The GRDC funded More Profit from Crop Nutrition program grew from the need to improve farm business profitability as grain growers faced increased input costs and negligible grain price increases. When the program started in 2013, fertiliser was considered the largest variable cost on-farm. To manage this, grain growers need to be making informed, effective decisions about fertiliser applications to achieve a profitable result.
The programs primary aim was for grain growers across Australia to make more effective fertiliser and nutrient management decisions to increase productivity and profitability.
BCG coordinated the extension and training component of the project in the low, medium and high rainfall zones across the GRDC Southern region, covering New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia.
The extension program complemented the MPCN funded research occurring at the same time. This research included:
- Quantifying and understanding root variation in winter cereals, led by Chris Guppy at the University of New England
- Managing micronutrient deficiencies in cropping systems of Eastern Australia, led by Nigel Wilhelm at SARDI
- Making better fertiliser decisions for cropping systems, led by Tony Cox at NSW DPI
- Managing potassium nutrition to alleviate crop stress, led by Richard Bell at Murdoch University
- An accurate soil test for available sulphur and potassium, led by Sean Mason at Agronomy Solutions
- Improving nitrous oxide abatement in higher rainfall cropping systems and developing N response curves, led by Roger Armstrong at Agriculture Victoria
Over the past five years, this nutrition research has been extended to over 700 grain growers and advisors through a comprehensive extension and communications program including:
- Workshops
- Field days and crop walks
- Articles
- Video clips
- the online platform, eXtensionAUS
- Social media, including Twitter and Facebook
- Case Studies highlighting learnings from workshop attendees in Victoria, NSW and South Australia
The topics presented at events were adapted to the season and audience and included:
- The importance of soil testing
- Myth busting the management of trace elements
- Crop responses to trace elements
- Managing seasonal variability
- Nitrogen management
- Matching inputs to seasonal outlook
- Nutrition, business risk and understanding climate drivers
- Improving grain quality with tactical N application
A highlight of the program was the ‘MPCN Roadshow’ conducted over three consecutive days in August 2016 at Rankin Springs, Cootamundra and Mulwala. Nearly 150 farmers and advisers heard from local agronomists, other farmers and nutrition experts in paddocks and soil pits throughout central and southern NSW.
Early analysis of the Southern region MPCNII extension program indicates that the greatest learnings were the importance and impact of N management. Participants derived value from useful risk management tools and the most popular action participants were likely to undertake following the program was more soil testing.
One grower at a Southern Farming Systems crop walk in Longford Tasmania said “the day encouraged farmers to get out and do soil tests themselves and not leave it up to an agronomist”.
After a workshop in Horsham in 2015, another grower said “by understanding crop requirements, I am able to mitigate risk and be more cost effective. With urea prices so low at the moment, there would be many people going backwards in the sense that they are putting out N because it’s cheap, maybe not because it’s needed.”
This project concluded in June 2017.
