Projects

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Term
2023-2025

Project Officer
Jane McInnes

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Find out more

For further information about this project, please contact Riverine Plains Senior Project Manager, Jane McInnes at jane@riverineplains.org.au

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WHY THIS PROJECT IS NEEDED

Dry and early sowing of cereal crops is a practice commonly used by farmers in southern Australia to combat erratic and late opening season rainfall, and to effectively manage the sowing program on increasingly large farms.

In short: This is a collaborative project which aims to enhance the adoption of strategic dry sowing crop management techniques to help farmers reduce their production risk and better manage increasingly large sowing programs.

There has been a large amount of research and development on dry and early sowing by key research and development organisations such as Grains Research Development Corporation (GRDC), CSIRO, and state agencies into seeding strategies, nutritional requirements, and machinery setup for dry sown crops.

However, many growers have not accessed the information, or are seeking to develop a more strategic approach that is tailored to their specific district and property requirements. Additionally, there are opportunities to increase the success of early sowing by combining management approaches and strategies.

Project focus

This project will see fifteen prominent Grower Groups partner with four Drought Hubs to deliver a program that accelerates the adoption of strategic dry and early sown crop management approaches. Each group will tailor activities to meet the knowledge, experience, and needs of their member bases and local communities.

In the Riverine Plains region, the project includes the establishment of two demonstration sites investigating best bet early sown crop management at Murchison in Northern Victoria, and Rand in southern NSW.

Agronomic parameters collected from both sites will also compare the “best bet” option with the current practice.

Project full title: De-risking the seeding program: Adoption of key management practices for the success of dry early sown crops

Find out more

For further information, please contact Riverine Plains Senior Project Manager, Jane McInnes at jane@riverineplains.org.au

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WHY THIS PROJECT IS NEEDED

Many broadacre farming businesses rely on capturing and storing surface water (rainfall run-off) using multiple small paddock dams for stock and domestic use.

These dams have limited capacity to store water for multiple years, and rely on regular surface runoff to be replenished.

In a ‘normal’ year, reduced runoff may be sufficient to meet requirements, but in drought conditions they are often inadequate.

This lack of water during drought restricts the ability to graze any remaining feed such as crop stubble, failed crops or dry standing feed, often leading to the forced sale of livestock. It also restricts the availability of water for domestic use.

Knowing the suitability of existing farm dams therefore helps plan for better drought resilience.

In short: The project aims to develop a calculator that estimates rainfall run-off into farm dams, to help farmers improve their drought management.

Project focus

The project aims to develop new and improved tools, technologies and practices to support improved management and drought resilience.

The project involves the development of a spatial tool to rapidly calculate the likely runoff into existing farm dams. This type of calculator does not exist (current approaches are designed for flood rather than drought planning) and will help farmers prepare, cope and recover from drought.

This online tool will enable farmers to self-assess the adequacy of their current farm dams in capturing sufficient water for farm operations.

Project outcomes

Twelve regionally spread small farm dams will be monitored over two seasons (2023–24) to collect surface runoff (calibration) data.

This will help create an on-line farm dam calculator, so that farmers and landholders can assess the adequacy of an individual farm dam under different climatic scenarios.

Workshops will also be held to provide an opportunity for farmers to discuss the adequacy of their existing farm dams, how this impacts their farm drought resilience, and how the farm dam model can be used to assess the value of their farm dams.

Whole farm case studies will provide practical insights for farmers looking to improve their drought resilience.

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This project is funded by the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund through the Drought Resilience Innovation Grants Program.

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This project is led by Southern Farming Systems.

Project partners include Birchip Cropping Group, Food and Fibre Gippsland, Nicon Rural Services, The University of Melbourne, Deakin University, La Trobe University, Federation University Australia, and Agriculture Victoria.

Term
2023-2024

Project Officer
Jane McInnes

Find out more

For further information, please contact Riverine Plains Senior Project Manager, Jane McInnes at jane@riverineplains.org.au

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WHY THIS PROJECT IS NEEDED

Many broadacre farming businesses rely on capturing and storing surface water (rainfall run-off) using multiple small paddock dams for stock and domestic use.

These dams have limited capacity to store water for multiple years, and rely on regular surface runoff to be replenished.

In a ‘normal’ year, reduced runoff may be sufficient to meet requirements, but in drought conditions they are often inadequate.

Knowing the suitability of existing farm dams therefore helps plan for better drought resilience.

In short: The project aims to develop a calculator that estimates rainfall run-off into farm dams, to help farmers improve their drought management.

Project focus

The project aims to develop new and improved tools, technologies and practices to support improved management and drought resilience.

This online tool will enable farmers to self-assess the adequacy of their current farm dams in capturing sufficient water for farm operations.

Project outcomes

Twelve regionally spread small farm dams will be monitored over two seasons (2023–24) to collect surface runoff (calibration) data.

This will help create an on-line farm dam calculator, so that farmers and landholders can assess the adequacy of an individual farm dam under different climatic scenarios.

Whole farm case studies will provide practical insights for farmers looking to improve their drought resilience.

This project is funded by the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund through the Drought Resilience Innovation Grants Program.

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This project is led by Southern Farming Systems.

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This project was completed in 2024.

Project Officer
Sophie Hanna

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Find out more

For more information, please contact Livestock Project Officer Sophie Hanna at sophie@riverineplains.org.au

}', 35='{type=list, value=[{id=166821141514, name='Image{width=186,height=140,url='https://20998586.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/20998586/Australian%20Government%20Logo-2.svg',altText='Australian Government Logo-2',fileId=170569015614}'}, {id=166831992688, name='Image{width=158,height=140,url='https://20998586.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/20998586/Future%20Drought%20Fund%20Logo-1.svg',altText='Future Drought Fund Logo-1',fileId=170367717166}'}, {id=166821141528, name='Image{width=215,height=140,url='https://20998586.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/20998586/Southern%20NSW%20Innovation%20Hub%20Logo-1.svg',altText='Southern NSW Innovation Hub Logo-1',fileId=170568896067}'}]}', 36='{type=string, value=Pasture management, use of livestock containment and feeding systems can help Riverine Plains region farmers improve their drought resilience.}', 8='{type=string, value=

WHY THIS PROJECT IS NEEDED

Central and southern NSW were once dominated by deep-rooted, perennial-based grassy woodlands. Since European settlement, landscapes have transformed to highly annualised systems, which has had a major impact on farm production and ecosystem health, function, and resilience, especially during times of drought.

