This comparative study focused on the role of livestock in whole farm performance and has shown:

• the Wimmera and Mallee farming systems that achived the highest profits typically operated with approximately 75% cropping and 25% non-cropped, with some livestock
• livestock income is less volatile than crop income;
• farms with livestock use fewer herbicides, livestock being effective as a tool to delay the developmet of herbicide resistance in crops;
• labour costs are higher when runinng livestock
• livestock do not substantially decrease from total farm operating expenses;
• the most profitable farms are not making their profit from thier livestock enterprise.

• Results from experimentation undertaken in southern NSW in 2011 and 2012, have demonstrated that crop sequences which include a brassica or legume break crops can be as profitable as, and in many instances more profitable than, continuous wheat.
• Canola was consistently the most profitable break crop option. However, the rotational benefits of canola were usually restricted to just the first subsequent wheat crop whereas additional wheat yields can occur for two years after a legume.
• Growing pulses for grain maximises profit, particularly in favourable seasons, but compromises grass weed control and (depending upon species) reduces N available to subsequent crops compared to brown manuring.
• Growing pulses for hay was found to be profitable across a range of season types, achieves excellent grass weed control and provides greater N inputs and higher carry-over of soil water than when the same crop is grown for grain.
• Growing pules for brown manure loses money in the year they are grown, but achieves excellent grass weed control, high N inputs, residual carry-over of soil water, provides more ground cover, and requires less labour than when grown for hay or grain.

• Winter habit canola was successfully sown in spring 2011, grazed over summer and harvested for grain in 2012.
• Grazing over summer increased grain yield compared to no grazing. Ungrazed yield was 1.9 t/ha, grazed was 2.7 t/ha. Taurus sown at the conventional time (April) yielded 2.3t/ha. 
• Number of grazings had a small effect on yield. Grazing twice produced the best result, yielding 0.1t/ha more than grazing once and 0.2t/ha more than grazing three times. Although there was a yield penalty by grazing 3 times compared to two times, the third grazing supplied an additional 1t/ha of high quality feed at the beginning of May.
• Heavy grazing reduced yield compared to light grazing irrespective of the number of times it was grazed. However the reduction in yield was small and the heavy grazing produced 4t/ha of feed compared to 1.4 t/ha when lightly grazed. 
• Applying nitrogen over summer has no yield benefits except for multiple (3) heavy grazings. In this case yield went from 2.0 t/ha to 2.7 t/ha

• The results of this demonstration indicate that by reducing fertiliser granule size, while maintaining the amount of fertiliser applied, can be beneficial to crop yield.
• It is assumed that this benefit is derived from better spatial arrangement of the fertiliser allowing crop roots better access to the nutrients.
• Crops with fibrous root systems (cereals and pulses) are better able to exploit this than those with tap roots (canola).

• The results of this demonstration indicate that by reducing fertiliser granule size, while maintaining the amount of fertiliser applied, can be beneficial to crop yield.
• It is assumed that this benefit is derived from better spatial arrangement of the fertiliser allowing crop roots better access to the nutrients.
• Crops with fibrous root systems (cereals and pulses) are better able to exploit this than those with tap roots (canola).

• The results of this demonstration indicate that by reducing fertiliser granule size, while maintaining the amount of fertiliser applied, can be beneficial to crop yield.
• It is assumed that this benefit is derived from better spatial arrangement of the fertiliser allowing crop roots better access to the nutrients.
• Crops with fibrous root systems (cereals and pulses) are better able to exploit this than those with tap roots (canola).

• Stubble height did not affect fallow efficiency at Weethallee following the 2013 or 2014 harvests.
• Stubble height during the 2014 fallow did not impact on 2015 crop yields.
• Leaving higher stubbles may reduce harvest cost but may also cause issues during fallow sprays and sowing. Individual producers need to target a stubble height that best suits their equipment and techniquies.

• Stubble management can influence in-canopy temperatures.
• The in-canopy temperature of long stubble was colder than short stubble.
• All trial sites experienced fewer temperature extremes during 2016 than in previous years of this trial.
• There were no measured frosts during flowering in 2016. Further research is needed to determine the physiological significance of the observed temperature differences.

• Durum varieties displayed differential grain quality and yield responses to time of sowing (TOS) and nitrogen (N) management.
• DBA AuroraA appears to offer good yield potential, but exhibits an increased risk of screenings with increasing rates of N application at sowing or when N is applied before stem elongation (GS31). It also appears to have an increased potential for lower grain protein concentrations (GPC) due to yield dilution under high yielding situations.
• A strategy involving a split application of N at sowing and either GS31 or GS39, could reduce the potential for screening issues in DBA AuroraA while maintaining adequate GPC.
• Findings from this experiment further highlight the need to sow appropriate variety maturity types within their recommended sowing windows.
   

• A good farming system will utilise two to three with varying maturities, to spread risk
• Sowing varieties inside their recommended window is essential and will maximise yield and reduce screenings. 
• Storing summer fallow moisture is the key to producing good yields in these short finishing seasons. 
• In the 2009 season, quick maturing varieties and earlier sowing dates produced the best yields across the region.

