GSF Council chair Tess Herbert, GrainGrowers’ Sarah Hyland and Vincent Britnell and GSF steering group chair Catherine Marriott with the report.

AUSTRALIA’S grain industry has today released its first-ever Grain Sustainability Framework (GSF) Annual Report, establishing a national baseline for key environmental, social and economic indicators and highlighting industry progress in this area.

The GSF is an initiative governed by the GSF Council with responsibility for strategic oversight and direction of the framework.

The council comprises an independent chair, board and executive representatives from GrainGrowers and Grain Producers Australia, with GRDC participating as an observer.

The GSF Inaugural Annual Report marks a major milestone in performance reporting, establishing Australia’s first industry wide definition of sustainable grain production.

The report covers the areas of planet, product, people, and prosperity – and a total of 12 topics within those themes.

GSF Council chair Tess Herbert said the framework, developed in close consultation with growers, stakeholders, customers and markets, had laid the foundations for a resilient, innovative, and sustainable future.

“The grains industry faces rapid change in the form of shifting global markets, evolving consumer and stakeholder expectations, and climate variability,” Ms Herbert said.

“Our role is not only to respond but to help shape the conditions for growers to thrive.

“This report represents a line in the sand, demonstrating progress and showing where the industry now stands.

“The framework and framework reporting will evolve over time, guided by the feedback and the insights we gather as an industry.”

Ms Herbert said the report demonstrates increasing adoption of sustainable practices among Australian growers.

She cited some examples of progress, including the fact that almost nine out of 10 growers now use zero and low-tillage practices, while 81 percent of cropped land retains stubble, supporting soil structure, water retention, and erosion control.

In addition, total net GHG emissions are 50pc lower and emissions intensity has fallen by 64pc compared with the 2006 baseline: progress supported by efficiency gains and Australian growers’ increased adoption of practices like vegetation management planning and environmental assurance programs.

“While sustainability is far wider than just these examples, they are indicative of some of the progress being made across the Australian grain industry.”

The themes and topics in the report are based on a comprehensive materiality study conducted in 2024, extensive stakeholder consultation across the Australian grains industry value chain and rigorous evaluation by the Grain Sustainability Framework Steering Group in 2025.

The materiality study considered financial impact, regulatory relevance, public attention, and stakeholder importance, assessing each topic based on its impact on the industry and the level of influence the industry can exert.

Topics that significantly affect profitability, costs, or risk, and where the grains sector can drive meaningful change, were prioritised to ensure a focus on the issues most critical to both business performance and sustainability outcomes.

The report also found that as five-year rolling averages, Total Factor Productivity (TFP) is now 166pc above the 1978 baseline, while climate-adjusted TFP is 63pc higher than the 1989 baseline.

Growers recorded an average 1.2pc rate of return excluding capital growth, rising to 11.3pc when land value gains are included.

Yield mapping now used across 74pc of cropped area – up from 29pc in 2014 – reflecting the industry’s growing use of data-driven decision-making.

Source: Grain Sustainability Framework