This project aimed to use the latest research on species and management to increase the use of perennial pasture species within farming landscapes and increase resilience in dry seasons.

Drought resilient pastures contain a high proportion of productive perennial grasses, especially when accompanied by well adapted legumes inoculated with effective rhizobia. The establishment or enhancement of these pastures provides permanent habitat for above and below-ground biodiversity and protects soil from erosion and structural loss, while also buffering against high temperatures and rapid desiccation.

Drought resilient pastures also maintain higher organic matter and soil fertility levels, which can better support ecosystem function, particularly during times of drought. They can also suppress weeds, cycle nutrients, provide higher and more stable source of nutrition to stock and wildlife.

Drought resilient pastures can also aid recovery following drought, thereby increasing the profitability and stability of farm systems. The deeper roots of perennial pastures also increase carbon sequestration and water utilisation, reducing salinity, acidity and nutrient loss, while their ability to extract water from deeper in the profile can extend the growing season, increasing resilience in dry seasons.

Recent research also highlights their potential to reduce livestock methane emissions. As such, well adapted, more drought resilient pastures have the potential to contribute to Australia’s goals for both net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and an Agricultural Industry achieving $100bn in farm gate output by 2030.

Project focus

The project specifically aimed to help farmers build knowledge, skills and confidence to improve their pasture base, either by using practices to enhance favourable species already present, or by establishing new pastures. This helped address feed base management and farmer concerns around its impact on drought resilience.

A number of demonstration sites were established across the mid to high rainfall zones of central and southern NSW to showcase modern pasture species combinations and management practices known to build greater resilience into landscapes.

In the Riverine Plains, demonstration sites were established at Barooga and Savernake to identify the best pasture practices for local conditions.

The site at Barooga aimed to demonstrate the benefits of rotationally grazing lucerne for improving pasture persistence, pasture quality and animal production.
The Savernake site aimed to demonstrate the impact of lucerne seeding rate and variety on pasture persistence and quality.

Measurements were collected from both sites to quantify soil nutrition, establishment rates, species frequency and composition, biomass production and pasture quality. Lamb growth rates were also measured at the Barooga site to demonstrate the impact of rotational vs set stock grazing practices on animal production (data not presented).

Outputs from the demonstration sites have been modelled using decision support tools to explore environmental, production and economic impacts of practice changes on farm.

Field days and workshops, case studies, videos, publications and on-farm consultations helped communicate key learnings and outcomes from the project.

Project outcomes

Results from this project's 2023 trials were published in Research for the Riverine Plains, 2024.

Key messages were:

Lucerne is a valuable perennial legume pasture capable of producing high-quality feed for stock from spring to autumn
Rotationally grazing lucerne-based pastures, to allow a rest period, is important for lucerne persistence and productivity, as well as the productivity of stock grazing it
To support persistence, lucerne sowing rates and cultivars should be selected to achieve target plant densities and productivity, while also being suited to the region’s rainfall, temperature, and type of farming system
At Savernake, lucerne quality declined from September to January before stabilising between January and March
Well-managed lucerne pastures are valuable options for improving livestock farmers’ drought resilience

Background

This project aimed to use the latest research on pasture species and management, to promote the use of perennial pastures within farming landscapes and increase resilience in dry seasons.

A species demonstration and grazing demonstration were established at Savernake and Barooga, respectively, in May 2023. These two demonstration sites aimed to showcase best-practice pasture management to build greater resilience for farmers in central and southern New South Wales.

Method

Pasture quality, plant frequency, plant species composition and biomass measurements were collected between spring 2023 to autumn 2024 at both sites, to monitor changes in pasture performance and persistence over the first summer of growth.

SAVERNAKE SPECIES DEMONSTRATION SITE

Aim
To demonstrate the impact of lucerne seeding rate and variety on pasture persistence and quality.
Table 1 Savernake species demonstration site treatments.

Method
The paddock was sown in late May 2023, with the treatments listed in Table 1.

Pasture quality samples were collected in mid- late September 2023 as well as mid-January and mid-March 2024. Lucerne and sub clover plant frequency, plant composition and biomass were measured in mid–late September 2023 and mid- March 2024 to measure differences before and after the first summer.

Table 1 Savernake species demonstration site treatments.

TREATMENT	PERENNIAL PASTURE SPECIES	CULTIVAR	GROWTH TYPE	SOWING RATE (KG/HA)
Control (Lucerne/ sub clover mix)	Lucerne	SARDI 7s2	Winter active	5
	Brachycalycinum sub clover	Mintaro	Mid-maturing	3
	Yanninicum sub clover	Monti	Early-mid-maturing	3
Treatment 1 (Heavy lucerne rate/sub clover mix)	Lucerne	SARDI 7s2	Winter active	9
	Brachycalycinum sub clover	Mintaro	Mid-maturing	3
	Yanninicum sub clover	Monti	Early-mid-maturing	3
Treatment 2 (Two lucerne cultivars / sub clover mix)	Lucerne	SARDI 7s2	Winter active	2.5
	Lucerne	SARDI Grazer	Winter active, grazing tolerant	2.5
	Brachycalycinum sub clover	Mintaro	Mid-maturing	3
	Yanninicum sub clover	Monti	Early-mid-maturing	3

Results and Discussion
The lucerne and sub clover stands established well across all treatments, with the first grazing event occurring in mid-late January 2024. The eight-month period between sowing and grazing was intended to enable the lucerne to establish an extensive root base to support plant persistence. At the time of the first grazing, the lucerne in the control (lucerne / sub clover mix) appeared shorter and lighter in colour compared to Treatment 1 (heavy lucerne rate / sub clover mix) and Treatment 2 (two lucerne cultivars/ subclover mix).

Average lucerne and sub clover pasture quality was similar in September 2023, as shown by the key feed quality measurements in Table 2. Lucerne quality declined from September to January, as indicated by the increase in neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and decline in crude protein (CP) and metabolisable energy (ME), and then remained relatively stable between January and March. Lucerne quality was consistently similar across all treatments (data not shown).

Lucerne plant density remained stable over the first summer, as shown in Table 3, illustrating good initial pasture persistence. Sub clover is an annual plant which experiences seed dormancy over summer, and as such, density and composition (data not shown) were zero in March 2024.