• Two trials with first wheat sown during mid-April 2014 showed no difference in grain yield or quality as a result of being grown on 22.5cm or 30cm row spacings.
• Crops grown on a 37.5cm row spacing were 5-6% lower yielding than crops on the 30cm spacing.
• Although these are single-year results, they indicate that yield advantages of a narrow spacing (22.5cm) over 30cm, measured with later-sown wheat crops, may not be apparent when wheat crops are sown early (during mid-April).
• Trends suggesting higher dry matter (DM) produciton with a narrow row spacing, which were observed with later-sown crops, were still apparent in these earlier-sown crops; however, this did not translate to higher grain yields.

• Two wheat trials sown during mid-April 2015 showed no difference in grain yield or quality as a result of being grown on 22.5cm, 30cm and 37.5cm row spacings, when averaged across four varieties.
• Although crops grown on a 22.5cm row spacing produced more dry matter (DM), this did not correspond to increased yield.
• The results were identical to that seen with wheat sown in mid-April 2014.
• There were no differences in yields of the four wheat varieties, although Bolac produced higher screenings than the other three varieties in both trials.
• There was no difference in the overall water use efficiency (WUE) between narrow and wide row spacing, although calculated water losses (soil evaporation, drainage or unused water) were greater with wide spacing than the narrow spacing.

• Four wheat trials sown during mid-April 2014 and 2015 showed no difference in grain yield or qualityas a result of being grown on 22.5cm, 30cm and 37.5cm row spacings, when averaged across four varieties (Bolac/Kiora, Lancer, Trojan and EGA Wedgetail).
• The 2016 trial sown during mid-April again showed no difference in yield between 22.5cm and 30cm row spacings, however yields were significantly less with the widest row spacing (37.5cm).
• Trial yields in 2016 were 1.5t/ha higher than 2014 and 2015 (3–4.25t/ha), with the higher yield potential likely to be a key factor in the poor performance of the widest row spacing (37.5cm).
• The Riverine Plains Water Use Efficiency (WUE) project (2009–13) showed that when crops weresown in the traditional sowing window, the 22.5cm spacing was more successful than the 30cm spacing, except in drier years with lower yield potential (2.5–3.0t/ha).
• In the three years (2014–16) of trialling row spacing on early-sown crops, crops grown on a 22.5cm row spacing produced more dry matter (DM) than crops grown on wider rows. However, the 2016 trial was the first to show a yield disadvantage to the widest
row spacing (37.5cm) when sown early.
• As a result of lower yields, the 37.5cm row spacing gave significantly poorer water use efficiency (WUE) than 30cm row spacing, with a greater proportion of calculated water losses (soil evaporation, drainage or unused water).
• A barley row spacing trial, sown at the same time alongside the wheat, provided some usefulcomparative observations during 2016, with La Trobe barley producing higher DM and yields thanwheat with a harvest index (HI) of approximately 50% compared with wheat at 40%.

• Improving water use efficiency across mixed cropping and livestock systems thorughout Eastern South Australia
• Improving whole farm profitability, whole farm sustainability and whole farm ground cover across Eastern South Australia.

Each eDemonstration site has a weather station and soil moisture probe and is a place where growers, consultants and industry can gather to learn about and compare all of the decision support tools, systems and technologies available for on farm decision making. Events are organised to ensure a large variety of tools can be evaluated by growers.

1. Differences of $204-670/year were found between systems across sites.
2. Cropping intensity is the major factor driving good/poor economic performance.
3. A system water use efficiency of $2.50 of crop income/mm of rainfall over the cropping sequence is achievable and could be used to benchmark current farming systems.

Growers view should financially compare the economic impact of both establishment systems over the whole farm, across several years. Account for the differences in grain production and also consider:
• The elite farm that has 100% of pastures successfully established with lucerne;
Versus;
• The farm using cover-cropping methods usually has only 20% of pastures with lucerne and the other 80% of the farm’s pastoral area is composed is mostly annual crop weeds because the lucerne failed to establish.

Pasture improvement in the western wheatbelt has the potential to be very profitable practice. The level of
financial success from pasture improvement is strongly correlated to a farmer’s agronomic and livestock
husbandry skills. It is advisable to take the time to develop:
• A physical plan, to improve pastures and livestock, with the assistance of your District Agronomist and
Livestock Officer;
• Gross margin budgets for sowing the pasture and the livestock enterprise, with the assistance of your
District Agronomist and Livestock Officer;
• An incisive whole farm budget, to produce an economic picture that extends over a 5 year period, with the assistance of your accountant.

There were no snails found in grain samples at three of the four locations were samples were taken. As such, it is possible that spatial variability and snail density may have a greater impact on snails numbers in grain samples than harvesting method. Site variability is a key issue and more information around how sites can vary is demonstrated in the work by SARDI at Lake Hawdon in the GRDC Stubble Initiative pest management guideline.

Very dry conditions during the growing season and the inherent variability with the trial site requires the results to be viewed with caution.  However these results show grazing Yerong barley during the vegetative stage of growth will have no impact on grain yield and is likely to be beneficial.  The grazing benefits to the whole farm system are considerable and the small reduction in stubble mass, although not huge is a positive outcome.

