Successful harvest at Hamilton trial site
Text by Jacqueline Wilson
Photographs by Steve Holden & Jacqueline Wilson
CANOLA yields of 2.3 tonne/ha and an average oil content of 43.2% from the maiden SFS crop at the new Hamilton Branch Trial Site near Dunkeld was a great reward for the Hamilton SFS committee.
Committee members have been involved in every step of the design, development and management of the 24ha trial site and the harvest was another example of their commitment to the SFS site.
The harvest was completed on December 28 by Horsham district contractors, Dale and Chris Bartlett in their John Deere 9660. The Bartlett brothers stepped in at late notice, following the unavailability of John and Brent Herrmann’s header due to a breakdown.
Rob Roache provided his semi driven by Scott MacPherson, while Paul Mibus provided a field bin for on-site storage.
Craig Henson and Steve Holden were onsite throughout the harvest, with Craig often in the cabin to guide the header through the trials and ensure accurate data collection. Special thanks to Dale Bartlett for his patience in negotiating the trial site, which involved lots of stopping, starting and tight turns!!
While the canola yields weren’t record breaking, they were particularly pleasing considering the late sowing date of 16 June 2007.
Yield data from individual research plots across the site was carefully collected and will now be analysed.
Preparations are also well underway for the next stage of the stubble and nutrient management project at the Hamilton site.
Funded by the National Landcare Programme (NLP), the project is investigating how different retained stubble systems affect nutrient movement and the impact of these systems on organic matter levels.
Sub-surface drains and water collections points were installed last year to enable collection of available runoff, which was then analysed for dissolved phosphorus and nitrogen.
The next stage of the research is the application of high levels of phosphorus and sulphur to selected trial plots.
Enquiries, information and comments to:
Michelle McClure
Hamilton Branch Coordinator
Southern Farming Systems
P: 03 5572 3426
M: 0417 228 233
E: mmclure@sfs.org.au
Information current at January 2008