Table 2 Savernake species demonstration site showing average lucerne and sub clover quality across all treatments

	NEUTRAL DETERGENT FIBRE (NDF)	ACID DETERGENT FIBRE (ADF)	CRUDE PROTEIN (CP) -	DRY MATTER DIGESTIBILITY (DMD)	CALCULATION OF METABOLISABLE ENERGY (ME)
	%	%	%	%	MJ/kg DM
Mid September 2023
Lucerne (Average all treatments)	26.0	17.0	22.3	82.0	12.7
Sub clover (Average all treatments)	28.0	19.0	25.5	82.0	12.3
Mid January 2024
Lucerne (Average all treatments)	43.0	28.6	12.8	64.1	9.3
Mid March 2024
Lucerne (Average all treatments)	40.1	28.9	19.1	66.7	9.7

Note: Pasture quality samples analysed on a dry matter basis by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR).

Table 3 Savernake species demonstration site plant density.

	SEPTEMBER 2023		MARCH 2024
	Lucerne	Sub clover	Lucerne	Sub clover
Treatment	(plants/m2)
Control	41	32	43	0
1	50	29	50	0
2	47	37	45	0

In September 2023, lucerne composition was greatest in Treatment 1 (heavy lucerne rate/sub clover mix), and similar between the control (lucerne/sub clover mix and Treatment 2 (two lucerne cultivars/sub clover mix). This was as expected given the heavier lucerne sowing rate in Treatment 1 (data not shown).

Total biomass was similar across all treatments at both measurement times, with the greater biomass recorded in Treatment 2 being attributed to a historic soil disturbance from the digging of a pipe beneath part of the treatment (Figure 1). Across all treatments, total biomass was greater in March than September, despite two short grazing periods in late January and early February.

Figure 1 Savernake species demonstration site Total biomass (kg DM/ha).

While little difference was found between the treatments at four and 10 months after establishment, it’s recommended that farmers sow the most appropriate species and cultivar at the best sowing rate for the region’s rainfall and temperature, and the type of farming system. This is important for maximising pasture production and persistence.

BAROOGA GRAZING DEMONSTRATION SITE

Aim
To demonstrate the benefits of rotationally grazing lucerne for improving pasture persistence, pasture quality and animal production.

Method
The site consisted of two 10 hectare dryland paddocks, “A3 West” and “A3 East”, which were sown to 9 kg/ha lucerne (cv L70) and 6 kg/ha arrowleaf clover (cv Zulumax) in late May 2023. Two irrigated 20 ha paddocks, “A7 West” and “A7 East”, which were sown to lucerne in 2019, were also included as part of the demonstration.

Pasture quality samples were collected on 9 October 2023, 19 January and 14 March 2024. As the A3 West and A3 East paddocks were sown to the same species and treated similarly, quality samples were combined across both paddocks. Lucerne quality samples from both A7 West and A7 East were also combined for measurement.
Lucerne and arrowleaf plant density, composition and biomass were collected on 9 and 30 October 2023 (data not shown) and 14 March 2024.

Results
Pasture quality was relatively similar between the A3 lucerne and A3 arrowleaf clover (Table 4). The lucerne quality was also similar between the A3 and A7 paddocks. The volunteer grasses in the A3 paddocks were predominantly annual
ryegrass, and had higher NDF and lower CP and ME than the legumes, reflecting their poorer quality.

Table 4 Barooga grazing demonstration site pasture quality

	NEUTRAL DETERGENT FIBRE (NDF)	ACID DETERGENT FIBRE (ADF)	CRUDE PROTEIN (CP)	DRY MATTER DIGESTIBILITY (DMD)	CALCULATION OF METABOLISABLE ENERGY (ME)
	%	%	%	%	MJ/kg DM
Mid-October 2023
Lucerne - A3	23.2	13.1	22.1	83.9	13.1
Lucerne - A7	23.3	14.7	25.4	85.1	13.1
Arrowleaf clover - A3	27.7	15.4	20.3	79.0	11.8
Grass weeds - A3	41.6	23.3	12.0	80.5	12.0
Mid January 2024
Lucerne - A3	25.8	18.5	26.8	81.4	12.5
Lucerne - A7	26.5	19.2	25.0	80.4	12.3
Mid March 2024
Lucerne - A3	45.2	30.9	18.5	67.3	9.7
Lucerne - A7	37.9	27.1	24.1	71.4	10.6

Note: Pasture quality samples analysed on a dry matter basis by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR).

Lucerne and arrowleaf clover plant density remained stable over the grazing period, indicating appropriate sowing rates and grazing management (Table 5). The only notable decline in lucerne density over the summer occurred in A3 West, where the grass weeds population had increased by March 2024. Arrowleaf clover plants were not present in the A7 paddocks (not sown), or in March in the A3 paddocks due seed dormancy. As such, arrowleaf clover density (Table 5) and composition were zero at this time (data not shown).

Table 5 Grazing demonstration site: Plant density

	END OCTOBER 2023		MID MARCH 2024
	Lucerne	Arrowleaf clover	Lucerne	Arrowleaf clover
(plants/m²)
A3 West	56	27	34	0
A3 East	46	30	41	0
A7 West	104	0	90	0
A7 East	98	0	87	0

The lucerne in A7 West and A7 East maintained almost 100% composition across all dates (data not shown). This, combined with the fact that the lucerne in these paddocks was more established and irrigated, likely contributed to its greater biomass at each sampling date (Figure 2). The late-summer dormancy of arrowleaf clover may have contributed to the lower total biomass in A3 West and A3 East during March.

Rotational grazing of all paddocks between October to March attributed to the decline in biomass between measurements (Figure 2). Similar weight gains were achieved for both mobs of wether lambs over the grazing period (data not shown).

Figure-2-Drought-resilient-pastures

Figure 2 Barooga grazing demonstration site total biomass (kg DM/ha) for each paddock

Summary

Selecting the best sowing rate, species, and cultivar of pastures for your region and farming system, and rotationally grazing perennial pastures, is important for maximising pasture persistence and production. Lucerne provides a relatively high-quality feed option over summer, with quality being greatest in spring and declining through to autumn. Well managed perennial plants are valuable for extending the growing season and carrying livestock over summer, given their extensive root system and summer activity.

