Farming Systems Trial
Read about the rest of the day: BCG Main Field Day 2005
2005 marks the final year of the current project for monitoring and recording at the BCG's Farming Systems site. The systems trial site was set up in the 1999 season, and has promoted much discussion within the farming community since its inception.
The trial area occupies 32 hectares divided into approximately one-hectare plots. Five randomly placed plots have been allocated to each system (with 12 standards). The standard plots run parallel across the trials area to assess spatial variation across the trial area. Each farming system is championed by a local farmer who is currently practicing one of the four systems on their home farm. All management decisions throughout the growing season are made by the 'champion', while the operations are completed by BCG staff.
The BCG Farming Systems Trial, over five years of rotations, has produced some interesting economic results. Analysis of input costs such as herbicides, fertilisers and machinery costs has been carried out as well as how the ability of each system to achieve yields is affecting the economic performance of each system. Measuring the economic impact of livestock in a system has also been an integral aspect of the trial. Monitoring of biophysical parameters (weeds, organic matter, soil biota etc) is being carried out in 2005 and compared to the initial collection of data in 1999.
Season 2005
Over the 2004/05 summer the Farming Systems site received over 200mm of rain, a 1 in 30 year event.
However with well below average March, April and May rainfall and with the late break coming on June 10, pulses and canola were again taken out of the rotation in most systems.
2005 cropping rotations for each system at the BCG Farming Systems Site: No Till Reduced Till Fuel Burner Hungry Sheep Paddock 1 Barley Vic Sloop Canola 44C73 Wheat Yitpi Oats/medic Wintaroo Paddock 2 Chem Fallow Peas Kaspa Medic fallow Wheat Yitpi Paddock 3 Barley Vic Sloop Wheat Silverstar Wheat Yitpi Barley Vic Sloop Paddock 4 Wheat Yitpi Barley Vic Sloop Medic fallow Wheat Yitpi Paddock 5 Wheat Yitpi Barley Vic Sloop Barley Vic Sloop Wheat Yitpi
Crop type (%) for each system over 4 years (2000 – 2004):
Fuel Burner Hungry Sheep Reduced Till No Till Year 00 01 02 03 04 00 01 02 03 04 00 01 02 03 04 00 01 02 03 04 Wheat 40 40 40 60 20 60 40 40 40 40 40 40 60 60 40 40 40 40 40 40 Barley - 20 - 20 40 - 20 20 20 20 20 40 20 40 40 20 20 40 20 40 Canola - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 20 20 - - - Fallow 40 40 20 - 40 20 - - - - 20 20 20 - 20 - - - - 20 Lentil 20 - - - - 20 20 20 20 - 20 - - - - - 20 20 - - Field Pea - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 20 - Faba Beans - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 20 - - - - Vetch - - 40 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 20 - Oats/Medic - - - 20 - - 20 20 20 40 - - - - - - - - - -
From the Farming Systems Trial tour at the Field Day:
Ben Jones was able to bring an outsider’s perspective to the Farming Systems Trial, an “over the fence” perspective, as Ben has been conducting trials in the adjacent paddock for a number of years. Ben agreed that it was a challenging site. With a heavier soil type and subsoil limitations, it has been a trial of what works on these soils. With CCN tolerant wheat and improvements in nutrition, the sandy soils are now the pick of the soils in this area. He commented that Allen Postlethwaite (champion of the No Till system) has had to change his system a little because the break crops don’t grow particularly well on these soils. Weed control has been good in the Reduced Till system, championed by Brad Martin.
Fiona Best, Ben Jones and Allen Postlethwaite
Warrick McClelland (champion of the Hungry Sheep system, with his brother, Ian) then spoke about his system and experiences. According to Warrick, he has the home ground advantage as he has been trying to manage these soils all his life. Every year, everything is sown to crop or pasture. Thirty percent of the area is grazed and Warrick commented that they can carry a significant number of sheep on this country. Oats and medic are sown in March and autumn saved. This enables the oats and medic to persist and provide feed from now until the end of the year. Previously Warrick and Ian were lambing on July 1, but they are changing to mid-July lambing. Medic was sown one year in five, but is now sown two years in five. They get lots of carryover medic germination. By sowing medic at 8kg, they achieve a good density to carry them through to spring. According to Warrick, medic persists well in this country.
They have found lentils and canola to do poorly and won’t grow these crops until a boron tolerant variety is found. Boron is found down to 60cm depth at this site. If there is an early break, the McClellands sow canola, but this hasn’t happened in the last ten years.
