Soil amelioration is a critical strategy for overcoming soil limitations to crop production in Western Australian farming systems. This project, spanning from 2018 to 2022, was completed in two phases; 2018-2020 focused on Soil Amelioration vs Soil Type and 2021-2022 focused on Effects of Early Post Emergent Ripping. The overall aim was to evaluate and demonstrate the benefits of soil amelioration across a diverse range of soil types common to the WA grain-growing region. The study involved a network of demonstration sites established across five port zones, with twenty-four sites set up in the 2018-2020 period by nine collaborating grower groups. The soil types tested ranged from sands to loamy soils, gravel and sand duplexes, forest gravels, and clay-based soils. The project also explored the effects of early post-emergent deep ripping as an alternative to traditional pre-seeding deep ripping.

• Granulock 10Z would have provided sufficient nutrients for an average season 3.75t/ha.
• The good spring rains allowed the Granulock 10 blends: 10, 22, 24, 25 and 29 to perform to their potential because of their additional nitrogen. Granulock 10Z 29 produced the highest yield and acheived H2 quality class attracting a premium price.
• The Granulock 10Z (S) blends did not perform as well because of lesser nitrogen levels and the soil was not sulphur responsive.

• There were no significant differences between K sources or rates at this trial, despite soil test model predictions of high K response.
• Canola did not respond to high P application at this site in the absence of Nitrogen.
• The site was highly N responsive, although the N use efficiency suggests leaching was moderate. This may have been compounded by low pH and the presence of Aluminium in the subsoil.
• More K response may be seen in wheat in the 2010 season.

• All pre-emergent herbicides showed a positive $ROI when compared to the untreated control, however even the best treatments were allowing some annual ryegrass (ARG) panicles to set seed.
• The superior performance of the three Sakura treatments with their longer residual activity and the trifluralin + post-emergent Boxer Gold treatment (when applied under good conditions) highlighted the strength of a longer period of activity to
reduce annual ryegrass numbers.
• Post emergent applications of Boxer Gold are highly reliant on favourable conditions, as seen when comparing results at West Buntine and Arrino. When applied to small weeds in a moist soil profile, and a follow up rainfall event occurs – this can be a
successful method of weed control.
• Early weed control ratings (at 2-6 weeks after weed germination) are not reflective of the final number of weed seeds re-entering the seed bank.

The simulation study suggests that the rate of root extension into the subsoil was dramatically slower in the presence of subsoil constraints. However, in the 2001 season, wheat yield was not limited by this factor, which reduced the use of soil moisture early in the season and thus delayed the onset of water stress during the dry grainfilling period.

Crop establishment and nutrient supply had a greater effect on crop growth than soil water repellence at this site. Interestingly, grain yield showed a weak, slightly positive relationship with our measurements of water repellence e.g. grain yield was highest at points that had higher levels of water repellence (data not shown here). The positive relationship between soil water repellence reflects the role of soil water repellent organic matter and soil nitrogen supply. Our results suggest nitrogen supply was a major limitation to growth therefore it is reasonable that higher grain yields occurred where soil organic carbon (soil nitrogen supply) was high. Water repellence may have had a minor effect because it was not severe at this site; the MED values ranged from 0.1 (Low water repellence, King 1981) to 2.1 (Moderate water repellence) and the average was 1.0 (Moderate water repellence). However, the samples for MED measurement were taken in winter when the expression of soil water repellence is lowest.

Gamma thorium provided a reasonable prediction of shoot K concentration and gravel content and provides a feasible method for delineating K management zones on sandy gravels in the Badgingarra area. Figure 2 shows that high shoot K concentration is associated with gravel content and vice versa. The critical shoot K concentration for wheat at anthesis is 1.5%; based on the data shown in Figure 2 the areas where gamma Thorium is less than 40 ppm would be responsive to potassium fertilizer application.

The gravel measurements separated into 2 clusters; non-gravelly soil where the fraction of gravel was less than 15% by weight and gravel soil where the fraction was greater than 15%. The mean Colwell K 0 to 10 cm was 17 mg kg which is well below the critical range of 51 to 57 for high yield potential on deep grey sands. Based on current prices and a wheat yield potential of 2t/ha, the DAFWA K calculator shows profit would be maximized with 40 kg K/ha applied. However, the efficacy of topdressed K on this sand may be low. The mean Colwell K for the gravel soil was 24 mg / kg which is also well below critical levels but shoot K concentration was adequate. This suggests that the crop is accessing K from the subsoil and that tissue testing may be an important component of assessing nutrient supply from different parts of the sandy gravel landscape.

Speak to a good agronomist

Commence preparations at least one year out from planting. Preparations should include:

• soil test to identify pH and fertility issues; and
• effective weed management, with at least a double knock.

• The DGT method is an improved soil test for predicting P response from a given soil.
• Greater confidence in accurately predicting P fertiliser requirements can be obtained from using DGT measurements.
• Lack of response to liquid and granular P at two trial sites in the Birchip region were explained with greater accuracy using DGT measurements.

• Copper deficiency of wheat on the Western Downs is found on grey or grey-brown (brigalow-belah) clays.
• EDTA-NH4HCO3 extractant provides the most suitable soil test for assessing copper levels in soils.
• Using this method soils with <0.3 ppm copper would be responsive to copper fertiliser.
• Yield and profit on responsive soils is maximised by 2 foliar sprays of a 1% copper sulphate solution at 1 kg/ha.
• No soil samples from of 53 sites sampled in the region between 1983 and 1986 indicated copper deficiency.

• Abiotic stress can be reduced by choosing the most appropriate pulse species and adjusting agronomy (sowing time, plant density, soil management) to ensure sensitive crop stages occur at the most favourable time in the season. For example choosing the optimum sowing time, species and cultivars with appropriate phenology can reduce the effect of frost and drought in pulse crops in dryland environments with terminal stress.
• For further management options please see the attached trial report.

• Acidity was found to be more widespread in the USE than expected, with 15 of the 18 paddocks examined containing zones of soil with pH below 5.5
• Sandy loam and clay soils used for cropping were acidic
• Clay spread shallow sandy soils used for cropping were acidic
• Clay spread deep sandy soils used for grazing were acidic
• The target soil pHCa range is between 5.5 and 6.5; lime needs to be applied now to combat current and future acidification.