Acknowledgements

This article was produced as part of the Creating landscape-scale change through drought resilient pasture systems project. This project is supported by the Southern NSW Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub Through funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund. Thank you to the Gorman and Bruce families for hosting the two demonstration sites.

Download the full article: Comparing pasture quality, persistence and liveweight gains in clover and lucerne based pastures

Drought-resilient-pastures-lucerne-demonstration

Webinar

As part of this project, a webinar covering pasture persistence and performance was held with Sophie Hanna from Riverine Plains, John Bruce from Barooga, Richard Hayes from NSW DPI and Susan Robertson from Charles Sturt University.

A recording of the webinar is available to view below.

This project is supported by the Southern NSW Drought and Innovation Hub, through funding from the Australian Government's Future Drought Fund.

Full project title: Creating landscape-scale change through drought resilient pasture systems.

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This project was supported by the Southern NSW Drought and Innovation Hub, through funding from the Australian Government's Future Drought Fund.

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This project was completed in 2024.

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Find out more

For further information about this project, please contact Pip Grant at ceo@riverineplains.org.au

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WHY THIS PROJECT WAS IMPORTANT

Improved management of natural capital through increased water use efficiency, soil organic carbon, and nitrogen utilisation is crucial to environmental and economic resilience in drought.

Three strategies which have been proven to improve drought resilience compared to conventional farming include:

Diverse legume rotations to increase soil organic carbon, carbon, nitrogen and soil water holding capacity.
Early-sowing of slower-maturing crops to increase water holding capacity.
Measuring residual nitrogen to prevent excess application, increasing profitability and decreasing runoff into waterways.

Each of these strategies (diversity, early sowing, N-banking) have been previously shown in small-scale NSW field trials to increase profitability and productivity by increasing soil moisture and the prevention of carbon and nutrient loss under drought conditions.

This project sought to further this previous work by establishing twelve demonstration sites across a wider area, encompassing a broad range of soil types, environments and land uses. The demonstration trials aimed to show how the three drought resilience strategies can be successfully applied across a number of different soil types and environments.

Project focus

During 2022, demonstration sites were established at Wagga Wagga, Rand, Howlong, Mulwala, Holbrook, Corinella, Condobolin, Yarrabandai, Blighty, Tallimba, Harden, and Eurongilly.

A range of data was collected from the demonstration sites, including starting and finishing soil nitrogen, water and organic carbon, emergence, biomass and yield.

Outcomes and key learnings from the sites have been communicated at field days and events, and a number of written and video case studies, have been produced, such as the one with Tim Trevethan below - check out the full suite of videos and case studies!

The project also shared outcomes with Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hubs, universities, State and Federal governments, and other key influencers.

Project outcomes

Results from this project's 2023 trials were published in Research for the Riverine Plains, 2024.

Key messages were:

Deep nitrogen analysis and farmer observations show that the use of a legume in a rotation provided more nitrogen than
a pure cereal history for the subsequent canola crop
The application of nitrogen based on deep soil nitrogen (DSN) testing, and the use of nitrogen budgeting by the farmer, resulted in more uniform nitrogen levels across the whole paddock and availability for crops
Comprehensive soil testing for variety and crop types is increasingly important for future farm resilience
Soil water measurements taken prior to sowing canola showed higher plant available water under wheat stubble compared to faba bean stubble, likely the result of greater ground cover provided by the wheat stubble over summer
Early sowing crops can provide opportunities for grazing and diversification of the farming system
Early sowing a portion of the cropping program can bring more crops into the ideal sowing window and reduce the risk of seasonal effects, such as frost.

Read the full article: Improved drought resilience through optimal management of soils and available water.

Key messages from the project’s 2022 trials were:

Diverse legume rotations may help build soil organic carbon
Early sowing of slower-maturing crops may lead to higher crop water use efficiency
Measuring residual mineral nitrogen aids in preventing excess application, increase profitability, and decrease environmental losses
It is recommended to split deep nitrogen samples (for example 0-30cm and 30- 60cm) to ascertain location of nitrogen in the soil profile

Background

The purpose of the project is to improve the management of natural capital through increased water use efficiency, soil organic carbon, and nitrogen utilisation, which, in-turn, is crucial to environmental and economic resilience in drought. These sites will focus on three strategies that have been proven previously, through the work of John Kirkegaard, in small scale field trials in New South Wales.

There were two project sites established in the Riverine Plains during 2022.

Focus paddock 1: Diverse rotation

Aim

To demonstrate how diverse legume rotations can fit into the modern farming system and potentially help build soil organic carbon.

Method

A host farmer from Howlong had two paddocks side-by-side to compare a non-legume and a legume rotation. In 2022, a paddock was sown half to wheat and half to faba beans. In 2023, the entire paddock will be sown to canola. Previously the paddock was in a wheat/canola rotation.

The paddock can be irrigated by an overhead irrigator, but was not irrigated in 2022, due to the very high rainfall received.

The following measurements were taking to identify the value of a diverse rotation:

Soil tests 0-30cm and 30-60cm, gravimetric soil water analysis, nitrogen content and organic carbon pre-sowing and post-harvest, GPS located on the same spot
Plant counts
Biomass counts at mid-pod fill
Nitrogen¹⁵(N15) analysis on faba beans and reference plants

Table 1 Mid-west paddock site details

	Faba beans	Wheat
Variety	Amberley	Coota
Sowing date (beans)	22/04/2022	28/04/2022
Plant density (beans)	26 plants/m²	Not recorded
Starter Fertiliser	70 kg/ha MAP	70 kg/ha MAP
pH CaCl₂ (0-30cm)	6.0	5.7
pH CaCl₂ (30-60cm)	6.4	6.6
Colwell P mg/kg (0-30cm)	24	18
Colwell P mg/kg (30-60cm)	<5	<5
Rainfall (mm) Jan-March	258	258
Rainfall (mm) April - October	498	498

Results and discussion

Dry matter cuts, taken from the faba beans at mid-pod fill in October 2022, weighed 10.36 t DM/ha. Subsamples from the faba bean dry matter cuts and a weed reference plant were also sent for N¹⁵ sampling to determine the amount of nitrogen fixation by the faba beans (data not available at time of publishing). The faba bean paddock yield of 0.98t/ha was dramatically down on expectations, due to severe waterlogging and disease. The wheat in the paddock was also affected by waterlogging yielded 2.5t/ha.

