BCG has loved welcoming Niah Reich Barber back for another week of work experience. During her time at BCG, Niah had the opportunity to attend the Seeder Demonstration Day, held on the 10th April at Murra Warra, as part of the GRDC NGN Optimised crop establishment through seeder set up in the Victorian Wimmera project. Enjoy reading Niah’s reflections of the day below.
The morning commenced with an introduction by Kelly Angel, setting the stage for the day’s activities.
I then listened to Brett Asphar’s presentation on the fundamentals of air carts and seeder bars. Although I had no previous knowledge on seeders and their parts, I feel as though I gained a solid understanding of the basic function and differences in seeders (especially the importance of calibration). It was fascinating to learn about how many complex aspects there are to seeding, and the multitude of things farmers must consider when sowing their crops.
After Brett’s presentations came the seeder demonstrations – it was amazing to see some of what Brett spoke about in action! I got to witness a variety of different seeder set ups such as disk seeders, tyne seeders, older and newer machines, and many different sized seeder bars. It was interesting to see the impact all these different machines had and it will be great to see the results at harvest!
After the demonstrations, we all went into the marquee and closed the day with presentations by Kelly and Ash Wallace about crop establishment. For me, it was interesting seeing how the data collected by BCG and Agriculture Victoria is used to improve yield and educate farmers, as well as the challenges that stubble retention brings. The final presentation by Dan Toohey really gave me insight into how complex farm economics can be, as well as the importance of good management and risk assessment of finance in farming overall.
I ended the day with a delicious lunch, during which I had the chance to meet and talk with various local farmers. Additionally, I assisted with interviewing individuals to gather their takeaways from the day.
Overall, the Seeder Demo Day was a great experience that really opened my eyes to an aspect of farming that I had never really considered and allowed me to meet and talk to some great people.