New acid tolerant strains of rhizobia show potential to increase faba bean yield on acid soils (pHCaCl2 < 5.2), however, such rhizobia options are still several years from commercialisation. In the short term, using a double rate of Group F inoculant provides a practical way to increase faba bean yields when they are grown on acid soils, which is likely linked to increasing the number of rhizobia surviving at the time of nodulation. In this trial doubling, but not quadrupling, the number of bacteria applied to the seed improved grain yield due to the probable increase in rhizobia bacteria surviving within acid soil conditions.

• Well managed continuous wheat produced a yield of 3.6 t/ha in 2011, a decile 5 year.
• Oats produced up to 9 t dry matter (DM)/ha as a hay crop.

• Variation for boron and salt tolerance in field pea germplasm was not associated with grain yield differences at Minnipa as a likely consequence of very low rainfall in 2008 and very high rainfall and Blackspot disease in 2009.
• Under favourable growing conditions the late flowering advanced PBA field pea line, 94-425*2b produced very high dry matter yields at the flat pod stage compared to other lines evaluated.
• Advanced field pea lines with a combination of higher dry matter and grain yield production were identified and potentially offer a dual purpose (grain and hay/silage/green manuring) option for growers in low rainfall environments and a way of managing some of the risk of production.
• Findings require further validation across years and environments.

(i) Rotations are complex and depend on preference, the problem and opportunities- there is no ‘right way’. (ii) The break species can be selected for multiple benefits including grazing value, fodder conservation, nitrogen fixation and improving soil conditions. (iii) If weeds are the problem, focus on targeting the weeds that come late in the season, these are the ones  getting through in a continuous crop rotation. (iv) Weeds can be reduced by up to 90% in two years by stopping weed seed set through fodder removal, while providing ample fodder.

(i) Rotations are complex and depend on preference, the problem and opportunities- there is no ‘right way’. (ii) The break species can be selected for multiple benefits including grazing value, fodder conservation, nitrogen fixation and improving soil conditions. (iii) If weeds are the problem, focus on targeting the weeds that come late in the season, these are the ones  getting through in a continuous crop rotation. (iv) Weeds can be reduced by up to 90% in two years by stopping weed seed set through fodder removal, while providing ample fodder.

• Reducing impact of soil erosion on private and public land.
• Ability to match land use to land capability.
• Landholders deciding their own management actions for erosion mitigation.
• Cost effective approach to address soil degradation.

• Modifying soil using a spader only can give large increases in dry matter without necessarily giving the same increase in yield.

• Using the spader to incorporate a delved site can be effective in increasing the benefit of the delving operation, particularly where organic matter is also incorporated.

• Deep placement of soil ameliorants improved soil pH and decreased aluminium (Al) concentrations in the subsurface soil layer.
• The benefits of soil amendments to soil pH and aluminium concentration remain for future seasons.
• No yield improvement was recorded during 2018 due to low growing season rainfall (GSR) and frost events.

Surface soil acidity (0–10cm) limited crop yield by about 8–12%.

Deep placement of reactive phosphate rock or organic matter (OM) achieved yield gains of up to 18% compared with surface-applied lime.

Deep placement of OM may induce manganese (Mn) toxicity.

The interaction between subsurface pH increase and nutrient release needs further investigation.

• Deep placement of soil ameliorants applied during 2017 continued to improve soil pH and decreased aluminium (Al) concentrations in the subsurface soil layer during 2019.
• The benefits of soil amendments to soil pH and aluminium concentration remain for future seasons.
• Grain protein increased in treatments that ameliorated acidity and increased soil nutrition.

• Grain yield across all crops were exceptional in 2016 despite a relatively late break and sowing date. Yields were aided by exceptional spring conditions where there was abundant moisture and cool finishing conditions.
• Field peas were the most productive crop grown across all soil types in 2016 and averaged an exceptional 2.9 t/ha. Vetch (2.2 t/ha), narrow leaf lupin (2.1 t/ha) and lentils (2.1 t/ha) also averaged over 2 t/ha across the four trial sites. Faba beans yielded just under 2 t/ha while both chickpea treatments yielded above 1.5 t/ha (Kabuli 1.5; Desi 1.8 (t/ha). Both canola and albus lupins averaged less than 1.5 t/ha.
• High value crops such as desi and kabuli chickpeas produced extremely high gross margins on approximately $2000/ha. Lentils also had an average gross margin of over $1000/ha across the four trial sites.
• Break crop productivity and profitability was very different between common Mallee soil types with the poorest break crop productivity and profitability on the deep sand at Loxton in 2016.

• In this trial the Agpipe was not effective in the bottom of a gully.
• Key limitation is likely to be the flow of water through the soil to the agpipe.
• Agpipe spacing is critical for it to be effective, future trial work should help determine required spacings.

• Sowing time for the wheat varieties was found to be the key determinant of yield potential. Delays in sowing date (SD) resulted in yield losses of 34% or 1.20 t/ha for EGA GregoryA averaged across years.
• Variety selection was also found to be a significant factor influencing yield potential, with the longer season variety SunvaleA being 16% or 0.6 t/ha lower yielding than LRPB CrusaderA from an early SD. The shorter season variety LRPB CrusaderA performed well across SD options in this environment.
• Increasing targeted plant populations was shown to increase yield potential by ~8% (0.2 t/ha) when SD was delayed, supporting the accepted principle of increasing the target plant population for delayed sowings.
• However, altering variety and/or maturity type, and increasing target plant populations in response to delayed SDs could not fully compensate for yield losses associated with delayed sowings.
• Yield responses to nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) fertiliser application rates were variable and influenced by starting soil levels and seasonal conditions. Significant yield responses of around 19% were achieved in response to P application, highlighting the importance of knowing starting soil nutrition values when trying to optimise yield potential.

• Sowing wheat varieties in the early part of their optimum sowing window was found to be a key determinant of yield. Delays in sowing date (SD) averaged across sites resulted in yield losses of 13% for EGA GregoryA and ranged from 8% to 28%.
• Commercially available mid–late maturing spring wheat varieties (e.g. EGA GregoryA) were observed to be broadly adapted and plastic in their yield responses, performing consistently across sowing windows.
• Altering variety and/or maturity type, and increasing target plant populations in response to delays in SD could not fully compensate for the yield losses associated with delayed sowings.
• Yield responses to nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) fertiliser application rates, were variable and influenced by the starting soil nutrition and seasonal conditions.
• Crown rot (CR) was shown to be a significant factor influencing yield potential in inoculated vs. uninoculated experiments – the delayed SD decreased yields by 12%. Results highlight the compounding negative impact of delayed sowing and CR infection on yield potential and underline the need for awareness of risk levels from soil-borne pathogens before sowing in order to guide management decisions.