This system has been profitable for Warrick and Ian. The break in the system also allows them to get rid of grasses and decrease the chance of resistant ryegrass. They spraytop with gramoxone. Barley grass can be a problem with late breaks. They keep spraying it out until they get an early break and can kill it.
By cropping 70 percent of the area and growing pasture on 30 percent, Warrick believes they are preventing the build up of resistant ryegrass and building up nitrogen. The trade-off with regard to moisture is not that great according to Warrick.
The stocking rate is three ewes per hectare. In a good year, this might be five, in an average year, four. They adjust stocking rate each year depending on the time of the break. With the break on 10 June, this was not a good year to establish pasture before the lambs came. If you can autumn save, the pasture will carry you through to spring.
When feeding, Warrick starts with oats, then barley. The lambs were fed in the paddock until April, but now the McClellands have a feedlot so the can finish their lambs and have flexibility when they sell.
In 2002, the McClellands copped some flack because their soil was blowing away. This is a potential problem and it depends on their judgement when they take the sheep off. They might have been late doing so in the drought, and now they have the feedlot, they have a better capability to lock sheep up. When the soil starts blowing, they plough it. Warrick hasn’t noticed real compaction problems.
Ben Jones said that he has noticed lots of big clods coming up when cultivating the site, so there is definitely compaction here, but whether that is affecting crop growth or not remains to be seen. When asked about why ryegrass grows so well at this site, Ben said that there is a high plant density, so it does well. It covers the ground quickly and stops evaporation. Ryegrass is shallow-rooted but makes good use of water.
Ben Jones addresses the crowd in the Farming Systems Trial tour.
Warrick McClelland doesn’t grow vetch because they grow lentils (avoids contamination and hard seededness).
Allen Postlethwaite (No Till system) highlighted that his farm near St Arnaud has a different soil type and different climate to the Farming Systems Trial site. They crop every year on every acre and retain residues, with 50 percent sown to legumes. They do not run livestock due to compaction, and the fact that in the early days there was no money in wool, although lambs are profitable now. Allen said ten percent of his income was coming from sheep occupying 50 percent of the farm.
They tried growing 50 percent legumes at the trial site, but the peas, lentils and vetch were failures. Gross margins from legumes here have been a total disaster. Allen had to reconsider, and unless there is an early break, forget legumes all together. He thinks he needs to reconsider medic as a crop (he considers medic and hay as both being crops). They have introduced chemical fallow at home in the last five years. If there is a late break, there is no point growing canola. Allen commented that he has had to watch for opportunities, and opportunity crop at this site.
This year at home they cultivated their first paddock in 20 years due to snails.
When asked about sheep, Allen said that they could graze judiciously but they’re looking to keep residue on top for later crops. They farm with controlled traffic, and one year noticed 50 percent less growth in lentils growing in the wheel tracks where a tractor had driven randomly across the paddock.
The Postlethwaites grow short-season and CCN resistant cereals.
Allen believes they are in front of the ryegrass challenge now. In-crop herbicides have worked extremely well. They aim for two knocks before sowing, and at least one.
Paul Barclay champions the Fuel Burners system. He doesn’t mind the ‘fuel burners’ name, as he says most of it is burned at harvest time! Paul crops continuously on the lighter country, and has done so on some of the heavier country, but has backed off this in recent years. He has sown legumes and achieved a 2-3 bag crop that was full of resistant ryegrass the following year. With tough finishes and ordinary crops, Paul has kept fallowing and claims it has been looking after him in these dry years.
Paul has backed off canola due to the subsoil limitations. He has sown wheat and barley on the good country, to access the summer rain. He did think about canola with the summer rain, but it got a bit late so he stayed safe. At home he runs sheep (ewes and prime lambs), which are doing well.
Paul applies glyphosate to everything and starts to rip up. He says he may have to spray in summer and leaves the lighter country until after harvest.
When asked about green manure, Paul says it is hard to plough things in when they’re three feet high. On the heavier country, it has come back and kicked them a bit. A crop of wheat that was affected by rust was ploughed in and the next couple of crops were fantastic.
Paul highlighted the importance of keeping the fallows clean and said they are dynamite on heliotrope. It is hard to go out with Glean, because he wants to remain a bit flexible and he can’t change his options if he’s gone out with Glean.
As for rising fuel costs, Paul says it is a concern. He is only starting to rip up now. Where marshmallow was growing, the ground was ripped up. He makes sure the gear matches the operation.
