Soil success grown locally

by Nicholas Duck

Accomplished soil scientist Cameron Gourley of Warragul earned national plaudits recently after being awarded the 2026 Fertiliser Australia Environment Award.

Dr Gourley was recognised for his work with the Australian fertiliser industry, helping to improve techniques and strategies to get the most efficient nutrient use from soil, improving farm productivity while preserving the surrounding environment.

Taking into account the many differing soil types and environmental conditions across Australian farming systems has been critical to his work.

The award is the second he has received in recent times, after earning the JA Prescott award - Soil Science Australia's top prize - last December.

Dr Gourley has worked as a soil scientist for 44 years, spending 37 years as a research scientist with Agriculture Victoria at the Ellinbank Dairy Research Institute.
Since 2020 he has taken on an independent consulting role and has helped to further develop several national standards around issues like soil testing and fertiliser recommendations.
While he described his recent awards as a humbling experience, for Dr Gourley seeing his research have a genuine positive impact on farmers and other landowners had been the most rewarding part of the job.
"There's a really nice overlap between the sort of science and research that I've been doing in my career and the application of that and how that's actually made a difference on the ground," he said.
"I think what's been very humbling is the fact that a lot of the work that we've been able to do over my career ended up having a practical application and is being used now to improve farmers' efficiency of nutrient use and, one hopes, more productivity and profitability at the same time.
"The soil is the platform that all of agriculture is built on, so you're starting at the ground level up. If you're going to grow a pasture or a crop then the nutrients are like the fuel in your car and are a really key part of that, so if you can improve that in a really efficient manner you can increase productivity."
While Dr Gourley spent many years doing lab and fieldwork - in his words starting off "banging pegs into the ground" - more recently his research has been closer to home, developing and delivering quality assurance programs and identifying gaps in industry practices.
For example, after realising there were no national standard around how soil samples are taken he helped to author a set of guidelines that are now used around Australia.
"You're still doing research because you're on the computer and you're reading things, writing things, reviewing things, learning things and writing things but you're not actually in the lab necessarily generating new data.
"The thing that I found exciting about the early part of my career is that you would generate things that hadn't been known ... you would create new knowledge. The latter part of my career has not been so much about generating new knowledge but about taking that knowledge and and applying it in both a scientific and a practical sense."
Dr Gourley's expertise has been sought beyond the shores of Australia as well, having acted as the International Nitrogen Initiative's Oceania Centre Director for the past six years.
The effect of Dr Gourley's various colleagues and their influence on his career has also been vital to his success.
"I'm very proud of the things that we've achieved and the people that I've worked with. It's important, I think, that I acknowledge I've had the benefit of working with a broad range of science players, both nationally and internationally ... it's been a real privilege to be operating in their sphere.
"If I had the choice, I'd have the same career I've had (again)."