The GRDC Stubble project aims to improve farm profitability while retaining stubble in farming systems on upper Eyre Peninsula (EP). Weed control in stubble retained systems is an issue with reduced herbicide efficacy due to higher stubble loads especially for pre-emergence herbicides. Current farming practices have also changed weed behaviour with later germinating barley grass genotypes now being present in many paddocks on Minnipa Agricultural Centre (MAC) (B Fleet, EPFS Summary 2011, p 177). As a part of the stubble project several MAC farm demonstrations were undertaken in 2014 to address barley grass weed issues including later germinating types and barley grass resistance to Group A herbicides within the farming system. An integrated approach to weed management aimed at lowering the weed seed bank can make use of diverse techniques such as cultivation, stubble burning, in-crop competition using higher sowing rates and possibly row orientation. The seed bank of crop weeds can be reduced within the break phase by hay making, or green or brown manuring. Other techniques used effectively in WA with ryegrass and wild radish have been narrow windrows and chaff carts, however little research has been done on the effectiveness of these approaches with barley grass because of its early shedding of seeds before harvest. Project: EPF00001 Maintaining profitability in retained stubble systems - upper Eyre Peninsula.

The GRDC ‘Maintaining profitable farming systems with retained stubble - upper Eyre Peninsula’ project aims to improve farm profitability while retaining stubble in farming systems on upper Eyre Peninsula (EP). Weed control in stubble retained systems can be compromised where herbicide efficacy is limited due to higher stubble loads, especially for preemergent herbicides. Current farming practices have also changed weed  behavior with later germinating barley grass genotypes now present in many paddocks on the Minnipa Agricultural Centre (MAC) (B Fleet, EPFS Summary 2011). Several MAC farm demonstrations  were undertaken in 2014 to address barley grass weed issues including later germinating types and barley grass resistance to Group A herbicides. An integrated approach to weed management aimed at lowering the weed seed bank can make use of diverse techniques such as cultivation, stubble burning, in-crop competition using higher sowing rates and possibly row orientation. The weed seed bank can be reduced within the break phase by hay making, or green or brown manuring. Other techniques used effectively in WA on ryegrass and wild  radish have been narrow windrows and chaff carts. However there is limited information on the effectiveness of these tactics on barley grass in part because it is believed that most seed is shed well before harvest, limiting control. In 2015 the monitoring of farm paddock demonstrations in low rainfall farming systems to  assess control methods for grass weeds, mainly targeting barley grass, were undertaken by;
• Monitoring of narrow windrows in MAC paddocks N1 and N6W, and Bruce Heddle’s paddock CE42 (windrows and chaff dumps).
• Spray topping after oat and vetch hay (MAC paddock S4) using both crop competition (high seeding rate) followed by spray topping after the hay cut.

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

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 EP farmers identified as a problem with stubble retained systems was sowing into non-wetting sands and the resulting uneven and reduced germination. A trial was undertaken from 2013 to 2015 at Murlong (near Lock) to compare how crop establishment and performance is affected by time of sowing, sowing rate, row position and sowing depth on a non-wetting sand. The trial site was moved in 2016 to another non-wetting site near Lock.

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 EP farmers identified as a problem with stubble retained systems was sowing into non-wetting sands and the resulting uneven and reduced germination. A trial was undertaken from 2013 to 2015 at Murlong (near Lock) to compare crop establishment and performance with time of sowing, sowing rate, row position and sowing depth on a non-wetting sand. The trial site was moved in 2016 to another non-wetting site near Lock due to excessive weed issues.

Issue EP farmers identified as a problem with stubble retained systems was sowing into non-wetting sands and the resulting uneven germination. The trial at Murlong (near Lock) was established in 2013 to compare how crop establishment is affected by time of sowing, sowing rate, and seed position and depth on a non-wetting sand.

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 EP farmers identified as a problem with stubble retained systems was sowing into non-wetting sands and the resulting uneven and reduced germination. A trial at Murlong (near Lock) was established in 2013 to compare how crop establishment is affected by time of sowing, sowing rate, and seed position and depth on a non-wetting sand and crop performance. The trial has been re-seeded in the 2014 and 2015 growing seasons.

To achieve quantitative and measurable improvements in crop production, farm profitability and resource condition by appropriate crop sequencing within five years.

To facilitate capacity building and empowerment of the agricultural community across the region to participate in RD&E, access information and training and benefit from the full spectrum of GRDCsupported research.

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

To assess the new products with a range of application strategies and compared them to other management options (tillage, zinc, starter nitrogen, deep sowing, fluid fertiliser and late sowing) which can change the impact of rhizoctonia on crop production.