• Although plant available water (PAW) at sowing was ~47 mm (0–120 cm), timely in-crop rainfall of 257 mm improved yield potential.
• If yield and subsequently fertiliser decisions were made on PAW at sowing and a low input approach to nitrogen (N) application was taken, as per the nil treatment in this experiment (42 kg/ha of Granulock Z), 0.9 t/ha or 20% of yield potential would have been lost, compared with the optimum N response rate (120 kg N/ha).
• Significantly, even at modest levels of N application (e.g. 40–80 kg N/ha), grain yield was increased by 0.56 t/ha or 13% over the nil N treatment.
• Although maximum yield was achieved at 11.1% grain protein content (GPC), the rate of grain yield increase per unit of additional N declined at GPC >10%. Importantly, results from this experiment did show that yield was compromised by N deficiency when GPC was <9%.
• Results from this experiment highlight the need to consider yield potential in terms of targeted yields and hence N requirements. Importantly, if N inputs are limited then yield potential can be negatively affected.
   

The trial showed a remarkable variance in frost damage and yield between the two treatments. There are a number of possible reasons why the mouldboard ploughed treatments had reduced frost damage. Firstly, overcoming topsoil water repellence can improve topsoil moisture content which allows for better transfer of heat into, and out of, the soil. Secondly, mouldboard ploughing can increase the overall yield potential which may include more and larger heads which could result in the frost damage being proportionally less. Further analysis is required to determine if this is the case. Thirdly it is possible that the crop on the ploughed soil flowered at a different time however this is unlikely given that this is the third season since ploughing was applied and that there were multiple frost events so avoidance is unlikely.

As canola has the ability to compensate for bare areas by closing over the canopy, it is likely that if the trial area was planted to cereals, the variation between yields may have been greater. Over the first three seasons there have not been significant yield responses to the tillage treatments. Establishment on the mouldboard plough areas has been poor and this may be related to herbicide damage but weed control on the ploughed areas has been improved. Monitoring of this trial is ongoing, to see the impact of the treatments over time.

• This large scale on-farm demonstration has shown how soil inversion with a mouldboard plough can provide wheat yield benefits on sandplain soil.
• The mouldboard ploughing reduced the soil water repellence by about a third, but moderate repellence was still present. In this trial frost affected the mouldboard plough treated area more than the untreated area which is opposite to what some growers have reported who felt that crops on mouldboard ploughed soil were less affected by frost.
• Soil type, soil moisture, crop biomass and timing of the frost event may have had an impact in 2014.
• Short-term grain yield responses to cultivation on sandplain soils are typical and the potential benefits need to be studied for several more seasons before the value of the practice can be properly assessed.
• Other deep soil cultivation practices, such as deep ripping, can also give wheat yield responses in the first year.

• Crop establishment was good for both sowing times due to good rainfall after seeding in 2011. Seed rates of 40 kg/ha achieved the target plant population of 100 plants/m2 on all sites. With each additional 40kg/ha of seed, plants numbers increased by approximately 50 plants/m2 at Badgingarra.   Ears/m2 increased from 219 to 320 with increasing seeding rate from 40 to 120kg/ha.   Averaged across all seeding rates, the ear numbers of Mace (227 ear/m2) were significantly lower than the other varieties (approx 275 ears/m2).
• At Badgingarra, increasing the seeding rate from 40 to 120 kg/ha increased the mean grain yield of King Rock, Mace, and Wyalkatchem at both sowing times. The mean yields of Fortune and Calingiri were not influenced by seeding rate at the May sowing time, but did increase from 40 to 120 kg/ha at the second sowing time in June (Fig. 1).   Magenta mean yields were higher at the 120 kg/ha than 40 kg/ha seeding rate at the second sowing time, but were highest with the 80 kg/ha seeding rate at the first sowing time in May.   Fungal staining of Mace and Wyalkatchem (data not presented) was greater than 5% at all seeding rates when sown on May 18th at Badgingarra.  

Seeding rate did not influence the level of screenings at Badgingarra of the varieties sown on May 18th.   The screenings of Magenta and Fortune declined when seeding was increased from 40 to 120 kg/ha at the June sowing (Figure 2).

Fungal staining of Magenta was greater than 5% for Magenta when sown at the second sowing time.  This influenced the gross income of this varieties (Table 2).   Lower yields and downgrading due to hectoliter weight (<74HLW) influenced the economic returns of Calingiri and Fortune in the first sowing time.

In a season like 2011 with good winter rainfall across all sites and stored moisture at seeding, higher seeding rates either improved maintained high grain yields when sown in May and June in a range of environments in Western Australia.   There was no evidence that increased seeding rate increased screenings risk in a season with good winter and spring rainfall.

Modern noodle wheat verities Kinsai, Ninja and Zen, yielded higher than Calingari in almost every trial conducted by SCF between 2016 and 2018.

Southern HRZ noodle wheat growers reduce the of downgrades resulting form falling numbers and germ ed staining y sowing noodle wheat later in the program. 

Southern HRZ growers try to avoid planting noodle wheat within 30km of the coast to reduce the risk of harvest rain, and the resulting downgrades. 

Southern growers reduce grain quality risks by prioritizing the harvest noodle varieties. Noodle wheat should be harvested once the crop is ripe and the moisture falls below 13%. HRZ growers can harvest noodle wheat at above 13%, and be dried if economically feasible. 

Kinsai had the highest cumulative yield over the span of the project. Kinsai has good physical characteristics and provides a general udon quality improvement compared to Calingari and Ninja. 

A tailored agronomy package is necessary to maximise yields and reduce the risk of missing quality grades in the HRZ. 

Sowing noodle wheat later in the sowing program will mitigate the risk of late-season rain impacting the grain quality. 

High yielding noodle wheat, that achieves ANW grade can result in similar gross margins to barley and canola. 

• An H45 crop affected by stripe rust was treated with Tilt. There was no significant difference between the yield of the sprayed and unsprayed sections.
• The crop was badly hit by frost and moisture stress in September and October.
• 2003 was not a typical year in the Parkes area, so the results from this demonstration should not be used until more work is carried out in more typical seasons.