• Our results suggest shifting investment from nutrients to lime and cultivation and maintaining profit in the first year for the 2 sites we ran is a feasible proposition.  However, this is dependent on the soil constraints and existing soil fertility.  In this trial, it appears that the cultivation response was driven by an increase in the mineralisation rate of organic matter. The incorporation of lime did not provide any yield benefit; while the rotary spader provided adequate mixing of the lime this had no impact on growth because soil pH was already above target levels.  The yield benefit from cultivation was enough to offset the cost of the cultivation and most of the lime application, and the net margin in the year of application could be improved by reducing fertiliser rates.
•  

• There was a significant yield difference due to liming in the Magenta and Roe plots; however, the Buloke plots were not significantly different.
• Soil pH increased from 4.68 to 5.24.
• This iste had a massive radish seed bank after poor control in lupins in 2008.

• Soil moisture: Surface soil moisture contents were measured using a soil moisture probe on 19 May 2011- after all treatments had been applied. There had been 14mm of rain at this site in the week prior to measurement. Results ranged from 10.5-12% however there was no significant difference between treatments. The texture of the top soil (loamy sand) indicates that field capacity is typically around 14%.
• Emergence, crop vigour and biomass: Table 2 lists the in-season measurements taken at the ‘Wathingarra’ yellow sand site on the plots sown with the DBS bar. No assessment of any treatment indicated a response to Lure application. Assessments were also taken of the plots sown with the Morris bar and the rolled DBS plots however there was no significant difference for any of the seeding systems.
• Yield and grain quality: There was no significant difference in yield between the treatments in either the DBS, DBS + Rolled or the ribbon seeded plots.

 

• New pre-emergence herbicides provided effective control of annual ryegrass under both knife point and disc systems.
• Good crop safety was observed with preemergence herbicides under knife-points; however, herbicide damage was evident under discs and was due to shallow seeding depth.

• Stubble height would appear to have a statistically significant effect on early lupin plant height.
• This effect, although trending towards a higher lower pod height on those plants, is not statistically significant in this trial.
• This trial had insufficient measurements taken to determine the mechanism that caused the plants growing in the tall residue to grow taller and have a higher first pod, and whether that led to an increase in yield.

• The soil treatments investigated at these sites are considered to be ineffective for broad acre farming.
• Changes to nematode composition and microbial biomass were small and did not result in plant biomass production.
• Inprovements in the effectiveness of the soil treatments may occur when applied as seed dressings.

• Zinc oxide fertilisers had lower solubility and dissolution than zinc sulphates.
• Zinc oxide was as effective as zinc sulphate if it was mixed with the soil but not when banded near the seed.
• Zinc sulphate would be preferable to zinc oxide in no-till systems where fertiliser is banded.

• Nitrous oxide losses following rainfall from a wheat crop sown into vetch stubble that was terminated in various ways in the previous year were low: ~ 1.5 g N/ha/day or less.

Although the N2O emissions did not seem to correlate with the rate of N fertilizer applied the demonstration did clearly show that despite extremely wet conditions at and soon after application N2O emissions are still relatively low (less than 10%) compared to irrigation sites. These emissions are likely to be well above average in this soil and rainfall indicating the emissions from N2O in these cropping systems is relatively insignificant. The demonstration will be conducted again in 2014 using several rates of Non a single soil type to get a clearerpicture of the variation in emissions.

• High operational speed reduced sowing depth of both disc and tyne openers.
• Counts of unsprayed (nil) annual ryegrass were greater for the tyne machine than the disc seeder at 8km/h and 14km/h.
• Within the applied herbicide treatments herbicide efficacy was fairly high. 
• all standing stubble and poor seed placement at 8km/h and 10km/h by the tyne machine severely affected crop establishment.
• At 14km/h the discs ability to penetrate the soil was greatly reduced, impacting sowing depth.
• Barley yields were higher for the disc sown treatments than the tyne sown treatments.

• Trial work with Southern Farming Systems over the past four years has demonstrated significant improvements in nitrogen efficiency from applying ENTEC treated urea to wheat crops, compared to untreated urea.
• The experiment this year showed no response to nitrogen, but did highlight some important tools for predicting the liklihood of nitrogen response.

Five different stubble additives were applied to standing stubble: commercial digestor with and without microbes, a Uni of Tas experimental brew with and without a sticker and ammonium thiosulphate. While there was a significant increase in fungal colonisation for some of the treatments there was no significant difference in the amount of stubble dry matter after 6 months i.e. the rate of stubble breakdown was comparable between all treatments. Differences in digestibility and fibre will be further evaluated.

A fertiliser additive was applied to standing stubble and compared with untreated stubble. The fertiliser additive was applied with and without a sticker or molasses. There was no significant difference in the amount of stubble dry matter remaining after 6 months i.e. the rate of stubble breakdown was comparable between all treatments. Similarly there were no consistent effects on feed and chemical
characteristics. Addition of nutrients and molasses did not improve intake by grazing sheep.

• Farmscapes can be redesigned to incorporate a mixture of perennial shrubs as an addition to the existing feedbase, offering multiple benefits for mixed farming systems in low rainfall areas.
• Perennial shrubs complement rather than compete with cropping and can contribute to whole-farm profitability and sustainability.
• Developing a mixed stand of perennial shrubs is the best way of balancing establishment risk, survival, growth and livestock utilisation

• Establishment and growth to date have been good.
• Low survival rates for some species appear to be consistent with that seen at other trial sites.
• Monitoring will continue, and information on responses to grazing will be available in due course.