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.

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 upper EP farmers identified as a problem was sowing into retained pasture residue with pasture vines causing issues with blockages at sowing and uneven germination. Also establishing legume pastures into heavy stubble residues has also an issue in this region. The trial at Mount Cooper was designed to compare plant establishment and production, and weed and pest control effectiveness in the presence and absence of previous crop or legume pasture residues.

Caring for Our Country funding was obtained to demonstrate the impact of new fungicides for Rhizoctonia suppression by monitoring farmer implement broad acre strips in their current farming systems in 2014.

The DAFF and GRDC funded national trial will examine existing, new and alternative strategies for farmers in the cereal sheep zone to increase soil carbon. The trial will be used as baseline data for carbon accumulation in soils and to: discuss the various forms of soil organic carbon (plant residues, particulate, humus and resistant fractions), investigate how management affects each of these pools and how humus can be increased over the medium to long term, communicate how soil organic matter affects soil productivity (through nutrient and water supply, and improvements in soils structure). Identical trials are being run by eight farm groups in SE Australia (Victoria: Mallee Sustainable Farming, Birchip Cropping Group, Southern Farming Systems; NSW: FarmLink, Central West Farming Systems; SA: Hart and Eyre Peninsula Agricultural Research Foundation, both through Ag Ex Alliance; and Tasmania: Southern Farming Systems) so information can be collected on different soils and climates in the Southern Region.

The DAFF and GRDC funded national trial will examine existing, new and alternative strategies for farmers in the cereal sheep zone to increase soil carbon. The trial will be used as baseline data for carbon accumulation in soils and to: discuss the various forms of soil organic carbon (plant residues, particulate, humus and resistant fractions), investigate how management affects each of these pools and how humus can be increased over the medium to long term, communicate how soil organic matter affects soil productivity (through nutrient and water supply, and improvements in soils structure). Identical trials are being run by eight farm groups in SE Australia (Victoria: Mallee Sustainable Farming, Birchip Cropping Group, Southern Farming Systems; NSW: FarmLink, Central West Farming Systems; SA: Hart and Eyre Peninsula Agricultural Research Foundation, both through Ag Ex Alliance; and Tasmania: Southern Farming Systems) so information can be collected on different soils and climates in the Southern Region.

The DAFF and GRDC funded national trial will examine existing, new and alternative strategies for farmers in the cereal sheep zone to increase soil carbon. The trial will be used as baseline data for carbon accumulation in soils and to: discuss the various forms of soil organic carbon (plant residues, particulate, humus and resistant fractions), investigate how management affects each of these pools and how humus can be increased over the medium to long term ,communicate how soil organic matter affects soil productivity (through nutrient and water supply, and improvements in soils structure). Identical trials are being run by eight farm groups in SE Australia (Victoria: Mallee Sustainable Farming, Birchip Cropping Group, Southern Farming Systems; NSW: FarmLink, Central West Farming Systems; SA: Hart and Eyre Peninsula Agricultural Research Foundation, both through Ag Ex Alliance; and Tasmania: Southern Farming Systems) so information can be collected on different soils and climates in the Southern Region.

The DAFF and GRDC funded national trial will examine existing, new and alternative strategies for farmers in the cereal sheep zone to increase soil carbon. The trial will be used as baseline data for carbon accumulation in soils and to: discuss the various forms of soil organic carbon (plant residues, particulate, humus and resistant fractions), investigate how management affects each of these pools and how humus can be increased over the medium to long term, communicate how soil organic matter affects soil productivity (through nutrient and water supply, and improvements in soils structure). Identical trials are being run by eight farm groups in SE Australia (Victoria: Mallee Sustainable Farming, Birchip Cropping Group, Southern Farming Systems; NSW: FarmLink, Central West Farming Systems; SA: Hart and Eyre Peninsula Agricultural Research Foundation, both through Ag Ex Alliance; and Tasmania: Southern Farming Systems) so information can be collected on different soils and climates in the Southern Region.

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).

The Minnipa Agricultural Centre S3S pasture trial was established in 2013 to assess barley grass weed management with a two year medic pasture break. The trial had different grass weed management and tillage treatments imposed in 2013 and in 2014. The trial was then sown with wheat in 2015.

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).

The Minnipa Agricultural Centre S3S pasture trial was established in 2013 to assess barley grass weed management with a two year medic pasture break. The trial had different grass weed management and tillage treatments imposed in 2013 and in 2014. The trial was then sown with wheat in 2015 and 2016.

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).

