The research objective is to develop reliable ‘Yardstick’ information that will enable growers to make decisions on management packages and crop types using rules of thumb that suit their farming systems by April 2020.

Field walks were held during the year to observe and extend the information from the trials.

In 2018 the trials consisted of three crop types – Wheat, Barley and Canola, and four tailored nutrition packages to target expected yield with Decile 1,4 or 7 rainfall. There was also a “Play the Season” treatment that was managed based on the grower’s expectations of the current season. 

In 2019 the trials were reduced to two crop types – Wheat and Barley, and four tailored nutrition packages to target expected yield with Decile 1,4 or 7 rainfall. Reducing the number of crop types meant that the number of varieties of each type could be increased from two to four.

The Yardstick trials were initiated after growers raised questions around how new varieties would respond to standard fertilizer rates used by growers rather than the high rates used for consistency in the NVT testing program.

MIG established and managed four trials over a two-year period and tested wheat, barley and canola with four nutrition strategies in the first year and wheat and barley with three nutrition strategies in the second year. The nutrition strategies were developed for three scenarios by considering target yield for a particular site. The target yield was determined by the local growers and agronomists who predicated yield in their paddock if they had a Decile 1, 4 or 7 rainfall year.  

There was no evidence from the research to indicate any wheat, barley or canola varieties yielded comparatively differently at higher rates of nutrition. This conclusion confirms that growers are receiving correct information from the early variety evaluation trials. This research is beneficial to growers and industry.