
Pre-Farm Gate Waste Program

Research overview
The Pre-Farm Gate Waste Program aims to align the agriculture, fisheries and forestry sector with Australia’s National Waste Policy.
AgriFutures Australia’s investment in pre-farm gate waste research, supports the priority of identifying, understanding and responding to national challenges and opportunities impacting Australian rural industries. The program was designed to look outside current national initiatives to undertake actions to minimise:
- Organic: Animal and plant organic matter, such as manure from farms and intensive animal systems, harvest waste, pruning and other organic matter.
- Plastic: Protected cultivation films, nets, piping, irrigation/drainage, packaging and other.
- Workshop: Hard and soft plastics, for example those used in field production, glasshouses and workshops, and to store produce (e.g. silage).
Management of waste from primary industries is an emerging and complex issue which requires pressing attention. Agriculture, fisheries and forestry produce a large amount and diversity of waste, with waste disposal often involving environmentally harmful practices (such as burning, on-farm burying and dumping), landfill and the unproductive use of ‘end of first use’ resources.
With rural industries setting waste reduction targets and considering waste management in their sustainability frameworks means they can use this baseline data to track progress against targets. It is recommended users consider this data in conjunction with the Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry National Waste and Resource Recovery Roadmap.
Reports


Pre-farm gate waste management: Baseline waste data for the agriculture, fisheries and forestry sector
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Pre-farm gate waste management: Guidelines for waste data collection
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Options for improved waste management: Current practices and opportunities for improved pre-farm gate waste management in agriculture, fisheries and forestry
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Designing optimal solutions for workshop waste
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National Challenges and Opportunities
Real and tangible waste management actions that can be employed in agriculture
The Australian agriculture, fisheries and forestry sector generated an estimated 9.8 million tonnes of pre-farm gate waste in 2020-21, the majority comprised of organic, plastic and workshop material.
4 min read

NATIONAL CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES / 11.02.25
The next 20 years will be transformational for Australian agriculture: Here’s what you can expect
Australian agriculture faces a period of transformational shifts in the coming two decades. Here’s what the future might look like.
6 min read

HONEY BEE & POLLINATION / 10.02.25
National survey launched to tackle Varroa mite threat to honey bees
Australia’s beekeepers are being urged to complete the Australian Colony Loss Survey as part of a national effort to understand the impact of the Varroa mite (Varroa) outbreak and improve hive health management.
3 min read

EMERGING INDUSTRIES / 03.02.25
Research uncovers sustainable pest and weed control options for Australian truffles
Australian truffle growers are now better equipped to implement sustainable management strategies to protect their orchards and maintain their reputation for world-class produce. This comes with the release of an updated Integrated Pest and Disease Management Manual.
3 min read