The Minnipa Agricultural Centre S3S pasture trial was established in 2013 to assess the impact of a two year medic pasture break on barley grass. The trial had different grass weed management and tillage treatments imposed in 2013 and 2014. The trials were sown with wheat in 2015 and 2016, and allowed to regenerate with medic pasture in 2017.

The GRDC ‘Maintaining profitable farming systems with retained stubble’ projects on upper and lower Eyre Peninsula (EP) aim to improve farm profitability while retaining stubble in farming systems. Grass weed management is one of the key issues of current cropping systems with annual ryegrass and barley grass being of most importance on lower EP (LEP) and upper EP (UEP) respectively. Herbicides continue to be the main strategy for weed control, and on LEP the intensification of cropping rotations and the decrease in livestock from farming systems has resulted in even further pressure on herbicides, resulting in the accelerated development of herbicide resistance in ryegrass.

An integrated approach to weed management (IWM) is required to slow the development of herbicide resistance and improve the sustainability of our farming systems. IWM aims to lower the weed seed bank with the use of herbicides as well as non-chemical techniques such as cultivation, higher sowing rates, and harvest weed seed management such as burning stubble, narrow windrow and chaff cart dumps. Demonstration paddocks were monitored to assess grass weed management strategies in current farming systems. This information will be used to improve the Ryegrass Integrated Management (RIM) model for EP systems, and potentially produce other grass weed management models (barley grass).

The GRDC project ‘Maintaining profitable farming systems with retained stubble - upper Eyre Peninsula’ aims to improve farm profitability while retaining stubble in farming systems on upper Eyre Peninsula (EP). Weed control in stubble retained systems can be compromised when stubbles and organic residues intercept the herbicide and prevent it from reaching the desired target, or the herbicide is tightly bound to organic matter. Reduced herbicide efficacy in the presence of higher stubble loads is a particular issue for pre-emergence herbicides. Current farming practices have also changed weed behavior with a shift in dormancy in barley grass genotypes now confirmed in many paddocks on Minnipa Agricultural Centre (MAC) (B Fleet, EPFS Summary 2011, p 177). As a part of the stubble project this trial was undertaken to assess herbicide efficacy in different stubble management systems.

The GRDC project ‘Maintaining profitable farming systems with retained stubble - upper Eyre Peninsula’ aims to improve farm profitability while retaining stubble in farming systems on upper Eyre Peninsula (EP). Weed control in stubble retained systems can be compromised when stubbles and organic residues intercept the herbicide and prevent it from reaching the desired target, or the herbicide is tightly bound to organic matter. Reduced herbicide efficacy in the presence of higher stubble loads is a particular issue for pre-emergence herbicides. Current farming practices have also changed weed dormancy in barley grass genotypes in many paddocks on Minnipa Agricultural Centre (MAC).

As a part of the stubble project this trial was undertaken to assess herbicide efficacy (effectiveness) in different stubble management systems. To understand how herbicides perform it is important to know the properties of the herbicide, the soil type and how the herbicide is broken down in the environment. The availability of a herbicide is an interaction between the solubility of a herbicide, how tightly it is bound to soil particles and organic matter, soil structure, cation exchange capacity and pH, herbicide volatility, soil water content and the rate of herbicide applied (EPFS Summary 2015, p132).

This article reports on the results of the second year of the trial, with a third year of the trial to be conducted in 2017.

The GRDC project ‘Maintaining profitable farming systems with retained stubble - upper Eyre Peninsula’ aims to improve farm profitability while retaining stubble in farming systems on upper Eyre Peninsula (EP). One of the barriers to retaining stubble is the perceived reduction in pre-emergent herbicide effectiveness (efficacy) in stubbles. This component of the project is testing whether various stubble management activities impact on herbicide efficacy.

Weed control in stubble retained systems can be compromised when stubbles and other plant residues intercept the herbicide and prevent it from reaching the desired target, or the herbicide is tightly bound to organic matter. Reduced herbicide efficacy in the presence of higher stubble loads is a particular issue for pre-emergence herbicides. Current farming practices have also changed weed behavior; eg prolonged dormancy in barley grass has been confirmed in many paddocks on Minnipa Agricultural Centre (MAC). As a part of the stubble project this trial was undertaken to assess herbicide efficacy in different stubble management systems.

This article reports on the results of the third and final year of the trial. See EPFS Summaries 2015 and 2016 for previous trial reports.

Barley grass continues to be a persistent grassy weed in low rainfall farming systems and current farming practices have selected for increased seed dormancy. This change in seed dormancy has resulted in Barley grass germinating later, and being much harder to control with knockdown and pre-emergent herbicides. In 2018 a range of herbicide strategies was tested for their effectiveness on a high density population of Barley grass.