• Sow as soon as soil temperatures reach the recommended minimum for the crop type
• Moisture probes are a valuable tool for irrigation scheduling and monitoring soil moisture
• Understand and plan agronomic and irrigation requirements of your selected crop. Short season crops will require less water and may fit into a ‘double cropping’ program.

• No significant increase in yield from applying Kelpak.
• No significant difference in yields between different rates of Kelpak.
• Other preliminary trials have shown responses to high rates of Kelpak.
• Need to repeat trials where environmental factors are not restricting.
• May only have a fit when we have a good finish to the season.

• Phosphorus fertilisers are expected to get more expensive as demand overtakes supply.
• Fertiliser applied phosphorus can be lost rapidly on some sandy soils. There are some simple tests that can be done to indicate the risk of this happening.
• In other soils, phosphorus is fairly immobile and won’t be lost to leaching.
• Building up the soil reserves of phosphorus will make P more plant-available, regardless of how or when it is applied.
• The total phosphorus in the soil has value to you, not just the more readily available phosphorus.
• Generally if you maintain a balanced phosphorus regime, you will use everything that you apply in the long run.
• Phosphorus is fixed by most soils. This is generally a good thing as it prevents leaching losses, so unless you have ‘high risk soils’, don’t be concerned about “lockup”.
• Don’t buy into alternatives to phosphorus fertilisers that claim to improve access to phosphorus stored in the soil.

• Water repellence resulted in low plant numbers on the control plots. Ripping with inclusion plates substantially increased crop establishment which were further increased by spading, with the greatest plant density on spaded plots with lucerne pellets added.
• Physical intervention increased wheat yields on a deep water repellent sand. The controls using best practice agronomy on unmodified sands, yielded 0.5 t/ha. Ripping with inclusion plates to 30 cm doubled yield, ripping deeper to 41 cm delivered an additional 0.4 t/ha and spading to 30 cm delivered a further yield increase of 0.5 t/ha, or 1.4 t/ha better than the control.
• The addition of 5 t/ha of lucerne pellets or high rates of fertiliser increased wheat yields when incorporated by ripping to 41 cm or spading, and delivered the highest yields of 3.1 t/ha.

There was no evidence of gypsum application and deep ripping interacting to improve overall soil structure and crop growth.

Under the low rainfall conditions experienced in the 2006 wheat-growing season (particularly during grain fill) at Balliang and Mt Pollock, increases in yield could not be expected using the treatments in this experiment.

Two rates of ameliorants were applied. Data collected in early Spring showed that both treatments led to increased soil water at varying depth in soil compared to the control. Different soils responded differently. 

• Large farm-scale trials provided useful practical information about applying soil amendments to relate back to small-scale and glasshouse-based experiments.
• Triticale showed a limited response to lime application at the Rutherglen site during 2019, most likely due to its tolerance to acid soils.
• During 2019, canola establishment at the Bungeet site was compromised by a lack of rainfall between deep ripping and sowing, followed by an intense rainfall event, leading to uneven germination.
• Assessment of subsoil amelioration techniques is difficult due to confounding factors, with several years of data collection required to allow for the physical effects of deep ripping to subside.

• Deep ripping had an adverse effect on crop establishment and crop yield in the establishment year.

• Both lime and magnesium silicate (a blended product of 70% Doonba dunite and 30% F70 lime) were capable of increasing soil pH and decreasing exchangeable aluminium (Al) at the 20–30 cm depth where the soil amendment was applied.

• Deep placement of gypsum had no effect on soil acidity and did not improve grain yield.
 

These grower scale on-farm soil amelioration demonstrations have been managed by the growers according to standard practice. Both soil types are highly water repellent and in general the amelioration treatments have improved crop establishment, vigour and grain yield. Economic analysis indicates that the return on investment has been large as the benefits from the treatments have tended to last for at least 5-years or more at these sites. While it is possible to improve establishment, water and nutrient use efficiency and crop productivity using these techniques it is important to recognise that other constraints such as poor water and nutrient holding, soil acidity and compaction can still limit the yield potential of these soils and this needs to be considered when investing in amelioration. Liming to improve the soil pH and very deep ripping to remove compaction below 30-40 cm may well provide further yield gains beyond those achieved through amelioration of the top 10-30 cm only, and this may also help sustain the benefits of amelioration over a longer time.

These grower scale on-farm soil amelioration demonstrations have been managed by the growers according to standard practice. Both soil types were highly water repellent and the amelioration treatments have generally improved establishment but have probably had an even bigger impact on crop vigour. While it is possible to improve establishment, water and nutrient use efficiency and crop productivity using these techniques it is important to recognise that other constraints such as poor water and nutrient holding, soil acidity and compaction can still limit the yield potential of these soils. Pale sands which overly a clayey gravel or clay base within the top 1 m often have greater potential than the very deep sands.

Most treatments that altered the wetting properties of the soil improved the grain yield also. The mould board ploughing treatment was an exception due to the introduction and inter-locking gravel in the topsoil which might have impeded the germination. Once established the crop on the ploughed plots did very well. None of the treaments were able to economically improve the yield because the Control plots yielded exceptionally well.

• Deep ripping with deep nutrients was the most effective subsoil amendment in the field in 2006 and glasshouse in 2007.
• Deep ripping increased the amount of soil water deeper in the profile, but subsoil treatments did not affect soil water quality properties in this soil.

• To develop a better diagnostic index, soils from a series of field and glasshouse copper trials were extracted using 6 different solutions.
•  Ammonium bicarbonate plus EDTA extract copper was significantly correlated with dry matter production but not relative grain yield.
• A more meaningful correlation was found when non copper responsive sites were removed from the analysis.

• Acidic subsoils are common in the Riverine Plains region.
• Previous trials have shown deep placement of amendments can improve wheat and canola production.
• Replicated field trials have been established near Rutherglen, Victoria to test innovative methods to address subsoil acidity in the Riverine Plains region.
• A large-scale on-farm site near Rutherglen is planned for 2018.

• The study has shown benefits from the medic as a break crop and a high quality forage source.
• There was no wheat quality loss in 2010 as a result of high soil N from 2009 medic production.

Urea is not a magic white powder. Other yield limiting factors must be addressed before the full benefit can be obtained from nitrogen. The amount of nitrogen applied must be balanced with the moisture availability and yield potential. The balancing act is more difficult when trying to achieve prime hard protein levels.