Brad Martin (Reduced Till system) refers to his system as flexible and best-bet. He says it fits somewhere in between the others. Brad aims for minimal soil disturbance, uses narrow points and tries to do one hit. He runs sheep on stubbles after harvest and has some chemical fallow.
Brad says the trial site has been far more challenging with boron and sodicity than his home farm at Brim. Canola and lentils still grow at home. He has a high cereal rotation, and in hindsight, might have tried lucerne and run more lambs. He tries to remain as flexible as he can.
Danny Conlan commented that with this hostile soil, it is important to maintain a low input and low risk system combined with opportunity. Continuous cereals, potentially dry seeding, can still grow a fairly handy crop, and less legumes and oilseeds may be an option.
There are pockets of these soil types right through the area and some crops are still growing quite well, showing it 
can still be done.
Warrick McClelland noted that ploughing in or knocking down medics needs to be done by mid-flowering, otherwise they start really pumping the water out and putting nitrogen into the seed.
Damian Kapp (Grain Growers Association) then commented on the results of a survey of its members (photo on right). GGA have been one of the major sponsors have the Farming Systems Trial.
From the Systems on Trial discussion session at the Field Day:
This session was facilitated by Kate McCormick. Kate introduced the panel of six farmers:
Danny Conlan, known to some as a consultant, others as a farmer. Today, he has his farmers hat on and is coming from the perspective of what works on his farm. Danny farms at Culgoa. Soils are mostly light loams and sands, with a small percentage of heavy low lying flats. They crop 70-90 percent of the farm, with the remainder in fallow. Danny is not running sheep at present. The cropping system is based on opportunity, predominantly cereals including continuous cereal, and the occasional canola and legume when opportunity and fit arises, depending on the timing of the break, the amount of soil water available and seasonal outlook. The crop is sown using a no-till system teamed with 2cm autosteer, which is also used for spraying and harvest. Variable rate technology is also utilised at seeding.
Mick McClelland farms east of Sea Lake on mainly sandy loam soils with medium clay subsoils and some sand over light clay. They are on a continuous cereal rotation with strategic use of oilseeds and pulses in favourable years. Mick is sowing using a knifepoint and press wheel system and double shooting his fertiliser. Livestock use is rare with some strategic grazing of stubble.
Paul Barclay farms 3700ha at Curyo on a range of soil types from sand loams to heavy clay flats. 60-70 percent of the farm is cropped depending on the season. Paul’s crop mix is mainly cereals, and a small area of peas and sometimes canola in favourable seasons. Vetch and clover are sometimes sown for pasture. Known as the Fuel Burner, Paul has mostly cultivated fallow but commences most fallows with chemical. The timing of cultivation will depend on soil type and sheep feed needs. The sheep enterprise consists of Merino ewes joined to White Suffolk rams for prime lamb production. Paul has two sowing machines, one set up for sowing into cultivated soil and the other set up for handling trash and direct drilling.
Dean Griffiths farms 2400ha with his brother and father and their families near Donald on a range of soil types. They operate a continuous cropping regime with 30-40 percent cereal, ten percent canola, 40-50 percent pulses (lentils, beans, chickpeas, lupins). They have operated on a reduced tillage regime since 1987, and motivated by a need to upgrade machinery, swung to a full no-till system utilising, knife points and press wheels, variable rate and autosteer in the last two years. Autosteer has allowed the use of wide rows in pulses and inter-row sowing. Their aim is to utilise the technology to maximise production on every acre. Dean is also interested in improving soil health on his farm by using some biological farming concepts. Livestock are not part of the current system.
Andrew Weidemann farms 2300ha near Rupanyup on mainly self-mulching clays with approximately 80 percent cropped with 15 percent fallow and 5 percent pasture. The cropping program on the grey clays is based on fallow, canola, followed by wheat and barley, interspersed with pulses. Livestock are an important part of the enterprise. They have a Merino ewe enterprise for first cross lamb production, as well as a White Suffolk stud enterprise. The Weidemanns commenced direct drilling in 1990 and have been keen adopters of new technology but prefer to maintain a flexible farming system with cultivation utilised strategically. They are currently experimenting with wide row cropping of beans, chickpeas and barley.
Andy Delahunty’s family farms 2700ha of arable land at Murtoa on a mixture of self-mulching grey clays and heavy Murtoa clays and some red clays. The current crop mix is reflective of the seasons with 50-60 percent cereal, 10-20 percent fallow, 10-20 percent pulses and 10-20 percent canola. The Delahuntys have some chemical fallow and no cultivation. Crops have been direct drilled since the early 80s, nitrogen is spread. Dry sowing is an important part of their system and press wheels (even wobbly ones) play a crucial role in this. Sheep are utilised as required (not often).