Soil properties taken before sowing and post- harvest at GPS locations indicated small increases in organic carbon (Table 2). However, the difference was potentially due to the different timing of the sampling. Carbon levels can fluctuate during the season and may not always be a legacy of the crop. Changes in soil organic carbon generally occur slowly over many seasons, and therefore can be difficult to detect in the short term.

The soil moisture levels were converted from gravimetric to crop Plant Available Water (PAW) using bulk densities and soil lower limits for canola. Soil samples taken at 60cm depth in faba bean trials showed a decrease of PAW of 60.9mm, between sowing in May 2022 and post-harvest in January 2023. In contrast the wheat profile over the same depth and time period showed a decrease in PAW of 13.1mm. The higher stubble cover in the wheat may have reduced evaporative soil water loss between harvest and sampling.

Table 2 Soil properties faba beans, pre and post sowing

	Pre-sowing (17 May 2022)	Post-harvest (27 Jan 2023)
Organic carbon (% 0-30cm)	0.7	1.0
Organic carbon (% 30-60cm)	0.3	0.5
Soil moisture (PAW mm 0-30cm)*	36.1	1.9
Soil moisture (PAW mm 30-60cm)*	42.4	15.8
Total soil moisture (PAW mm 0-60cm)	78.5	17.6
Nitrogen (kg N/ha 0-30cm)	101.6	155.3
Nitrogen (kg N/ha 30-60cm)	20.6	77.4

*Note the pre-sowing soil moisture % is an air-dried soil moisture, while the post-harvest soil moisture was an oven dried soil moisture. The oven dried soil moisture may result in significantly drier soil, and the two cannot be compared.

Table 3 Soil properties wheat, pre and post-sowing

	Pre-sowing (17 May 2022)	Post-harvest (27 Jan 2023)
Organic carbon (% 0-30cm)	0.9	1.1
Organic carbon (% 30-60cm)	0.4	0.5
Soil moisture (PAW mm 0-30cm)*	41.6	42.5
Soil moisture (PAW mm 30-60cm)*	61.8	47.8
Total soil moisture (PAW mm 0-60cm)	103.4	9033
Nitrogen (kg N/ha 0-30cm)	94.1	152.6
Nitrogen (kg N/ha 30-60cm)	18.5	12.2

The deep nitrogen sampling pre-sowing showed the paddock had between 102 and 94 kg N per hectare in the 0-30cm layer prior to sowing. The paddock was then sown to wheat on the west side and beans on the east side. After harvest, the nitrogen levels in the 0-30cm increased for both the beans (155 kg N/ha) and the wheat (153 kg N/ha).

The deep nitrogen sampling in the 30-60cm layer showed different trends for wheat and faba bean post-harvest. Prior to sowing, both sites had between 21 kg N/ha and 18 kg N/ha. Post-harvest, the nitrogen in the 30-60cm layer increased to 77 kg N/ha in the faba beans and decreased to 12 kg N/ha in the wheat.

The results show there is a total of 233 kg N/ha following the bean crop and 165 kg N/ha in the wheat crop, with most of the additional nitrogen in the beans being in the 30-60cm layer (Figure 1). Based on the rule of thumb of 80 kg N/tonne to grow a canola crop, there is currently enough soil nitrogen following the wheat to grow a 2.1 t/ha canola crop and enough nitrogen following faba bean crop to grow a 2.9 t/ha canola crop.

The faba bean crop yielded poorly, so potentially the high levels of residual nitrogen are due to the failure of the crop and the residual is a combination of unused mineralised nitrogen and potential break down and mineralisation of the nitrogen rich crop root and shoot residue. The wheat crop also yielded below expectations, which may explain the high level of residual nitrogen in the top 30 cm.

Conclusion

Introducing diversity through a faba bean crop can increase the amount of nitrogen available to the following crop. In the 2022 demonstration, both the beans and the wheat succumbed to water logging and disease, which reduced the profitability of both crops. The higher levels of soil nitrogen measured after the failed faba bean crop is likely a result of unused mineral nitrogen and the breakdown and mineralisation of the crop residue. It is expected that the extra nitrogen in the faba bean crop will be available to the following crop later in the season, once the roots have penetrated below 30cm. The results suggest less soil water is available following the faba bean crop, which may limit the yield of the following canola crop, depending on the season.

Focus paddock 2: Nitrogen banking

Table 4 Wagga Wagga site details

Sowing Date	15 June 2022
Sowing rate and variety	Calibre/Rockstar Wheat @ 80 kg/ha
Starter fertiliser	70 kg/ha MAP
Total soil N to 70cm	166 kg/ha
Average annual rainfall	571 mm
Actual annual rainfall	746 mm
Soil property	0-10 cm	10-40cm	40-70cm
pH (CaCl2)	5.1	5.5	6.4
EC (dS/m)	0.11	0.07	0.04
Colwell P (mg/kg)	16	6	<5
PBI	39	47	83

Aim

To understand strategies of nitrogen banking versus application based on nitrogen demand, preventing excess application, increase profitability and decrease environmental losses.

Method

A farmer at Wagga Wagga sowed wheat during the 2022 season. Pre-season soil samples were taken on 17 May 2022 to understand starting nitrogen, organic carbon and soil moisture. Table 4 shows pre-sowing soil test results and site details.

To gain understanding of crop establishment in each treatment, plant emergence counts, or tiller counts were taken early in the season.

Nitrogen was applied in the form of urea via a spreader in mid-September. The three treatments of nitrogen were calculated by Mathew Dunn from NSW Department of Primary Industries. Based on starting profile N of 166 kg N/ha and additional 7 kg N/ha (from MAP), the first two rates were calculated on decile 2 predicted yield and decile 7 predicted yield and final rate was an additional 120 kg urea/ha to understand how excess nitrogen can affect soil nitrogen stores, yield and profitability. See Table 5 for decile 2 and 7 calculations and Table 7 for applied fertiliser rates. The predicted yields have been determined from site modelling and the additional nitrogen required considers 40kg of nitrogen needed to grow 1t of wheat per ha.