• The trial did re-iterate that early sowing provides more opportunity to ‘play the season’ and alter N management to significantly impact on crop yield outcomes compared with the late sown crops which, in the truncated 2010 season, provided little opportunity for changing N management.  This suggests that focusing on getting the N management of the earlier sown crops sown right for a given season is a good investment of time. Further testing will give a clearer picture as to whether Yield Prophet adds significant value to helping make these decisions. 
• Although the Farmer group were original concerned about the Yield Prophet N budget, tt appears that the model has utilized deep soil test data to reasonably assess the supply of soil N to plants and the movement of soil and applied N through the profile. From this point of view, with the addition of an accurately characterized soil profile, the model may allow growers to better account for and manage nitrogen supply and losses from below the 0-10cm zone.
• Although yields from the Farmer strategy tended to be higher than the Yield Prophet strategy (although not significant), returns per hectare (net of Nitrogen and application costs) were very similar due to the increased costs associated with the Farmer strategy. With further soil characterization and ‘ground proofing’ a tool such as Yield Prophet may be a useful way to reduce the risks and more accurately quantify the benefits associated with applying in-crop nitrogen.
• This trial will be repeated in 2011, and with a more accurate soil characterization it is expected that Yield Prophet will be more accurately assessed.

• Seeding rate had a bigger impact on wheat establishment than soil wetting agents
• High seeding rates on soils with low yield potential were sometimes a disadvantage; optimal seeding rates would need to account for yield potential as well as the degress of soil water repellence.
• Delaying sowing providing an opprtunity to get a knockdown of weeds was important on water repellent soils where staggered weed germination and reduced herbicide activity, reduces the efficacy of in-crop and pre-emergent applications. 

• Addition of clay-rich subsoil improved crop establishment at this site in 2010.
• There was a very dry finish to the growing season with <15 mm in total for September and October so those cultivation and claying treatments with increased biomass and higher yield potential would have been more prone to haying off.
• Poor incorporation of surface applied clay-rich subsoil can also hold more moisture near the surface which is then subject to evaporation and competes with the roots for water with small rainfall events.
• Despite these factors cultivation with or without the addition of clay-rich subsoil did increase grain yields from <700 kg/ha in the uncultivated situation to an average yield of 1.3 t/ha for the rotary hoe and rotary spaded treatments combined.
• Ongoing monitoring of this trial will be required to see the longer-term benefits of these cultivation and clay incorporation treatments on establishment and yield in seasons with a better finish.

• Non wetting soil resulted in poor weed germination pre seeding
• Pre seeding the total trial area received 2 knockdowns with 1.5 L/ha Sprayseed.
• The limitation and knowledge of the relative tolerance of the different perennial grasses to grass selective herbicides prevented removal of late germinating brome and ryegrass from the trial post seeding.
• Jaguar was sprayed on the 29/6/2011 and good broad leaf control was achieved.
• For further results please see the attached trial report.

• One of the fundamental problems of pale deep sands is their poor water and nutrient holding capacity. While cultivation techniques can overcome water repellence they do not necessarily greatly alter the lack of water holding capacity. Similarly addition of clay at rates of 100-150 t/ha can be used to overcome water repellence but will not greatly increase water holding capacity.
• Deep ripping or the soil loosening caused by rotary spading or mouldboard ploughing allows faster root growth and improved nutrient and water uptake and this appears to be one of the primary reasons for the improved yields. The advantage of the rotary spader and mouldboard plough over deep ripping alone is improved weed control and reduced water repellence although the longevity of this is unknown.
• Reduced water repellence may prove to be more significant in certain seasons and more sensitive crops. Sustained productivity benefits are likely to be required for these approaches to be economically viable.

• More moderate clay rich subsoil application rates of 100-150 t/ha are less costly to apply, can be easily incorporated, can still improve crop establishment and productivity and importantly can reduce some of the risks associated with crops haying off due to water shortage during grain filling in dry seasons.
• Clay spreading is likely to be more beneficial in higher rainfall, longer season environments and in wetter seasons where the risk of water shortage at grain fill and haying off is reduced.

• Deep ripping and spading increased yield between 68% and 107% at this site.
• Combining deep ripping and spading can ameliorate multiple soil constraints.
• Leaving untreated control strips can be used to quantify the yield differences of the treatment.

2019:

• Dry sowing did not significantly compromise nodulation and nitrogen fixation in chickpea in 2019.
• Peat slurry and granular inoculants led to satisfactory nodulation and nitrogen fixation in dry and wet sowing conditions in 2019.

2020:

• Chickpeas inoculated with peat based or bentonite clay granule inoculant and sown either dry or into moisture provided similar growth and production in a subsequent wheat crop in 2020.
• No significant differences in final grain yield of wheat was observed between inoculant types of sowing times.
• Some differences were observed in plant growth where the previous chickpea crop had been inoculated compared to uninoculated however inoculant type had no effect on wheat growth.
• Wheat grain quality was better when grown after an inoculated chickpea crop compared to an uninoculated crop and would contribute to a higher quality grade.

The effect of nitrogen manipulation on grain yield and quality was masked by the inability to control foliar disease in the trial and the effect on yield of the dry October period. High base soil nitrogen levels resulted in high grain protein levels with little difference between treatments. The best net return was achieved using only the 10 kg/ha nitrogen at sowing. It did not pay to apply any post sowing nitrogen. Grain quality parameters such as test weight and thousand grain weights were extremely disappointing.

Delaying nitrogen application increased grain protein as would be expected. Treatment 5 which had 75 kg/ha nitrogen applied at GS39 (flag) had 2.19% more protein than the control and was higher than the other earlier applied nitrogen treatments, although not significantly higher. The cost involved in chasing this higher grain protein could not be justified

With no significant difference in yield across this trial (Table 4-11) it appears that the high soil nitrogen and variable season may have been too influential to repeat previous years’ results. Findings from this trial should still be reviewed, but not used solely to make strategic nitrogen management decisions in the future. Possibly one key finding may be that high N paddocks need little if any follow up N past crop emergence, depending on paddock history and seasonal outlook. Late leaf rust was present throughout this trial,
however it is not known if this was influential in determining yield outcomes. 

FARMER COMMENTS

Usability of Yield Prophet

·         High input requirement to get detailed data out, but once it is setup the online format is easy to use and generates good reports.

·         Easy to use once you are familiar with the program.

Usefulness of Yield Prophet set-up process

·         Farmers commented that the exercise of opening up a deep soil pit was on one the most informative and useful aspects of the Yield Prophet process.

