The Farming Landscapes for the Future tool has been developed in partnership with CSIRO and Wheatbelt-based tree cropping organizations.

The program builds on CSIRO's SPIF and APSim modelling tools but is calibrated for Avon Wheatbelt conditions.

CSIRO spent a considerable amount of time gathering growth data from Sandalwood and Brushwood systems to add to their existing growth models for oil mallees and mixed environmental plantings.

“This data has now been put together in a package with conventional agricultural production systems, so what a farmer will now be able to do is to use a base map of their own farm and play around with different production scenarios, with or without tree crops, using a range of climate conditions,” Avongro Wheatbelt Tree Cropping Incorporated chief executive Monica Durcan said.

Free workshops will be held throughout the Wheatbelt next week to demonstrate how the program works.

Farmers attending the workshops will be able to zoom in on a satellite image of their farm and choose certain paddocks to run hypothetical crops on and see the results.

“Farmers can use this tool to test hypothetical situations such as – if I keep my current production system, how will that perform in a drying climate? What happens if I change my rotations? What happens if I put in sandalwood on that patch? What happens if I put that patch into brushwood instead? There can be any number of questions and combinations,” Mrs Durcan said.

“This free tool will be of great assistance to farmers making enterprise decisions in a changing climate – regardless of whether they choose to include tree crops or not.

Funding of nearly $400,000 for the program was obtained through the first round of the federal government’s Caring for our Country program.

Workshops will be held at Kellerberrin TAFE on Tuesday, February 23 at 1.30pm; at Quairading Telecentre on Wednesday, February 24 at 1.30pm; Thursday, February 25 at Merredin Department of Agriculture at 8.30am and at Bencubbin at 1.30pm; Wednesday, March 3 in Dowerin at 1.30pm; and Thursday, March 4 at 8.30am in Corrigin.

Registrations can be made by contacting Monica Durcan on 0418 934 870.