Table 5 Nitrogen treatment calculations

Total starting N

(kg N/ha)*

Decile 2 predicted yield (t/ha)

Additional N required for decile 2 (kg N/ha)

Decile 7 predicted yield (t/ha)

Additional N required for decile 7 kg N/ha

173

5.2

6.5

*including monoammonium phosphate (MAP)

Table 6 Urea rates

Treatments	Recommended urea rate	Applied urea rate
Standard rate	80 kg/ha	75 kg/ha
High rate	180 kg/ha	192 kg/ha
Very high rate	300 kg/ha	319 kg/ha

Biomass cuts were taken just prior to harvest on 15 December. The crop still had relatively high moisture and was harvested on 28 December once it had dried down. The biomass cuts were sent to NSW Department of Primary Industries in Wagga to have harvest index, yield estimates and seed protein estimates calculated. As mentioned above, post-harvest soil tests for total nitrogen, organic carbon and soil water content were taken in January 2023.

Results and discussion

A comparison of pre-sowing and post-harvest soil test results; organic carbon and soil moisture, are listed in Table 7. The comparison of total nitrogen values can be seen in Figure 3.

Table 7 Soil properties

		Standard rate	High rate	Very high rate
Properties	Pre-sowing	Post harvest
Organic carbon % (0-10cm)	1.1	1.8	1.5	1.1
Organic carbon % (10-40cm)	0.3	0.5	0.3	0.3
Organic carbon % (40-70cm)	<0.2	0.2	0.2	<0.2
Soil moisture % (0-10cm)*	17.6	9.5	8.5	9.7
Soil moisture % (10-40cm)*	15.0	6.4	6.6	7.5
Soil moisture % (40-70cm)*	12.5	6.7	12.9	8.9
Soil moisture (PAW mm 0-10cm)*	14.5	1.7	0.2	2
Soil moisture (PAW mm 10-40cm)*	31.3	0	0	0
Soil moisture (PAW mm 40-70cm)*	12.7	0	14.2	0

*Note the pre-sowing soil moisture % is an air-dried soil moisture, while the post-harvest soil moisture was an oven dried soil moisture. The oven dried soil moisture results in significantly drier soil, and the two cannot be compared.

The starting soil nitrogen results were taken in May 2022, with the paddock coming out of a canola crop in 2021. When comparing the soil tests of pre and post-harvest, we can see a large portion of soil nitrogen has been used up in the deeper parts of the soil profile, with the biggest change in the 10-40cm depth.

Organic carbon levels have remained the same or shown a very slight increase. This is likely due to fluctuation of carbon levels depending on timing of sampling as well as variation seen with post-harvest samples compared to the entire paddock sample pre-sowing. Changes in soil organic carbon generally occur slowly over many seasons and therefore can be difficult to detect in the short term.

The soil water sample for urea applied at 192 kg/ha at 40-70cm looks to be an outlier. Across the majority of samples, soil-water content decreased across all depths of the profile from pre-sowing to post-harvest. The samples do indicate that both the 192 kg/ha and 319 kg/ha urea treatments have increased soil water content across the profile compared to the 75 kg/ha. However, it is very challenging to statistically prove this due to variability across the paddock. Plant available water (PAW) calculations were also completed across the samples, using information on soil type and crop type to assist with accuracy. PAW shows that the profile was extremely dry post-harvest for all three treatments. Due to the above average rainfall received at this site it is assumed that water was not necessarily a limiting factor in this crop, but has since been removed from the profile.

Harvest index cuts were taken prior to the machine harvest, demonstrating a relationship between nitrogen application with yield and protein content. These results are not statistical as the trial is not replicated. See comparison of dry matter, harvest index, grain yield and seed protein content in Table 8 and Figure 4.

Table 8 Harvest results

Urea rate	Total t DM/ha	Harvest index	*Grain yield (t/ha)**	*Grain protein (%)**
Standard	8.1	0.41	3.76	12.5
High	8.7	0.48	4.64	12.4
Very high	9.2	0.45	4.68	13.4

Grain at 11% moisture

The yield for each treatment was below the predicted yield, as estimated prior to nitrogen application with modelling from data collected at the site, climate history and season predictions. The paddock suffered a high disease load of rust, with Septoria coming in late and unfortunately the fungicides used were not able to control the severity and therefore a yield impact was seen. Increased nitrogen resulted in increased yield, with yield capped at the 190 kg/ha urea treatment and only protein % increasing in the 320kg/ha urea treatment.

Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) images and yield maps for the trial can be seen in Figures 5-7. These images indicate that the 320 kg/ha urea treatment had increased the green area in September, compared to the other treatments, however by November it was equal to the 192 kg/ha treatment. Yield for both of these was not different, however the images do indicate a lower yield for the 75 kg/ha treatment. The images, particularly the yield map, shows a line within the paddock of low compared to high yield. This line coincides with the split of the two wheat varieties, Calibre and Rockstar and potentially highlights disease tolerance between the two.

Figure 5. NDVI image 29 September 2022

Figure 6. NDVI image 18 November 2022

Figure 7. Yield map wheat paddock

For the economic analysis we assume there is a statistical difference between protein content (not proven) and the 190 kg/ha urea rate is equivalent to H2 quality, and the 320 kg/ha urea rate is equivalent to APH2 quality.

Sales at the GrainCorp Temora sub-station show that Hard Wheat grade 2 (H2) sales are at $390/t and APH2 are at $436/t. Urea prices fluctuated in 2022 depending on time of purchase, a price of $1,200/t is used for the below calculation. Urea @ 190kg/ha: 4.6t/ha x $390 = $1794 Urea @ 320kg/ha: 4.7t/ha x $435 = $2045. An extra 130 kg/ha of urea required to increase the rate, @ $1,200/t is an additional $156/ha $2045 - $1794 - $156 = $95/ha profit for additional urea applied.

Conclusion

Increasing the supply of nutrients, including nitrogen, to the soil system will allow for microbial activity to continue to function. Over time it may allow for the maintenance or a slight increase in organic carbon content. It is not expected to see any real change in the system at this early stage. Increased soil water content is also a factor that can be impacted by the addition of nitrogen to the soil system. In this demonstration, yield was limited due to disease and did not reach predicted rates set in June. Water was not considered a limiting factor, however PAW was very low post-harvest. The highest nitrogen rate provided the highest yield and protein percentage, as expected, however post-harvest nitrogen stores were lower in the 320 kg/ha urea treatment compared to the 190 kg/ha urea treatment. This is likely due to a portion of nitrogen contributing to the increased protein content of 320 kg/ha urea treatment yield and variation when testing in the paddock.