·         Good training with a consultant on how to use the tool was vital as well.

Yield Prophet reports

·         Farmers had mixed comments about the reports with each having their favorite report- one farmer chose to use only the crop report to make his decisions.

·         One farmer found the profit comparison report the most useful where as another found it the least useful report commenting ‘it is pretty obvious through the comparison report if the is likely to be a financial response, the seasonal risk is too great to compare nitrogen profitability to the last dollar.’

·         Farmers found the climate and weather aspects to the crop report of interest, specifically the breakdown of chances of certain weather characteristics influencing yield, however in reality this didn’t really clarify decision making.

·         The reports reference the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) which is generally considered irrelevant to the Western Australia.

·         Growth stages of crops were very accurate for all sites.

Other aspects that limited yield

·         Three of the four sites experienced a three week dry spell that was accompanied by warm, weather at the beginning of September. The yield prophet crop reports at all three sites did not indicate that crop was experiencing moisture stress or heat shock. The three farmers commented separately that this dry spell had impacted the crop yield.

·         One of the potential issues is the assumption of root growth and rooting depth. If there is low soil nutrition at depth it is likely that the roots are "lazy" during the growing season and don't go as deep as the model suggests. This would then affect the modeling of water use down the profile and water stress on the plant.

·         One farmer generated a report on 26 September which indicated the crop was under moisture stress, however this did not convert to yield penalty in the crop report.

 

Future of Yield Prophet in West Midlands region

The low water holding capacity of sands in the West Midlands region means that the effect of short term dry spells has greater significance than total rainfall on production- this seems to be difficult to simulate in Yield Prophet.

Simulated yield on two out of the four sites was far from what would be considered an acceptable level of variation (1 t/ha for yellow sand and 1.85 t/ha for shallow loamy duplex). However the other two sites simulated yield very well.

Typical farm paddock of 60-70ha within the West Midlands region has multiple soil types present. At this stage Yield Prophet only allows the user to simulate one soil type per paddock. There is the ability to separately log each soil type however this requires a great deal of information input and the user has to pay a ‘paddock’ subscription for each soil type.

Unfortunately, there are very few soils classified in the West Midlands region, to WMG’s knowledge the five soils classified as part of this project are the only fully characterized soils in the West Midlands region. This project has estimated that the cost of fully classifying a soil is $3,000. When there is so few soil types classified in the West Midlands region coupled with farmers having multiple soil types (sometimes more than a dozen) on their farm this cost is the key barrier to adoption of this tool in the West Midlands region.

Removing subsurface soil compaction can provide benefits over many years.

Deep ripping provides the opportunity to address other soil constraints such as sub surface acidity

• Deep ripping provided a 260kg/ha yield increase in barley in 2016,
• Deeper ripping and the use of inclusion plates did not improve barley yield at this site,

• Subsurface soil compaction has been shown to be a major constraint to crop production and its removal of this compaction via deep ripping can lead to large yield increases.
• Assessing yield responses on different soil types will guide where future deep ripping work is carried out, with priority given to those soils with the greatest yield increases.

• Assessing yield responses on different soil types will guide where future deep ripping work is carried out, with priority given to those soils with the greatest yield increases.

Soil acidity is affecting grain yield. 2014 sampling of "new" sites identified that acidification significant enough to impact upon grain yield was evident at 5 out of the 6 sites. The 1 site that did not display acidification had been subjected to a liming program. Sub surface acidification was evident at 2 out of the 6 sites.

Soil acidity is affecting grain yield. 2014 sampling of "new" sites identified that acidification significant enough to impact upon grain yield was evident at 5 out of the 6 sites. The 1 site that did not display acidification had been subjected to a liming program. Sub surface acidification was evident at 2 out of the 6 sites.

• Soil acidity is affecting grain yield. 2014 sampling of historic sites identified decline in pH at all sites except for Nyngan where the site had been returned to perrenial native pastures > 5 years.
• Evidence of sub surface soil acidification was displayed at 3 out of the 5 historic sites.

Soil acidity is affecting grain yield. 2014 sampling of historic sites identified decline in pH at all sites except for Nyngan where the site had been returned to perrenial native pastures > 5 years. Evidence of sub surface soil acidification was displayed at 3 out of the 5 historic sites.

Soil acitidy is affecting grain yield. 2014 investigation of a farmer led onfarm lime trial clearly identified the benefits of applying agricultural lime. The farmer applied 3 rates of lime and left 2 control strips. Both limed and control strips were soil cored and the pH within the soil profile was identified at depth for 5 individual sections. Results demonstrated that where the maximum rate of lime was applied, the soil pH within the profile was appropriate for plant growth. Where no lime was applied soil pH was significant enough to impact upon plant growth. Biomass cuts taken at Anthesis, from both the limed and control strips, showed a correlation between soil pH and plant growth. Grain samples taken from both the limed and control strips prior to harvest also showed a correlation between grain yield and soil pH. Where soil pH was above 5.5 plant growth and yeild was highest.

• Genotypes of chickpea were grown at 5 levels of zinc in the glasshouse.
• After 8 weeks of growth chlorosis occurred in the zero zinc treatments.
• The critical concentration in the shoot tissue associated with 90% of maximum growth was 20 mg per kilogram at the flowering stage.
• In a 2nd experiment to genotypes were grown at 3 zinc levels and to moisture regime.s.
• The critical zinc concentration institutes was 21 mg per kilogram and thus neither genotype nor soil moisture influence the critical zinc concentration.

• Analysis of soil samples from 199 paddocks participating in the Australian Cool Farm Initiative project showed soil organic carbon (SOC) levels ranging from 0.74–4.77 per cent.
• Analysis of 199 surface (0–10cm) soil samples taken as part of the project showed that pH ranged from 4.3–7.3 (CaCl2).
• There was a slight relationship between SOC and total rainfall for paddocks sampled in this project.

• A review of soil fertility and fertiliser requirements of different Australian soils.
• Covers each nutrient separately, including micronutrients.
• Gives a good historical perspective on the development of agriculture and crop nutrition.
• Includes details of deficiencies and toxicities for both crop and animal systems.
• Includes maps showing soil nutritional problems in different regions.
• Covers the whole country.

• The site became very wet in October and the controlled traffic and flat ground was inundated for at least 48 hours.
• However, the water was moving at all times and very little crop damage occurred due to waterlogging.
• The raised beds were above the waterline at all times. 
• For further comments please see the attached trial report.