A combination of fertiliser inputs and irrigation can rapidly breakdownincorporated cereal stubble and allow sowing 4 weeks later. Getting the balance of fertiliser, in particular N rates, to ensure rapid breakdown, but creating neither N deficiency or excessive N remains elusive.

Measuring soil organic carbon following incorporation is giving mixed results as to the ability to increase soil OC via incorporation with fertiliser

Burning the stubble gave greater yield and oil content

• 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.

There were no differences in medic regeneration in wheat stubbles either harvested at two heights, left standing or rolled.

• Bambatsi Panic and Rhodes grass have good drought tolerance but maintaining a high plant density has proved difficult.
• Due to low rainfall seasons, more drought tolerant species are required on the site hence planting the saltbush alleys.
• Salinity varies over the site and therefore so does the ground cover, species composition and FOO.
• Roly-poly control can be achieved by spraying with 2,4-D Ester ad Garlon and rolling.

The knifepoint plus press wheel seeding system consistently maximised wheat seedling establishment on sand and clay soils, independently of herbicide application.

• Field peas have proven to be the most reliable pulse option on the upper Eyre Peninsula with yields remaining the most stable across seasons.
• Under favourable conditions there is potential for alternative pulse crops to be successful.
• Paddock selection, soil type, time of sowing, pulse agronomy, marketing and storage options all need careful consideration when looking at growing alternative pulse crops.
• New varietal options offer earlier maturity as well as improvements in harvestability, disease resistance and herbicide tolerance over older commercial standards, aiding production and profitability.
• Higher value alternatives, such as lentils, may be a high risk option and pulse crops better suited to the region could still prove to be the most profitable option in the long term.

• Production of alternative pulse options to field pea in low rainfall regions has potential to be successful under favourable seasonal conditions providing essential production criteria are met.
• Some new varietal options offer earlier maturity as well as improvements in harvestability, disease resistance and herbicide tolerance over older commercial standards, aiding production and profitability.
• Field peas have proven to be a reliable option on the upper Eyre Peninsula and are likely to be a lower risk and more profitable option in seasonal conditions that are less favourable for alternative pulse options.
• Chickpeas are generally less suited to many cropping regions of South Australia, and with a change in the ascochyta blight pathogen growers need to carefully consider their risk to AB infection and ability to effectively control the disease, including in low rainfall regions.

• This and other research demonstrates that it is possible to improve crop establishment and productivity on water repellent soils using modified furrow sowing techniques.
• Banded wetting agents are helpful with early dry or partially dry sowing before opening rains but show less benefit later in the sowing program when there has already been rain and the soil has started to wet up more (see Banded wetting agent paper WMG 2012 research annual). In very erodible conditions with high wind erosion risk the use of this strategy may be safer than the options with winged points or boots due to less soil disturbance and release of root anchorage for existing plant cover. Optimal wetting agents for WMG areas still need identification.
• Winged points and winged-paired row systems perform better than knife points under certain soil conditions but the benefits are variable and in some sowing conditions may provide little benefit. Further research is required. Winged points look most attractive when shallow moist soil can be ‘delved’ to the seed zone to provide early establishment (as in the winged knife point on the gravelly sand with shallow moisture).
• Simple approaches like sowing next to or at a shallow angle across the previous year’s crop row and broadcast spreading a portion of the seed in front of the seeding tynes are relatively simple approaches that can provide establishment benefits.
•  

• A single slug baiting was ineffective at controlling slug populations.
• Direct drilling into a heavy cereal stubble from a previous crop can result in significant slug damage to canola, even with a single baiting.
• Cereal stubble removal by burning, will significantly reduce the amount of slug damage.
• Cultivation prior to sowing will have a positive effect on reducing slug numbers and damage to canola.
• An integrated pest management approach is required to control slugs effectively. Each treatment alone does not adequately control slug populations.

There has been widespread use of continuous cereal in the Mallee over the past decade, and with many drought years throughout this period fertiliser inputs have generally been greater than crop demand. As a consequence, soil phosphoruslevels are often well above the critical level. By identifying soils and conditions where continuous cereal systems perform best and where inputs can be most effectively targeted, there is an opportunity to reduce input costs and increase profitability. This trial used PA methods to identify soil types for targeted soil sampling to achieve a greater understanding of soil phosphorus levels in different soil zones. Yield mapping was then used to identify if and where fertiliser applied to the crop impacted grain yield.

• There is still a lot of work to be done but it appears crops can be sown successfully into perennial pastures in some situations.
• Agronomic results from the Moora focus site appear to support the view that Marginal or problem soils are a potential fit for pasture cropping systems. However, it is important to note that the extra green feed produced over summer-autumn needs to be converted into wool or meat in order to offset any grain yield losses.
• Further research is required across different sites and seasons as the yield penalty on better soil classes may well be greater than on deep pale sands which have limited capacity to store moisture from summer rainfall for crop production. The viability of pasture cropping systems based on other sub tropical grass species, native grasses. lucerne and bluebush are also worth evaluating.