Glossary

Bulk density: The volume of soil particles and pores among the particles, calculated as dry weight of soil divided by its volume.
Deciles: Rainfall deciles take the historic rainfall records at a location and sort into ten equal parts. Decile 1 are the years with lowest rainfall on record and decile 10 are the highest.
N¹⁵ plant analysis: A technique used to study the nitrogen cycle, providing more information on the conversions of one nitrogen compound to another.
pH in CaCl₂: pH measured in 0.01M CaCl1 solution instead of water is often preferred as it is less affected by soil electrolyte concentration and results in a more consistent measurement.
Plant available water: The maximum amount of water stored in the soil profile that is available for plant use.
Wilting point: The amount of water that is held so tightly by the soil that roots cannot absorb and therefore the plant will wilt.
Field capacity: The amount of soil water content held in soil after excess water has drained away, through gravity not through plants or evaporation.

Acknowledgements

This project is supported by Riverine Plains, through funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund and the Grains Research and Development Corporation.

It is delivered by a collaboration between Riverine Plains, CSIRO, NSW Department of Primary Industries, FarmLink, Central West Farming Systems, Southern Growers and the Southern NSW Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub. Riverine Plains would like to thank its farmer hosts, Emily and Phil Thompson, Tim and Ian Trevethan for the use of their land and support throughout this trial.

Authors: Kate Coffey, Riverine Plains and Rhiannan McPhee, Riverine Plains.

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This project was supported through funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund – Drought Resilient Soils and Landscapes Grants Program, and a co- investment of the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC).

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This project was completed in 2024.

Find out more

For further information about this project, please contact Pip Grant at ceo@riverineplains.org.au

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WHY THIS PROJECT WAS IMPORTANT

Improved management of natural capital through increased water use efficiency, soil organic carbon, and nitrogen utilisation is crucial to environmental and economic resilience in drought.

Three strategies which have been proven to improve drought resilience compared to conventional farming include:

Diverse legume rotations to increase soil organic carbon, carbon, nitrogen and soil water holding capacity.
Early-sowing of slower-maturing crops to increase water holding capacity.
Measuring residual nitrogen to prevent excess application, increasing profitability and decreasing runoff into waterways.

This project sought to further this previous work by establishing twelve demonstration sites across a wider area, encompassing a broad range of soil types, environments and land uses. The demonstration trials aimed to show how the three drought resilience strategies can be successfully applied across a number of different soil types and environments.

Project focus

During 2022, demonstration sites were established at Wagga Wagga, Rand, Howlong, Mulwala, Holbrook, Corinella, Condobolin, Yarrabandai, Blighty, Tallimba, Harden, and Eurongilly.

A range of data was collected from the demonstration sites, including starting and finishing soil nitrogen, water and organic carbon, emergence, biomass and yield.

The project also shared outcomes with Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hubs, universities, State and Federal governments, and other key influencers.

Project outcomes

Results from this project's 2023 trials were published in Research for the Riverine Plains, 2024.

Key messages were:

Deep nitrogen analysis and farmer observations show that the use of a legume in a rotation provided more nitrogen than
a pure cereal history for the subsequent canola crop
The application of nitrogen based on deep soil nitrogen (DSN) testing, and the use of nitrogen budgeting by the farmer, resulted in more uniform nitrogen levels across the whole paddock and availability for crops
Comprehensive soil testing for variety and crop types is increasingly important for future farm resilience
Soil water measurements taken prior to sowing canola showed higher plant available water under wheat stubble compared to faba bean stubble, likely the result of greater ground cover provided by the wheat stubble over summer
Early sowing crops can provide opportunities for grazing and diversification of the farming system
Early sowing a portion of the cropping program can bring more crops into the ideal sowing window and reduce the risk of seasonal effects, such as frost.

Read the full article: Improved drought resilience through optimal management of soils and available water.

Key messages from the project’s 2022 trials were:

Diverse legume rotations may help build soil organic carbon
Early sowing of slower-maturing crops may lead to higher crop water use efficiency
Measuring residual mineral nitrogen aids in preventing excess application, increase profitability, and decrease environmental losses
It is recommended to split deep nitrogen samples (for example 0-30cm and 30- 60cm) to ascertain location of nitrogen in the soil profile

Background

There were two project sites established in the Riverine Plains during 2022.

Focus paddock 1: Diverse rotation

Aim

To demonstrate how diverse legume rotations can fit into the modern farming system and potentially help build soil organic carbon.

Method

The paddock can be irrigated by an overhead irrigator, but was not irrigated in 2022, due to the very high rainfall received.

The following measurements were taking to identify the value of a diverse rotation:

Soil tests 0-30cm and 30-60cm, gravimetric soil water analysis, nitrogen content and organic carbon pre-sowing and post-harvest, GPS located on the same spot
Plant counts
Biomass counts at mid-pod fill
Nitrogen¹⁵(N15) analysis on faba beans and reference plants

Table 1 Mid-west paddock site details

	Faba beans	Wheat
Variety	Amberley	Coota
Sowing date (beans)	22/04/2022	28/04/2022
Plant density (beans)	26 plants/m²	Not recorded
Starter Fertiliser	70 kg/ha MAP	70 kg/ha MAP
pH CaCl₂ (0-30cm)	6.0	5.7
pH CaCl₂ (30-60cm)	6.4	6.6
Colwell P mg/kg (0-30cm)	24	18
Colwell P mg/kg (30-60cm)	<5	<5
Rainfall (mm) Jan-March	258	258
Rainfall (mm) April - October	498	498

Results and discussion

Table 2 Soil properties faba beans, pre and post sowing

	Pre-sowing (17 May 2022)	Post-harvest (27 Jan 2023)
Organic carbon (% 0-30cm)	0.7	1.0
Organic carbon (% 30-60cm)	0.3	0.5
Soil moisture (PAW mm 0-30cm)*	36.1	1.9
Soil moisture (PAW mm 30-60cm)*	42.4	15.8
Total soil moisture (PAW mm 0-60cm)	78.5	17.6
Nitrogen (kg N/ha 0-30cm)	101.6	155.3
Nitrogen (kg N/ha 30-60cm)	20.6	77.4