Reponse to barley lines in this trial was different to what was expeted based on past performance in acid soil CVT trials.

• Growth regulators had no effect on reducing crop lodging, since crop lodging was not evident due to seasonal conditions and low soil nitrogen levels.
• Some growth regulators had an effect on reducing plant height.
• Growth regulators had no effect on barley yield or grain quality.

• Sub-tropical perennial grasses have persisted and produced good quantities of biomass over several years in the Mallee.
• Due to low early winter rainfall and reliance on stored summer moisture, cropping into a summer-growing pasture base led to high yield penalties in 2011. 
• Further research and development is needed to fine-tune management of the pasture cropping system before it can be deployed in the Mallee.

• The trial yielded an average of 6.1t/ha for the 2011 season. A late time of sowing and saturated soil profile that led to waterlogging effects may partly explain the lower than expected yield based on water use efficiency values.
• The highest yielding variety were the feed cultivars with Oxford topping performance at 6.96t/ha.
• Spring rainfall (September-November) was considerably lower in 2011 at 135.2mm compared with the long-term aerage for Dunkeld of 196.9mm. This shortfall will partly expalin the reduction in yields across all varieties at this site compared with the Inverleigh and Lake Bolac.

All labs had their results back to us within a two-week period, which is highly desirable. We have had numerous comments over the years of extremely long turn around times experienced – this test has highlighted that it can be done within an acceptable time.

• These results provide some benchmarking of soil chemistry for the Riverine Plains region.
• There was a high variance in soil chemistry parameters across the seven monitor sites.
• Results showed the timing of sampling had some influence on the results obtained.
• Consistency in sampling method and timing will improve the quality of results obtained.

• Positive relationships (R2 = 0.6) were observed between water and grain yield (t/ha) across 14 Eyre Peninsula (EP) paddocks.
• Yeelanna (Pooh Bear paddock, clay loam over light clay) had the highest grain yield (5.8 t/ha) across the 14 EP paddocks and 100% of yield potential achieved.
• Karkoo, Yeelanna (South West) and Witera had similar grain yield (3.82-4.70 t/ha), but only Witera had over 100% yield potential achieved.
• Paddock yields were also affected by soil constraints and other abiotic stresses.

• Crop germination was poor on the mouldboard plots and compaction is still a big issue on these plots.
• Bentonite clay has shown no effect on organic carbon %.

 

• The Mooneys Gap phalaris site has shown that productive perennial grass and sub clover pastures can double the carrying capacity of a paddock when compared to a rundown annual pasture. The Mooneys Gap phalaris pasture has had an average increase in carrying capacity of 157% compared to the control annual pasture over the three years of the trial.
• The introduction of deep rooted perennial pastures has environmental as well as production benefits. Perennial pastures are more efficient users of water as they are able to access available moisture at deeper levels and for longer periods than annuals and therefore assist in lowering water recharge reducing the risk of salinity. Perennials slow the soil acidification rate by the increasing nitrogen uptake thereby reducing nitrate leaching. Well managed phalaris pastures maintain a level of ground cover well in excess of annual grass based pastures reducing the risk of wind and surface water erosion. The Mooneys Gap phalaris site clearly demonstrates the enhanced environmental outcomes that come with well managed perennial pastures.
• Soil testing is important to test for nutrient deficiencies and pH prior to phalaris establishment. Adequate lime and fertiliser should be applied to address deficiencies prior to establishment. Particular attention must be paid to ensuring that aluminium levels are suitable for phalaris production prior to sowing.
• Weed control is of critical importance before and during the establishment phase of phalaris pastures. Periodic annual weed control measures enhance the production of phalaris based pastures after establishment.
• A suitable fertiliser regime needs to be implemented to replace nutrients removed by the enhanced production of the phalaris based pasture.
• Rotational grazing increases the persistence of the phalaris pasture.
• The addition of phalaris pastures extends the period of available green feed when compared to an annual grass system.
• The recent availability of the Holdfast GT Phalaris variety is an important addition to the perennial grasses that can be established in the region.
• The claims that Holdfast GT will persist as well as Australian phalaris have not been tested due to the time required to obtain results from a new variety.
• PPS will continue to test the persistence of Holdfast GT in the PDS trials as well as other pastures in the project.

• On zones where wheat growth is not constrained the French and Schultz method gives a realistic potential yield estimate based on growing season rainfall (GSR) and a soil water evaporation term of 110 mm.
• Where soil water evaporation is higher because of sub-soil constraints and other factors that affect the growth of wheat, the soil water evaporation term must be adjusted.
• Zoning your paddocks into areas of performance and soil testing these areas separately for soil nutrients can improve decisions on where to apply nutrients for the best return.
• Fertiliser application rates at sowing should be strategic, i.e. based on the yield potential of the zone and soil test results (e.g. a sowing application of DAP or MAP on a soil with high yield potential should be supplemented with topdressing applications of N if seasonal conditions are good).

• Inoculum can change dramatically throughout the year.
• Inoculum is concentrated near the surface of field soils (top 5 cm).
• Cereals are the key host for rapid build-up of Rhizoctonia solani AG8 inoculum.
• Soil microbial assessments have been strongly associated with changes in Rhizoctonia infection, especially seasonal and site differences.
• The importance of Rhizoctonia infection on crown roots in modern cropping systems may have been underestimated.

• Rhizoctonia solani AG8 inoculum levels were reduced over summer and this may be associated with summer rainfall events.
• Crop rotation does affect Rhizoctonia inoculum levels, i.e. levels were lowest immediately after canola compared to that after wheat.
• The incidence and severity of Rhizoctonia bare patch disease in cereals depend on the amount of pathogen inoculum, soil microbial community activity and crop/root vigour.
• Seed treatments did not reduce rhizoctonia levels in 2009 trials undertaken on EP and the Mallee.
• To reduce risk of yield loss caused by Rhizoctonia:

Control summer weeds to stop build-up of inoculum,

Encourage early seedling vigour, sow early,

Cultivate deep sow shallow (avoid disc seeders).

• Canola can help reduce inoculum for the following wheat crop.
• Barley and wheat are the most intolerant crops.
• Minimise N deficiency at seeding, particularly for cereal on cereal rotations where summer rainfall has been low, by deep banding N and minimising stubble incorporation at seeding.

