip sugarcane work) with an analogous RDC funding/governance model.
- Cotton Research and Development Corporation: Australian RDC for cotton industry R&D. Shares the industry-levy-plus-government funding model and the focus on soil-related productivity research that overlaps with Soil CRC's mandate.
- Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC): Australian statutory R&D corporation funding grains research with levy-payer and government contributions. Directly comparable funding/governance model and overlapping research scope in soil amelioration and crop productivity.
- Hort Innovation: Australian horticulture RDC that co-invests industry levies and government funds into applied research. Comparable RDC structure and grower-led extension model relevant to Soil CRC's horticulture-relevant research.
- Sentek Sensor Technologies: Australian soil moisture sensing and precision agriculture sensor company. Commercialization partner for Soil CRC's BILBY underground communications node; comparable product category in soil sensors.
- AgriFutures Australia: Australian Government RDC funding R&D across emerging and rural industries. Hosts the growAG commercialization platform where Soil CRC lists BANDICOOT and QUOLL; comparable funding structure and technology commercialization focus.
Regional players
- NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development: NSW state government agricultural research agency hosting Soil CRC's Program 4 Leader. Comparable in applied soil and cropping systems research, with state-level rather than national remit.
Emerging players
- New Edge Microbials: Australian agbiological company with GM Product Development led by Soil CRC board director Dr Simon Speirs. Closely connected peer in soil-microbiome commercial translation of Soil CRC research outputs.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Soil CRC social profiles
Digital presenceSoil CRC financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Soil CRC leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles23 records
Soil CRC funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
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Soil CRC M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
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Frequently asked questions about Soil CRC
What does Soil CRC do?
Soil CRC is a cooperative research centre that delivers collaborative soil science research to address underperforming Australian agricultural soils, funded jointly by the Australian Government and 39 participant organisations. It produces proprietary soil-sensing hardware, soil-data platforms, AI-based decision-support tools, PhD training, and publicly accessible knowledge resources for farmers, growers, universities, and government research agencies.
Is Soil CRC a public or private company?
Soil CRC is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Soil CRC founded?
Soil CRC was founded in 2017. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Soil CRC based?
Soil CRC is headquartered in Newcastle, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does Soil CRC make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Australian Government CRC Program Funding is the primary driver. The others are participant Contributions and additional Project Grants.
Who are Soil CRC's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) and Wageningen University & Research. Direct peers are Sugar Research Australia, Cotton Research and Development Corporation, Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), Hort Innovation, Sentek Sensor Technologies and AgriFutures Australia. NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development is listed as a regional player. New Edge Microbials is listed as an emerging player.
Does Soil CRC have an API?
No public API is recorded for Soil CRC.
What industry is Soil CRC in?
Soil CRC's product category is Agricultural Research Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFACABAA, Soil Health & Regenerative Agronomy Consulting, with a secondary code of EUABAFAG, Soil Carbon & Regenerative Agriculture Removal (Soil Organic Carbon Credits). Its NAICS code is 5417.