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Led by Rohan Wardle and Louise Ferrier, the Streatham Branch of Southern
Farming Systems embarked on a two day adventure to evaluate the no-till and
stubble retention options in place throughout the Wimmera cropping region of
Victoria. The objectives were to determine what practices we can implement
into the higher rainfall zone. Each of the visit hosts are known for their
innovative farming practices and crop production expertise.
Our first visit was with
Tom Dunstan. Tom farms with brother James and father Tom Snr, seeding
4000acres in the Telangatuk & Goroke regions south and west of Horsham. The
family owns a bioblade disc seeder and use this in their no-till operation.
All crop residues are retained and crop rotations are the key ingredient to
managing crop establishment failure. The farm is based on mixed soil types,
with non-wetting sand sown to lucerne.
Rob Ruwaldt was our second
visit, where we saw wide row seeding of crops. Rob has sown canola 30 inch
row spacings, with cereals at 15inch. Rob is passionate about disc seeders
and uses a Daybreak disc opener, travelling at up to 18km/hr. Rob strongly
believes in leaving all crop residue on the soil surface at harvest, saying
that “nature does not incorporate its litter, so why should we”. Soil
health and structure was a key observation at this visit, with soils able to
be dug by hand.
Neale Postlethwaite,
father Alan and brother Trevor run a diverse family business in the
St.Arnaud district and were our first visit on day two. The business focus
is on sustainability, profitability and productivity. Neale has been at the
forefront of guidance, which has offered them the ability to inter-row seed
in standing stubbles, minimising the erosion potential of the farm, while
also building on soil health. Crop rotations are an important success to
the farm, with shielded sprayers used to control problem weeds in pulse
crops.
Finally, we visited the
Weidemann family at Rupanyup. Andrew & Julie, with Rodney and Andrea crop
2700Ha on predominately Wimmera self-mulching grey clay. Key crops include
lentils and chick peas. Andrew has been involved in Precision Ag for more
that 10 years and is now really understanding the intricate management
requirements to get the best out of the farm, setting zones for nutrient
application. He is a strong advocate for ground truthing yield maps and
understanding what is happening on your farm.
Overall, as a group we saw
many new ideas that need to be pursued in the HRZ. I would like to thank
the GRDC, NLP, Bayer and Nufarm for supporting this tour, helping all
involved understand the practices on offer and where we as farmers in higher
rainfall zones need to be innovative, but also brave in taking on the next
round of challenges for our future.”
If you have any enquires
please contact:
Una Allender
Streatham Branch Coordinator
Southern Farming Systems
M: 0419 891 920
E:
unaa@netconnect.com.au
or
Rohan Wardle
Research & Extension Agronomist
Southern Farming Systems
M: 0438 343 079
E:
rwardle@sfs.org.au
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