• The high input plots all generally yielded below their comparable normal input plot (in the case of the raised beds it was quite significant) and this may also be due to the higher inputs resulting in excessive growth making the crops more prone to lodging.
• For further results please see the attached trial report.

• Pale deep sand has inherently poor yield potential and given the high cost of the water repellence amelioration treatments it can be difficult to determine whether the investment is worthwhile.
• At this site the productivity gains have been sufficient to offset the costs and be profitable for each of the options tested.
• Claying despite being expensive does have the advantage of being long-lasting and reduces wind erosion risk. Shallower cultivation with offset discs or one-way ploughing can give profitable improvements but the example of the one-way plough demonstrated that the benefits can be reduced or even negated by wind erosion damage.
• It should be noted that other research indicates that improving the effectiveness of the seeding operation can give yield gains of similar magnitude or even greater than those measured for the offset discs without the erosion risk. Exploring this possibility is probably a first step for growers looking to manage repellence on these soils.

The trial was dogged by non-wetting and kangaroo grazing problems and so the bioassay of the residual effect of the original source of P treatments was poor..

Recoveries of applied phosphorus in the surface layers was poorest for the water soluble, plant available source superphosphate which had large leaching losses below 50 cm.  the less immediately available but citrate soluble source retained more P in the surface layers while the very insoluble C ore source produced poor growth but had only very low P leaching to depth.  The compromise in choice of source, between plant availability and leaching into the ground water and subsequently the waterways, is  well illustrated by this trial

As a rule, soil fertility factors (non-wetting, organic carbon, CEC, soil organic nitrogen, acidification etc were all more affected by length of pasture ley than by pasture composition and cumulated production.  Cross plot transfer of surface soil may well have affected this finding..

Carbon is generating plenty of interest at present and the project aims to answer questions around increasing organic carbon in agricultural soils through the addition of carbon source. It would be expected that the results will show minimal impact on soil carbon levels in the first year of trialling however will to be tested by the Facey Group in continuance to the project. Harvest results however require further investigation with such variance between the remainder of the paddock and the treatments within the trial.

The laboratory results suggest that the inoculum load of the crown rot pathogen, which is normally stubble-borne, may be significantly reduced in the soil within 3-6 months of application of the control fungus to the stubble.

The West Midlands site had an average yielding year for the Moora area. The Liebe Long Term Research Site had a good growing season in terms of rainfall and seasonal distribution. The average yield was about 50% higher than previous wheat trial years. This was similar to Forrestdale which also had good rainfall and seasonal distribution.

On average, all Bioprime treatments combined resulted in a 4% yield increase. Treatment 2 (foliar Bioprime and granular fertiliser) performed best, achieving a 10% yield increase averaged across the three sites). At the WMG site, five Bioprime treatments resulted in positive yield responses whereas this number was lower at the Liebe site (2 treatments). With data corrected for outliers, all Bioprime treatments resulted in a positive yield response. Given that the Liebe site, relative to the WMG site had a higher soil pH, and higher pre-seeding phosphate and exchangeable cations concentrations (Table 2), an average higher yield was expected and achieved here compared to the WMG (3.36 t/ha and 2.15 t/ha, respectively in unamended control treatments). Thus, the higher soil quality and soil health present at the Liebe site combined with the good 2016 season in terms of rainfall likely narrowed the yield gap.

As such any management options aiming to close the gap between actual and potential yield, would have had less scope to achieve this at the Liebe site in 2016. In contrast, the lower soil fertility at the WMG allowed Bioprime to more consistently improve crop production. The 2016 data suggest the opportunity to improve yield on a poor soil in a poor year is greater than on good soil in a good year.

Ongoing research will continue to further develop Bioprime technology as a tool to improve soil biology and maintain plant health and yield. There is a substantial database of microbiological and yield results which continues to expand with the expectation of understanding the links between root and plant colonization by beneficial bacteria and fungi with Bioprime application and growth improvements.

• Acidic soil layers below 5 cm adversely affect root growth and architecture, nodulation, plant vigour, N2
fixation and yield potential of acid-sensitive pulses.
• Moderately (pHCa 4.6–5.0) and severely (pHCa <4.5) acidic layers in the 5–20 cm soil profile are not detected using soil samples collected over standard profile depths of 0–10 cm and 10–20 cm.
• Finer sampling at 5 cm intervals is recommended to detect pH stratification.
• The current standard industry practice of spreading lime with no incorporation and sowing with knife point press wheels or disc seeders confines the lime effect to the surface layers.
• Careful paddock selection and forward planning is required to correct pH stratification in the topsoil (0–10 cm).
• Lime application and incorporation with a full cultivation operation at least 6–12 months before sowing acid-sensitive species could be necessary.
• Appropriate lime rates should be used to ensure pHCa >5.5 in the entire top 10 cm layer.
• The effect of pH stratification on more acid-tolerant species, including canola, lucerne and cereals, should also be monitored.

• Boron (B) efficiency of oilseed rape (Brassica napus) and mustard (B. juncea) genotypes was determined on a low B soil at Mt. Compass, South Australia.
• B efficiency was observed in oilseed rape genotypes, Zhongyou 821, Dunkeld and Zheyou 2, and in mustard genotypes Pusa Bold and CSIRO 6.
• Genotypes grown in the field were also grown under glass-house conditions, in pots filled with pre-washed sand extracted from the Mt. Compass field site.
• Two B treatments, one B adequate (0.25 mg B /kg soil) and one B deficient (imposed by omission) were used to indicate whether vegetative response to B could predict final yield response and provide a more convenient selection criterion for identifying B-efficient germplasm .
• Vegetative response of 35 d old (D35) genotypes grown in pot culture closely reflected field response, indicating the expression of B efficiency traits in early growth, and its potential use in selection.

Wheat yields were highest when grown after chickpeas or lupins at both low and moderate phosphorus (P) sites. Benefits provided by the previous chickpea or lupin crops could not be attributed to an increase in residual P sources alone.

• Field pea, vetch, faba bean and lentil had 3-125% higher biomass yield and 51-110% higher grain yield than chickpea and canola at Minnipa, 2018.
• Current high demand and grain prices for faba bean meant they were the most profitable break crop species.
• Low grain yield of canola (0.43 t/ha) and chickpea (0.39 t/ha) resulted in these crop species not being profitable as grain crops.
• Field pea and vetch, in particular, have multiple alternative end-use options in dry seasonal conditions that can be utilised to recover crop input costs.