With increasing pressure on rotations, there are a number of forage options that can be considered;

• On higher fertility sites, with better N levels-  Annual ryegrass such as Drummer and Grassmax as well as forage cereals such as Graza 80 and 51 are an option
• Brassicas (Leafmore) should be avoided on canola stubble
• On lower N sites, Blaza Crimson Clover,  Laser Persian Clover, Zulu Arrowleaf clover and Bolta Balansa grow reasonable hay and fix Nitrogen
• Further work needs to be conducted to evaluate competition value (esp with Wimmera RG) and yield benefits to following crops.   

Due to unforseen circumstances, results for 2011 aren’t available for the Seedmark pasture evaluation sites. Seedmark do however look forward to continuing their work with MFMG in 2012 to explore the most appropriate Forage/Pasture rotation options.

The Field Days did however see the release of the new pasture variety “Monti” bred and developed by SARDI’s pastures group and released by the Australian Pasture Alliance (APA), an alliance between SARDI and Seedmark. Struan based SARDI researchers Andy
Craig and Freya Hawker lead the development of Monti with an extensive evaluation program run across a number of research site for the last 4 years. Below are some photos from the event.

Fifteen months after establishment the study has shown:

• Lucerne to be well adapted to good Eyre Peninsula cropping soils.
• Cullen and Tedera to be more persistent and productive than lucerne on shallow calcareous and highly acidic soils respectively.
• Sulla to be highly productive on good lower EP cropping soils in the growing season following  establishment.

• The evaluation of alternative perennial legume forages has commenced at 4 sites on EP in 2010.
• The production and persistence of Tedera, Cullen and Sulla are being compared to Lucerne.

Key messages:

• Treating EGA GregoryA seed with Rancona Dimension reduced establishment losses associated with the addition of crown rot inoculum to 7% compared with 26% when no seed treatment was used.
• In this instance, Rancona Dimension did not provide a significant or consistent yield benefit in the presence of high levels of crown rot infection across the 12 trial sites in 2015.
• Growers should not expect Rancona Dimension to provide a significant and consistent reduction in yield loss from crown rot infection when used as a standalone management strategy.
• Growers considering the use of Rancona Dimension should follow the manufacturer’s advice and only consider it as part of an integrated management strategy against crown rot.

Conclusions

Rancona® Dimension is registered in Australia for the suppression of crown rot infection. Rancona® Dimension reduced establishment losses associated with severe early infection, created by the addition of crown rot inoculum to the seed furrow at sowing, to 7% compared to 26% in the absence of a seed treatment. Further research is required to determine if this improvement in establishment is associated with reduced Fusarium seedling blight. It should also be established whether such severe establishment losses are an artefact of the inoculation process used in the trials or occurs naturally in paddocks with high stubble-borne inoculum loads. In a separate larger trial conducted at Tamworth in 2015 in which infected stubble at the surface was the inoculum source Rancona® Dimension did not have a significant impact on the establishment of EGA Gregory compared to the Nil seed treatment (data not presented). Establishment benefits apparent in the 12 trials unfortunately did not translate into any improvement in grain yield. Rancona® Dimension did not provide a significant yield benefit over the use of no seed treatment or the two other commonly used seed treatments examined in this study under high crown rot pressure across 12 sites in 2015.

Although Rancona® Dimension is registered for the suppression of crown rot, with activity against early infection and potential establishment losses evident in this study, growers should not expect this to translate into a significant and consistent reduction in yield loss from crown rot infection when the product is used as a standalone management strategy. Integrated management remains the best strategy to reduce losses to crown rot. Growers may like to consider including Rancona® Dimension (320 mL/100 kg seed) as one additional component in their integrated management of crown rot.

The advantages of kikuyu are:

•  Weaners can be fed in the paddock.
• Sheep can be set stocked for long periods.
• Ground cover is maintained.
• The kikuyu has carried weaners over summer, whereas the annual pasture is carrying wethers.
• There is no evidence of kikuyu movement out of the paddock into adjacent areas of native vegetation.

The advantages of kikuyu are

• Weaners can be fed in the paddock.
• Sheep can be set stocked for long periods.
• Ground cover is maintained.
• The kikuyu has carried weaners over summer, whereas the annual pasture is carrying wethers.
• There is no evidence of kikuyu movement out of the paddock into adjacent areas of native vegetation.

• There was a wide variation in the production performance of the 2010 drop hoggets that was addressed with a 30% culling rate that included a mix of visual and objective measurement.
• We have collected initial measurements from the 2011 drop lambs. Further bodyweight gain over summer and wool quality and quantity in June measurements will be collected after which the wethers and culled ewes will be sold.

Report: Erin Cahill - on-farm results summary: Soil water repellence is relatively easy to diagnose but because numerous soil types can be affected and there are many possible management options deciding how best to address the problem can be difficult. Deciding on a water repellence management strategy in cropping systems will be determined by many factors including: the severity of the water repellence, soil types affected, how much of the farm is affected, impact of other constraints and whether repellence occurs in discrete patches or larger more widespread areas.

