Caring for our Country trials

To deal with the issue of sustainable agriculture.

To improve our understanding of what is driving these responses and how soil modification techniques can be improved on sandy profiles.

To compare the production of different winter pastures and their recovery from grazing.

To assess the growth and yield of barley and wheat growing in a range of different established perennial pasture species.

Demonstrate best practice phalaris establishment and management at the PPS/EverGraze site at Mooneys Gap which should provide information to producers to give them confidence to increase phalaris use.

To determine the effectiveness of biochar on increasing soil carbon and soil stability.

To answer the question: can you affod to lime?

The Upper North Farming systems group is involved in several Carbon Farming projects, which are trying to identify areas which have the greatest potential for soil carbon sequestration or reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

To compare four locally grown wheat varieties at district practice and high seeding rates to assess their influence on reducing the impact of ryegrass in the whole farming system.

To compare commercial seeding machines that have specifically been set up to sow sub-tropical grasses.

Using tillage to incorporate lime improves the rates of reaction and increases subsurface pH soomer than spreading lime on the surface alone.

To investigate the impact of glyphosate as a crop-topping operation and the follow-on effects on grain yield and quality

To compare the performance of 3 seeding systems and 2 nutrition strategies. This is a rotation trial to assess the longer term effects of seeding systems and higher fertiliser input systems.

To compare the performance of 3 seeding systems and 2 nutrition strategies. This is a rotation trial to assess the longer term effects of seeding systems and higher fertiliser input systems.

To compare the performance of 3 seeding systems and 2 nutrition strategies. This is a rotation trial to assess the longer term effects of seeding systems and higher fertiliser input systems.

Investigate the dry matter accumulation and timing of a range of pastrure species and mixes and comparing them to the dry matter production by crops that are grown to be grazed before being shut up for grain production or cut for hay or silage.

Investigate the dry matter accumulation and timing of a range of pastrure species and mixes and comparing them to the dry matter production by crops that are grown to be grazed before being shut up for grain production or cut for hay or silage.

To identify the optimum sowing time for establishment of sub-tropical grasses to the east of Eneabba.

To demonstrate the effect of seeder type and operation on the efficacy and safety of pre-emergent herbicides in barley.

• To investigate the potential to incorporate a mixture of perennial species into farming systems in low-rainfall areas across southern Australia.

To identify better perennial species than what is already available in low rainfall areas.

To evaluate the interaction between seeding systems and pre-emergence herbicides on the establishment of wheat, on two contrasting soil types.

To determine:

• Which dual purpose varieties respond to Gippsland’s climatic conditions?
• Which new varieties may have commercialization potential?
• Which varieties are best suited to forage and feed grain production?
   

To compare the yields of crops in southern Mallee farming systems in 2009.

To demonstrate leadership and show industry-led practice change has the greatest capacity to change behaviours to reverse the trend of over-fertilising and tp promote best-practice fertiliser use, and more specifically soil testing and fertiliser application rates.

To evaluate a range of forage shrubs in the Victorian Mallee environment in terms of plant survival, canopy development, health, edible biomass, seedling recruitment and performance under grazing.

To investigate the effect of full stubble retention compared with other stubble management methods and seeding technologies.

To compare two farming systems, one with and one without the addition of old man saltbush (OMSB). Farming system one (‘No saltbush’) operated a crop/pasture rotation which was similar to that used in the central west of NSW. Farming system two (‘Saltbush’) had an rop/pasture rotation, but each paddock had 20% of its area replaced with belts of OMSB.

• To examine the potential for both grain and forage cereal crops to supply feed for grazing enterprises.
• To determine the effects of grazing on grain yield and quality to help build informed decisions about when to graze crops to ensure maximum profit

To assess whether the effects of grazing canola with sheep during the growing season: factors being assessed are yield and quality, dry matter production and grazing value.

To assess the yield and grain quality effect of grazing on currently grown commercial cereal varieties via paddock scale demonstrations in the Rainbow district.

To assess whether the effects of grazing wheat with sheep during the growing season. Factors being assessed are yield and quality, dry matter production and grazing value.

To assess whether the effects of grazing wheat with sheep during the growing season. Factors being assessed are yield and quality, dry matter production and grazing value.

This Demonstration forms part of the Grain & Graze II project looking at the relative merits of grazing canola and cereal crops. This demonstration looks to assess whether the effects of grazing wheat with sheep during the growing season. Factors being assessed are Yield & quality, dry matter production and grazing value.

To evaluate the suitability of different wheat and barley cultivars for both grazing and grain production, when sown as part of a the normal cropping program in low rainfall zones of western Victoria.

• To investigate the impacts burying organic matter at depth.

To investigate the impacts burying at depth organic matter (using a Neutrog product Bounce Back) and gypsum using the Sub Soiler machine.

To investigate the impacts burying at depth organic matter (using a Neutrog product Bounce Back) and gypsum using the subsoiler machine.

To monitor how quickly the lime would change the pH down the profile.

To implement the findings of previous work conducted on the establishment of native perennial grasses in the Upper North.

To use the increased concentration of fertiliser granules in low SBU systems to measure any advantage of fertiliser uptake

To look at the effectiveness of placing lime at depth.

• To look at the effectiveness of placing lime at depth.

To test the viability of establishing lucerne pastures in areas where they have not been traditionally grown.

To showcase to growers different methods for deep incorporation of lime to ameliorate sub surface, below 10cm, acidity and improve soil health.

To investigate methods for successfully establishing crops in a single pass to reduce erosion potential and improve productivity.

• To compare the impact of four different management strategies on production, profitability and sustainability at the Minnipa Agricultural Centre.

To provide further understanding of what is driving responses to modification of sandy subsoils and how soil modification techniques can be improved.

To determine the effect of grazing on grain yield of Naparoo wheat

To develop a regionally viable farming system which incroporates the establishment of native perennial pastures, cropping into native pasture adn rotational grazing of the pasture and stubble.