The GRDC project ‘Maintaining profitable farming systems with retained stubble - upper Eyre Peninsula’ aims to produce sustainable management guidelines to control pests, weeds and diseases while retaining stubble to maintain or improve soil health, and reduce exposure to wind erosion. The major outcome to be achieved is increased knowledge and skills allowing farmers and advisers to improve farm profitability while retaining stubble in farming systems on upper Eyre Peninsula (EP).

One issue Mount Cooper farmers identified as an issue was the establishment of self-regenerating medic pastures into heavy stubble residues. The trial reported here was designed to compare medic establishment and production, with different management strategies imposed on the previous crop stubble residues.

• In 2017 the removal of a high barley stubble load resulted in better medic plant numbers late in the season (September), and increased (but still very low) dry matter production.
• Heavy barley stubbles from harvesting either high or low resulted in similar medic regeneration.
• Treating heavy barley stubbles with either rolling, a light tickle or left standing did not change medic establishment or dry matter production in 2017.