Current projects are:

• Can adjusting zones within N1 paddock at Minnipa improve VRT outcomes?
• Small plot evaluation of the variable rate sowing paddock N1 at Minnipa
• Farming systems WUE survey 2010 – practices
• Responsive farming for soil type at Mudamuckla
• Responsive farming for soil type at Wharminda
• Manganese response in barley at Wharminda
• Can we reduce our phosphorus inputs?
• Crop production using replacement P
• Measuring the effect of residual P

The following series of articles are from trials undertaken in 2010 on the three focus sites:
• Responsive Farming Using Variable Rate Sowing at Minnipa
• Responsive Farming for Soil Type at Mudamuckla
• Responsive Farming for Soil Type at Wharminda
• Farming to Soil Potential on the Upper Eyre Peninsula: How Accurate was In-season Yield Prediction in
2010?
• Crop Production Using Replacement P Rates
• Measuring the Effect of Residual P
• Nitrogen Management on Upper Eyre Peninsula
• Wheat Variety Response to P on Grey Calcareous Soil

• Prices for faba beans have remained very high compared with long term averages, enhancing the profitability of faba beans. Growers always need to be aware of possible price swings as the international market is limited. The potential return for the crop should be based on longer term pricing between $300 and $400/ t.
• New varieties, PBA Zahra and PBA Samira, offer significantly improved grain yield (>10%) and disease resistance compared with older varieties.
• Sowing early is essential to maximise benefits to the farming system from improved biomass and grain yield to maximise profitability.
• Good disease management is critical to maximise grain yield and quality. Growers are encouraged to carefully plan their strategies, regularly monitor crops and have fungicide purchased in advance, to ensure appropriate timing of application.

• Trial not harvested due to drought conditions

• The Making Better Fertiliser Decisions for Cropping Systems in Australia (BFDC) database allows us to search for soil test calibrations for four macronutrients across a range of crops, soils types, regions and time spans.
• As an example, the critical range for soil test P (Colwell) for wheat grown in red chromosols in NSW has increased under minimum-tillage management.

• A soil and sediment survey of 10 irrigated cotton paddocks across four cotton-growing valleys revealed the tail drain sediments were enriched in organic carbon (1.03% ± 0.05) and nitrogen (0.11% ± 0.01) compared with head ditch soils (0.73% ± 0.07 for carbon and 0.08% ± 0.01 for nitrogen) of the same paddocks. Nitrate-nitrogen and dissolved organic carbon analyses showed similar trends.
• After irrigation, tail drain samples tended to release more nitrous oxide compared with head ditch samples. Emission rates were linked to the pre-irrigation mineral nitrogen concentrations of the soil/sediments.
• These non-cropped areas, representing up to 2% of the paddock area, are a significant source of nitrous oxide emission per unit area of farm as they retain high soil moisture and nutrient concentrations in the absence of plants.
• Nitrous oxide emission calculations for cotton farming systems should incorporate the emissions from head ditch and tail drain sections of the irrigation network.
   

• In the southern Victorian Mallee environment, grazing crops intended for grain production can be risky, with potential penalties to grain yield and/or quality.
• The success of grazing crops relies on an early sowing opportunity and good spring.

• This work summarises the experiences of seven farmers grazing winter cereals across four different types of enterprise.
• The economic benefits were positive in all cases and ranged from $10.80/ha to $84.06/ha. When comparative grain yields were also included, this range became $21.56/ha to $430.80/ha.
• For further findings please see the attached trial report.

In the 2014 season there were no significant yield advantages recorded at five sites across upper Eyre Peninsula when using the fungicide products over the nil treatments. This was in a season with an early start and minimal stress during crop establishment, and at sites with high Rhizoctonia inoculum levels. The broad acre farmer demonstrations in the 2014 season showed no visual differences or early plant growth measured at the given sites during the cropping season. There were differences in the level of crown root infection at Cleve, where the nil treatment had a higher number of crown roots infected and a greater % of crown root infection than the fungicide treatments. There were differences between treatments recorded in the mid-May sown barley crop at Piednippie in Rhizoctonia patch score and the seminal root score. Differences in protein, screenings and test weights were recorded between treatments at several sites with a general trend of lower yields having higher protein, higher screenings and lower test weights. Further evaluation of research trials and farmer demonstrations using new fluid products and fungicide placement, will occur over two more seasons to evaluate the economics of using fungicides in low rainfall farming systems.

Six different farmer operated seeders were used in a minimum tillage situation to compare seeder set up and the effect of trifluralin incorporated by sowing on crop emergence. The demonstrations were taken through to harvest to compare yield.

This demonstration showed that there was little difference in yield between Premium seed and farm-retained seed.

Average trial yield was 3.8 t/ha, close to the potential as identified by Yield Prophet during the season. No significant differences in yield were found between stubble treatments (stubble retained, worked or removed) and nutrient treatments (normal practice, normal practice plus additional nutrients to enhance stubble breakdown). Changes in Soil Organic Matter fractions over the duration of the trial (2012 to 2014) resulting from the stubble and nutrient treatments will be assessed in March, 2015.

