“Mind the gap” was FAR Australia’s Nick Poole’s message to attendees at BCG’s Main Field day on Wednesday the 14th of September at Nullawil. The early onset of stripe rust and other fungal diseases as well as conducive wet conditions, has challenged farmer decision making. The internationally recognised disease expert drew a large crowd eager […]
On Thursday 17 September, BCG ran a webinar with Zetifi founder Dan Winson, Cam Ferrier (a BCG farmer member who is part of the Zetifi teleconnectivity pilot project), and BCG Senior Manager of Extension and Communication, Tom Draffen. In this webinar, Dan, Cam and Tom discussed the trial Zetifi is conducting with BCG and some of our local farmer members to provide better connectivity […]
The cereal hay market has been doughy for months and prices are being pressured by the sales of carryover stock, so when will hay prices turn around? Selling pressure has pushed Victorian old crop cereal hay, testing around 9.5 ME and 10% protein, down to $170 to $200 a tonne ex Wimmera Mallee farm and […]
Have you seen the new BCG Virtual Main Research Site? The website features an interactive map of the 2020 BCG Main Research Site at Curyo, information on many of the trials at the site, as well as information on a number of our trials from various other sites. Unfortunately this year we were not able to show you around our 2020 Main Research Site in person at the Main Field Day, but with the virtual […]
Red leather leaf (RLL) is a common fungal disease caused by Spermospora avenae, that reduces hay and grain yield, reduces grain quality and impacts hay appearance and colour. In Victoria we are beginning to see evidence of infection this season. RLL infection is favoured by cool (5-16°C), wet conditions so is more predominant in medium […]
Fantastic Autumn rain and an optimistic outlook resulted in many farmers taking the opportunity to sow a wide range of crops and plant early. These decisions are now expressing themselves across the region. After a dry winter, the recent rains in August have put us back on track for a possible average to above-average season. […]
SnapshotProperty: Merriwa Pastoral Company Owners: Bronwyn and Geoff Hunt; Karen, Bill and John Fenton Area: 1484 hectares, 1436ha cropping Location: Normanville, Victoria Average annual rainfall: 320 millimetres Soil types: duplex, clay loam over clay Soil pH: 8 to 8.5 Crops grown: Scepter wheat, Spartacus barley, Stingray canola, Hurricane and Jumbo 2 lentils, Winteroo oats for hay, Morgan and Twilight field peas for hay It’s spring 2019 and Normanville grain grower Bronwyn Hunt is marching up and down the rows of Hurricane lentils and Scepter wheat, vigorously swinging a sweep net in search […]
Matt, thanks for agreeing to be this month’s Farmer in Focus! Can you give us a bit of background on yourself, your family and your farm? Our property is called Pinelea. We’re situated in the Terricks east of Pyramid Hill. I work on the farm with my wife Gemma and parents Andrew and Marie. We […]
Do you farm your land in a way that improves the soil, plant and animal health? Yes, you do! Have you reduced tillage to reduce evaporation and preserve soil moisture, and sow earlier to increase water use efficiency during the season? Do you use legume crops or pastures to build soil nitrogen? Do you amend […]
A NEW unique pest monitoring network is set to dramatically improve insect monitoring and crop checking processes for growers and agronomists across Australia. The Trapview Predictive Pest Network developed by ADAMA, launches to the market this month as part of the company’s ongoing drive to provide Australian growers with the latest AgTech solutions to support […]
BCG: busy and diverse During July, BCG was involved in some exciting work and participated in wide-reaching discussions. The Industry Crop Walk was attended by 60 agronomists from across the region. Participating in two hours of professional development at BCG’s industry site at Whirily, agronomists moved around the trial sites in teams. They met with […]