Farewell to a soil science champion

18 December 2025

This month, we bid a heartfelt farewell to our Regional Soils Coordinator, Luke Beange. Renowned across Australia for his passion for translating soil science into practical solutions for land management, Luke leaves behind a legacy that will continue to shape agriculture for years to come.

One of Luke’s signature achievements has been his commitment to building Australia’s future soil science capacity. By harnessing the ideas of today’s soil superstars and improving the quality of advice delivered by agronomists and advisers, he has helped ensure that landholders receive practical, science-based guidance tailored to their businesses.

For more than eight years, Luke has hosted the monthly Soils Network of Knowledge (SNoK) webinar, growing its audience to over 850 participants. What began as a regular knowledge-sharing session has become a diverse library of soil-related insights – a resource that will remain accessible to landholders, advisers, and researchers long into the future.

Luke also played a pivotal role in the development of the national Soils Capacity Gap Analysis. This work reshaped how information is transferred to landholders, empowering them to make better-informed decisions that suit their systems and businesses.

From 2026, experienced soil scientist Justine Cox from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) will step into the NSW Regional Soils Coordinator role. Having worked closely with Luke in recent years, Justine is well placed to continue this important work. Welcome, Justine!

The Regional Soils Coordinators program is supported by the Australian Government through funding from the Climate-Smart Agriculture Program under the Natural Heritage Trust.