No difference in yield or quality was noted for the stubble or nutrient treatments. It is likely that soil carbon is being increased as the additional nutrients did not increase yield. Increasing soil carbon is a slow process and several years are needed to see whether these treatments do increase soil carbon. A range of sites across southern Australia have been chosen to see if soil carbon can be increased.

The extra nutrition treatment had no effect on yield or grain quality this season. In the 2012 season the stubble removed treatment had the highest yield.

Average trial yield was 2.8 t/ha, approximately 1 t/ha below the nitrogen unlimited potential as identified by Yield Prophet® during the season. No significant differences in yield were found between stubble treatments (stubble retained, worked or removed) and nutrient treatments (normal practice, normal practice plus additional nutrients to enhance stubble breakdown). After three years of trial work, no significant differences in soil carbon were found between the stubble and nutrient treatments.

The farming systems trial is in its first yera of operation and has collected base line information so that the effects of each farming system on soil characteristics, weed composition and disease burden  an be assessed as the trial progresses.

The systems trial has not been operating for a sufficient period of time for the full effect of different management on pasture production to be defined.

2001 was the second year of complete monitoring and recording at the BCG's farming systems site.

The very dry conditions of 2002 produced little green pasture for sheep, with a maximum for the year of 160 kg/ha green feed-on-offer available in July. Stocking rates ranged from 2 to 5.4 dry stock equivalents per effective grazing ha. The stocking rates in the Reduced Till and Fuel Burner systems were higher than for 2001. Supplementary feeding from April, with ewes placed in a stock containment area in October supported sheep in the Hungry Sheep system.

2002 was the third year of monitoring and recording at the BCG’s Farming Systems site. The Systems trial site was severely affected by the drought, which limited monitoring and results for this year.

The drought of 2002 continued to impact on sheep production in early 2003 through a lack of bulk in crop stubbles and a high erosion risk if these stubbles were grazed. Breeding ewes were retained in the Hungry Sheep system using containment areas to avoid erosion problems and to maintain ewes. No other system contained significant sheep numbers during 2003. July-dropped crossbred lambs grazed on medic pasture and reached a weight of 45kg in mid-December. The ewes received no supplementary feeding from July, at a stocking rate of 3.7 ewes/ha. This was largely due to early germination of medic pasture in February, and sufficient follow-up rain to keep some plants alive, producing adequate pasture in late autumn/winter. Regenerating pastures were more productive than pastures sown at the autumn break.

The BCG long-term Farming Systems project was established in 1999. Four different farming systems are being compared; Zero Till, Reduced Till, Fuel Burners and Hungry Sheep, with the aim of the project to identify physical production, economic performance and sustainability indicators for each of the farming systems.

• Reliance on chemicals as the only weed control option is difficult (almost impossible) in a run of dry years.
• This trial will cease at the end of 2004 (3 years too early to obtain meaningful results) unless other funding is found.
• The trial showed, in the 2003 season, that there was no yield penalty for waiting until rain for sowing, although grain protein was lower in these crops.

Of the seven frost events that showed significant differences, all showed that the reduced stubble treatment (2t/ha) reached colder minimum temperatures than the removed stubble treatment (1.6t/ha). Across the seven events, the retained stubble treatment (2.5t/ha) also remained warmer than the reduced stubble treatment. The removed stubble treatment spent significantly less time at -2⁰C temperature threshold compared to the reduced stubble treatment. The retained stubble treatment was not significantly different to either of these.

These results suggest that removing stubble decreases the severity and duration of frost, however as discussed, there was variability in the results between the retained and reduced stubble treatments. This suggests, that in seasons where frost events are so severe, stubble management does not have a large effect on the severity of events.

The interim temperature results suggest that retaining 4t/ha of stubble significantly increases the severity and duration of frosts when compared to 0t/ha. On all occasions, reducing stubble loads to 0t/ha reduced the severity and duration.

The BCG long-term Farming Systems project was established in 1999. The project aim is to compare the physical production, economic performance and sustainability of four different farming systems : Zero Till, Reduced Till, Fuel Burners and Hungry Sheep.
2004 was another tough year at the trial site with a late break and well below average rainfall (GSR 155mm; decile 1.2 season).

• Crop yields in 2006 were driven by fallow (no difference between mechanical/conventional).
• Early sowing set an upper limit to yield but did not compensate for not being sown on fallow.
• Crop emergence was very sensitive to sowing conditions, with later sowing and sowing into 2005 cereal crop stubbles leading to much later crop emergence.
• The difference in soil available water driving the fallow response was difficult to measure with soil sampling on these soils; soil available nitrogen was a better predictor of yield in 2006.
• There were no yield penalties to adopting no-till in the Hungry Sheep and Fuel Burner systems.
• Cultivation in No Till and Reduced Till paddocks produced inconsistent effects on yield.

• There is no clear difference between till and no-till crop establishment systems for yield at the Farming Systems Trial.
• Low protein in some plots indicated nitrogen deficiency in 2009.
• Pre-sowing deep soil nitrogen tests indicated low protein but not always at the levels expected.

• Long chemical fallow plots achieved record yields in 2010.
• Rotation was a factor in higher 2010 yields, but the cause of differences is not clear.
• Pre-sowing soil nitrate was not a good predictor of crop yield potential in 2010.