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L to R: Paul Barclay, Mick McClelland, |
L to R: Andrew Weidemann, |
Kate McCormick asked the audience for questions they would like addressed by the panel, and then proceeded to go through the list of questions.
When asked how he pays for fuel, Paul Barclay said that it is a problem. He is only fallowing now, which is one less working than normal. He ensures that his machinery matches and hopes that next year fuel comes down in price. He has land that still responds to fallowing and keeps away from sand.
Mick McClelland said that he would rather sit on the blade plough for 12 hours than get up at midnight to spray.
Danny Conlan noted that it is four times as fast to spray as it is to cultivate. Changing the bar, whacking it in the ground and hoping it’s right won’t work. He has saved $2-5/ha with Variable Rate Technology (VRT).
Dean Griffiths used contour maps to start with. By having VRT put inputs where they are needed, he has saved 30-40 percent on fertiliser alone.
Andy Delahunty has been yield mapping but not using VRT, although he thinks it has a future. He is not sure about deep banding because he is conscious of getting the crop in efficiently and in a short time.
Andrew Weidemann has been playing around with VRT since 1998. They’ve found that it is hard to use the technology on Wimmera soils. He thinks the use of satellite imagery is a burning light on the horizon.
Danny Conlan talked about tram-tracking on sands. While some tracks are starting to blow and there are some brome grass issues, he can still see the potential for it.
Paul Barclay said that legumes are a safer option on lighter country. He has backed off with them on the heavier country because they are prone to frosts.
The main reason for going into wide rows for Andrew Weidemann was management of input costs. In 2002, he blocked off heads in beans. In 2003, he sowed 100ha of beans in wide rows. He achieved 2.3t/ha which was the same as the district average. This year he has the best beans ever. There are more pods and he is yet to see a yield penalty on wide row spacing.
Andy Delahunty gave up vetch in the fallow system because it was too dry. With very little grass left, the sheep had to go. Occasional buying of sheep has worked sometimes. He has never agisted sheep because he doesn’t know where they’ve been.
Andrew Weidemann manages the compaction issue through the use of containment areas. He has fenced off areas around trees etc, where he puts sheep when it gets wet. He maintains small mobs of 200. Andrew has 700 ewes and 850 lambs.
Danny Conlan commented that sheep and no-till mix well. It is easier to have designated sheep areas that stock, crop, stock, crop, as long as they don’t compromise cost.
Mick McClelland has noticed a lot more germination of brome grass (five times more than you would have expected) in paddocks that have not been stocked.
Paul Barclay makes sure he doesn’t overstock so erosion is never a problem. It is hard to not fallow too long when trying to finish sheep.
Dean Griffiths chooses not to have sheep due to water issues and their shearing shed not being great, not because they are no till.
Andrew Weidemann tested for resistant ryegrass a long time ago, with positive results. This hasn’t stopped them continuously cropping. They can grow lentils and hit the ryegrass and musk with wick wiping. They tend to fallow one in five years with ryegrass country. They rotate crops and chemicals. Beans are a good control method and he sees wide row spacing as a solution. Chickpeas are not very competitive compared with beans. The Weidemanns have moved from a 110 degree nozzle to a 40 degree nozzle on the boom to try to contain the amount of active over the row. They do everything they can to keep numbers down, including having sheep and fallows.
Danny Conlan said there is plenty of brome grass resistant to Group A herbicides. While there was an erosion issue on lighter soils, now there are the right tools to grow them, we’ll see more lentils.
Since they have not been cultivating and keeping the seeds on top, Mick McClelland has been able to grow four consecutive cereals with a small increase in brome grass numbers. He thinks they will get a few more years out of it before they need a two-year break. Trifluralin picks up a few if they’re on the surface.
Danny Conlan said that Stiletto is performing well this year and last year on light sandy soils compared to Clearfield Janz.
When asked about the balance between work and family based on their farming system, Dean Griffiths commented that he is now home at different hours to what he used to be. Andy Delahunty said he has a lot more time since he stopped cultivating. He seemed to be always driving when they were cultivating. Andy also tries not to work on weekends. Andrew Weidemann also agreed that he has more time now. Danny Conlan said he couldn’t consult if they were still cultivating; he has an extra 50 days a year spare. Paul Barclay agreed that ground is covered more quickly when spraying.
Read about the rest of the day: BCG Main Field Day 2005