To maintain or improve crop production through applying alternative weed, disease and pest control options in pasture wheat rotations in the presence of crop residues. The trial was established in 2013 with different stubble treatments imposed at harvest and was sown either inter row or in row with wheat in 2014.

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).

The Minnipa Agricultural Centre (MAC) S7 stubble retention trial was established to maintain or improve crop production through applying alternative weed, disease and pest control options in pasture wheat rotations in the presence of crop residues. The trial was established in 2013 with wheat and different stubble treatments imposed at harvest annually. It was sown either inter row or on row with wheat in 2014 and 2015 to determine the impacts of stubble management on crop production, weeds, disease and pests in low rainfall farming systems.

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).

The Minnipa Agricultural Centre (MAC) S7 stubble retention trial was established to determine if we could maintain or improve crop production through applying alternative weed, disease and pest control options in pasture wheat rotations in the presence of crop residues. The trial was established in 2013 with wheat and different stubble treatments imposed at harvest annually. It was sown either inter row or on row each season to determine the impacts of stubble management on crop production, weeds, disease and pests in low rainfall farming systems.

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).

The Minnipa Agricultural Centre (MAC) S7 stubble retention trial was established to maintain or improve crop production through applying alternative weed, disease and pest control options in pasture wheat rotations in the presence of crop residues. The trial was established in 2013 with wheat and different stubble treatments imposed at harvest annually. It was sown either inter row or on row in 2014-17 to determine the impacts of stubble management on crop production, weeds, disease and pests in low rainfall farming systems.

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

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

The issue of enteric (from intestines) methane (CH4) emissions produced by ruminant livestock is gaining local and global interest due to methane being a powerful greenhouse gas and ruminants being a significant source of emissions. In the absence of measurements, prediction models can facilitate the estimation of enteric methane emissions from ruminant livestock and aid investigation of mitigation options. In Southern Australia, the management of the feedbase in low rainfall mixed farming systems through addressing ‘feed gaps’ – times of year during which the supply of forage is insufficient to meet livestock demand; is a key practice change which has the potential to mitigate methane emissions, particularly from sheep.

The aim of this trial was to evaluate pasture/forage options with a potential to fill the late-spring and early winter feed gaps and to measure comparative animal production and feed quality in response to current and improved forages. Methane output (gCH4/day) was simulated using the GrazFeed model.

The GrazFeed decision support tool is a component of the GRAZPLAN decision support project for Australian grazing enterprises developed by CSIRO to help graziers improve the profitability of livestock production through more efficient use of pastures and supplementary feeds. It does this by predicting the intake of energy and protein and their use for maintenance and production (Freer et al., 1997).

To investigate nitrogen response at Minnipa in 2009.

To measure and quantify N2O emissions from wheat grown in rotation with canola, pulses and legume pastures at two sites in low and medium/high rainfall farming systems of the Eyre Peninsula, while assessing best management practices that local farmers can adopt to reduce the risk of N2O losses and ultimately improve the paddock’s crop productivity and gross margin.

Agricultural soils are the main source of emission of the greenhouse gas (GHG) nitrous oxide (N2O) to the atmosphere. N2O is a potent GHG which lasts in the atmosphere for 114 years and has a global warming potential of approximately 300 times greater than that of carbon dioxide over a 100 year timescale. Agriculture accounts for 16% of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions but produces 80% of Australia’s N2O emissions. This project seeks to measure and quantify N2O emissions from wheat grown in rotation with canola, pulses and legume pastures at two sites in low and medium/high rainfall farming systems of the Eyre Peninsula, while assessing best management practices that local farmers can adopt to reduce the risk of N2O losses and ultimately improve the paddock’s crop productivity and gross margin.

To measure and quantify N2O emissions from wheat grown in rotation with canola, pulses and legume pastures at two sites in low and medium/high rainfall farming systems of the Eyre Peninsula, while assessing best management practices that local farmers can adopt to reduce the risk of N2O losses and ultimately improve the paddock’s crop productivity and gross margin.

Agricultural soils are the main source of emission of the greenhouse gas (GHG) nitrous oxide (N2O) to the atmosphere. N2O is a potent GHG which lasts in the atmosphere for 114 years and has a global warming potential of approximately 300 times greater than that of carbon dioxide over a 100 year timescale. Agriculture accounts for 16% of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions but produces 80% of Australia’s N2O emissions. This project seeks to measure and quantify N2O emissions from wheat grown in rotation with canola, pulses and legume pastures at two sites in low and medium/high rainfall farming systems of the Eyre Peninsula, while assessing best management practices that local farmers can adopt to reduce the risk of N2O losses and ultimately improve the paddock’s crop productivity and gross margin.