• It is possible that a one off cultivation in no-till systems could increase crop yields in successive years..
• Standard and Fuel Burners outyielded No Till, followed by Reduced Till, followed by Hungry
  Sheep

• Lower grain and higher meat prices in 2009 will see systems with fallow (chemical and/or mechanical) and livestock being more profitable, unless wetter (decile 4+) growing seasons are experienced
• Farmers considering changing systems need to consider possible time delays and resource issues, particularly with re-introduction of fallow and livestock
• For some farmers, changes within systems could be just as powerful as changing between systems. Assistance may be required to figure out what to change
• The machinery inventory approach has shown less difference between systems than would be suggested by contract pricing. At some point, all systems required similar capacity in many machines.

• Different farming systems can have similar timeliness requirements during critical periods and are likely to need similar capacity machinery
• There are substantial differences in annual hours and hectares accumulated for different machines in different systems
• These are likely to lead to big differences in the costs associated with machinery in different systems.

• A survey was conducted in early 2010 to determine the current management practices of farmers and the average water use efficiency of farms on upper Eyre Peninsula.
• The survey will be repeated in 2013 to see if there are changes in the management practices and water use efficiency.

The Farming Systems trial has expressed some significant differences in soil health between each of the systems from 2000 to 2012. If these are not managed in the long-term, the sustainability of the affected systems may be reduced. The Fuel Burner System had significantly lower organic carbon in the soil compared with the other farming systems, reflective of the regular cultivation.

• Using crop growth models to quantify the season to season yield performance on different soil types and predict in-season potential yield can be a very useful tool for managing risk and inputs.
• Given the high spatial variability in soils and grain yield, mapping paddocks into zones of similar soil and yield potential enables farmers to better target input levels as well as understand crop yield potential in different seasons.
• Information about the capacity of a soil to hold water, the water and mineral N levels at sowing are the basic information needed to use Yield Prophet - given this information, grain yield can be accurately predicted.

The humus portion of soil carbon has relatively constant ratio of N, P and S. This has been established as 80N, 20P and 14S per tonne of humus carbon.

This study of Victorian wheat crops shows that:

• increasing the uptake of nitrogen by 50kg N/ha improves WUE by 3.4kg/mm,
• introducing a break crop increases WUE by 2.1-4.2kg/mm,
• the efficiency with which fertiliser nitrogen is taken up by wheat increases from 40 to 80% as GSR increases from 200 to 400mm,
• each 1% of OC contributes from 16kg N/ha (200mm GSR to 32kg N/ha (400mm GSR) to the uptake of nitrogen,
• at current prices for fertiliser N ($1kg/N) and for wheat ($170/t) is is still more economic to apply fertiliser N than to increase N supply by raising OC levels with pasture,
• grain protein levels tend to fall by 1% for each 100kg/ha increase in yields.

Sustainable and productive farming practices will require that water be used where it falls and this entails that water be used by plants and not access the water table through either surface run-off or permeating below the root zone.

Higher sowing rates resulted in higher dry matter yield at late flowering and higher seed yield with no significant differences between varieties 'Fenugreek' and 'A287'.

• Crop nitrogen requirements should be applied at or before sowing as poor spring conditions can reduce crop responses to topdressed nitrogen.
• When drilling nitrogen with the seed, rates should not exceed 25 kg/ha (7" rowing spacing).
• Grain protein levens under 10.5% indicate crop yields are below thier optimum potential - apply additional nitrogen.

• Timely sowing is essential for the profitable production of field peas. Sowing in May or June produces the highest grain yields and biomass.
• Despite several frost events and dry, hot conditions during flowering, all varieties sown were able to produce profitable grain yields.

• Field peas performed exceptionally well at Minnipa in 2012, despite a decile 3 growing season and a rapid season finish. This is likely due to good stored soil moisture levels, good early winter rainfall amounts and generally mild winter temperatures.

• Pea yields were high in 2011, but less than in the previous 2 years.
• Later maturing lines were favoured by the longer season, and apart from lower yields in Parafield there was generally little difference in grain yield between named varieties.
• A four week delay in sowing from early May resulted in a 32% yield loss across all varieties.
• Agronomy trials showed no significant effect of stubble management of grain yield in 2011, however standing stubble treatments showed increased standing height and reduced lodging compared to slashed stubble plots, which could aid harvest.

• New field pea varieties PBA Gunyah and PBA Twilight performed similarly to Kaspa and Parafield under extremely favourable conditions in 2010 at Minnipa, and given their yield advantages over these varieties in drier seasons, will be better adapted varieties for this region.
• Grain yield of PBA Stage 3 field peas averaged 2.9 t/ha at Minnipa in 2010 due to the wet and long growing season, which generally favoured later flowering pea varieties.
• Most advanced breeding lines showed no difference in yield to Kaspa (2.93t/ha) due to the favourable conditions.
• Though blackspot was present in 2010, it was not as extensive as in 2009 and had little impact on yield. This will have contributed to the 27% higher yield achieved in 2010 compared with 2009.
• Agronomy trials showed no significant effect of sowing date or stubble management treatments in 2010. This is likely due to the long growing season, and lack of disease. However early sowing is still recommended for low rainfall regions providing frost, weeds and blackspot risks are considered.