To investigate options for no-till sowing in stony soils.

Onion weed (Asphodelus fistulosusis) is a significant pest of crops and pastures on many soil types on upper EP. Onion weed that germinates in the pasture phase often results in thick stands of large plants that require repeated herbicide application and/or cultivation to control prior to a crop phase. Cultivation prior to sowing is a widespread practice to control the weed and reduce the residues to manageable levels. However, cultivation can expose the soil to erosion.

Onion weed in pastures regularly sets seed prior to the end of the growing season, ensuring the seed bank is replenished and the weed persists in every phase of the rotation. A key strategy to reduce the impact of onion weed, and the need for cultivation, is to reduce growth and seed set in the pasture phase of the rotation. Non-selective herbicides can control actively growing onion weed plants, but pasture growth is also affected.

Previous trials by the UNFS group, MDB NRM, and PIRSA have shown the following herbicides can provide adequate control of onion weed in non-selective situations:

                    Paraquat and double knocks of paraquat

                    Glyphosate plus metsulfuron methyl mixtures (+/- paraquat second knock)

                    Glyphosate plus LVE ester 2,4- D plus metsulfuron methyl,( +/- paraquat second knock)

                    Chlorsulfuron

                    Spray Seed

                    Alliance

This trial was established to investigate herbicide control of autumn/winter germinating onion weed in the pasture phase, while maintaining the productivity of the medic pasture. This trial evaluated the herbicide control of young actively growing onion weed in a vigorous medic pasture. The herbicides, with the exception of paraquat, were chosen to minimise the impact on the medic biomass production.

To develop an improved understanding and implementation of management practices for Brassica, pulse crops, pastures and other options to reduce the risk of crop failure and improve whole farm profitability in low rainfall south-east Australia.

Sheep are an integral part of low-medium rainfall mixed farming systems across southern Australia and they account for 23% of Australia’s total livestock emissions. Apart from the contribution to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, the energy lost as methane represents a significant inefficiency in sheep production systems. Therefore, maintaining or improving the balance between forage and animal productivity, and methane emissions is likely to be a challenge under a warmer and drier climate. The aim of this trial is to evaluate pasture/forage options to fill in the late-spring, autumn and early winter feed gaps; and to measure comparative animal production, feed quality and methane emissions in response to current and improved sheep feeding strategies.

To investigate wheat varieties suitable to adapt to seasonal variability. 

Ryegrass management is one of the key drivers of profitability in Lower Eyre Peninsula (LEP) cropping systems, and herbicides have recently been used as the main strategy for control. The intensification of cropping rotations and a decrease in livestock in farming systems has increased pressure on herbicides, resulting in the development of herbicide resistance. Other management strategies need to be assessed to manage ryegrass. The Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative (ARHI) based at University of Western Australia developed the Ryegrass Integrated Management (RIM) model. This model enables growers and advisors to run various ryegrass management scenarios, with the model showing the cumulative effect on ryegrass numbers and profitability of the management strategies. This model can be accessed at ahri.uwa.edu.au/research/rim.

The GRDC ‘Maintaining profitable farming systems with retained stubble - upper Eyre Peninsula’ project has a focus on barley grass (Upper EP) and ryegrass (LEP). The research on this project has been undertaken by SARDI Minnipa Agricultural Centre staff. As part of this research a LEP farm was selected to monitor in-paddock ryegrass populations and weed management strategies. This research aims to ground-truth the effect (predicted by the RIM model) that various ryegrass management strategies have on ryegrass populations on a LEP farm with high ryegrass numbers and extend this information to EP growers and advisors to assist them in improving ryegrass management decisions using the RIM model.

Selection of canola lines for low rainfall environments in south eastern Australia

To select for early lines to be used in districts located around Minnipa (SA), Walpeup (Vic) and Condobolin (NSW). 

To identify alternative grazing systems that are both sustainable and profitable in low-medium rainfall zones where cropping is no longer viable due to high risks and changing climatic conditions.

Issue upper EP farmers identified as a problem was sowing into retained pasture residue with pasture vines causing issues with blockages at sowing and uneven germination. The trial at Mount Cooper was designed to compare crop establishment and production, and weed and pest control effectiveness in the presence and absence of legume pasture residues. Project: EPF00001 Maintaining profitability in retained stubble systems - upper Eyre Peninsula.

To test the concept of spreading sand on transient salinity “magnesia” patches to see if could be equally effective in improving the performance of heavy soils.