Table 3 Soil properties wheat, pre and post-sowing

	Pre-sowing (17 May 2022)	Post-harvest (27 Jan 2023)
Organic carbon (% 0-30cm)	0.9	1.1
Organic carbon (% 30-60cm)	0.4	0.5
Soil moisture (PAW mm 0-30cm)*	41.6	42.5
Soil moisture (PAW mm 30-60cm)*	61.8	47.8
Total soil moisture (PAW mm 0-60cm)	103.4	9033
Nitrogen (kg N/ha 0-30cm)	94.1	152.6
Nitrogen (kg N/ha 30-60cm)	18.5	12.2

Conclusion

Focus paddock 2: Nitrogen banking

Table 4 Wagga Wagga site details

Sowing Date	15 June 2022
Sowing rate and variety	Calibre/Rockstar Wheat @ 80 kg/ha
Starter fertiliser	70 kg/ha MAP
Total soil N to 70cm	166 kg/ha
Average annual rainfall	571 mm
Actual annual rainfall	746 mm
Soil property	0-10 cm	10-40cm	40-70cm
pH (CaCl2)	5.1	5.5	6.4
EC (dS/m)	0.11	0.07	0.04
Colwell P (mg/kg)	16	6	<5
PBI	39	47	83

Aim

To understand strategies of nitrogen banking versus application based on nitrogen demand, preventing excess application, increase profitability and decrease environmental losses.

Method

To gain understanding of crop establishment in each treatment, plant emergence counts, or tiller counts were taken early in the season.

Table 5 Nitrogen treatment calculations

Total starting N

(kg N/ha)*

Decile 2 predicted yield (t/ha)

Additional N required for decile 2 (kg N/ha)

Decile 7 predicted yield (t/ha)

Additional N required for decile 7 kg N/ha

173

5.2

6.5

*including monoammonium phosphate (MAP)

Table 6 Urea rates

Treatments	Recommended urea rate	Applied urea rate
Standard rate	80 kg/ha	75 kg/ha
High rate	180 kg/ha	192 kg/ha
Very high rate	300 kg/ha	319 kg/ha

Results and discussion

A comparison of pre-sowing and post-harvest soil test results; organic carbon and soil moisture, are listed in Table 7. The comparison of total nitrogen values can be seen in Figure 3.

Table 7 Soil properties

		Standard rate	High rate	Very high rate
Properties	Pre-sowing	Post harvest
Organic carbon % (0-10cm)	1.1	1.8	1.5	1.1
Organic carbon % (10-40cm)	0.3	0.5	0.3	0.3
Organic carbon % (40-70cm)	<0.2	0.2	0.2	<0.2
Soil moisture % (0-10cm)*	17.6	9.5	8.5	9.7
Soil moisture % (10-40cm)*	15.0	6.4	6.6	7.5
Soil moisture % (40-70cm)*	12.5	6.7	12.9	8.9
Soil moisture (PAW mm 0-10cm)*	14.5	1.7	0.2	2
Soil moisture (PAW mm 10-40cm)*	31.3	0	0	0
Soil moisture (PAW mm 40-70cm)*	12.7	0	14.2	0

Table 8 Harvest results

Urea rate	Total t DM/ha	Harvest index	*Grain yield (t/ha)**	*Grain protein (%)**
Standard	8.1	0.41	3.76	12.5
High	8.7	0.48	4.64	12.4
Very high	9.2	0.45	4.68	13.4

Grain at 11% moisture

Figure 5. NDVI image 29 September 2022

Figure 6. NDVI image 18 November 2022

Figure 7. Yield map wheat paddock

Conclusion

Glossary

Bulk density: The volume of soil particles and pores among the particles, calculated as dry weight of soil divided by its volume.
Deciles: Rainfall deciles take the historic rainfall records at a location and sort into ten equal parts. Decile 1 are the years with lowest rainfall on record and decile 10 are the highest.
N¹⁵ plant analysis: A technique used to study the nitrogen cycle, providing more information on the conversions of one nitrogen compound to another.
pH in CaCl₂: pH measured in 0.01M CaCl1 solution instead of water is often preferred as it is less affected by soil electrolyte concentration and results in a more consistent measurement.
Plant available water: The maximum amount of water stored in the soil profile that is available for plant use.
Wilting point: The amount of water that is held so tightly by the soil that roots cannot absorb and therefore the plant will wilt.
Field capacity: The amount of soil water content held in soil after excess water has drained away, through gravity not through plants or evaporation.

Acknowledgements

This project is supported by Riverine Plains, through funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund and the Grains Research and Development Corporation.

Authors: Kate Coffey, Riverine Plains and Rhiannan McPhee, Riverine Plains.

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This project was completed in 2024.

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WHY THIS PROJECT WAS IMPORTANT

In Australia, drought and heat events have challenged the resilience and profitability of farming businesses. Climate-related production risks require a more resilient farming approach to sustain farm productivity. Diverse farming options can make current farms more efficient and resilient and on-farm diversification can be a promising strategy for farming communities to cope with and recover from stresses like drought.

This project investigated the role of legumes, dual-purpose wheat, silicon applications, and native corridors on-farm. The effect of these practices on resilience against climate challenges and droughts was evaluated and quantified.

Northern Victoria is a region identified by ABARES (2020) as one of four regions in Australia at the highest level of drought risk nationally. Because of the propensity to drought, broadacre farming systems across south-eastern Australia and other regions of Australia require changes to remain productive and profitable when exposed to increasing risks from more frequent droughts.

This project was part of a larger project which aims to help the agricultural industry plan for, cope with, and recover from drought.

Project focus

Riverine Plains contributed to all key areas of research for the broader project. This included the role of legumes in the crop rotation, diversified production options through dual-purpose wheat for grazing and grain production, drought stress mitigation through silicon applications, and comparison of native corridors to non-farmed areas which lack vegetation.

This helped provide evidence-based innovative research for diversified farms in south-eastern Australian. It also allowed farmers in the Riverine Plains region to consider options outside of the typical inputs to build resilience to more frequent droughts under climate challenges.

Dual-purpose wheat for graze and grain

Managing the green feed sources for livestock during the early winter period can be challenging. Organised grazing of dual-purpose wheat crops at a specific growth stage can provide fresh biomass for grazing during wintertime. Using micronutrient foliar applications may help the crop recover and minimise the yield penalty at harvest.

Silicon application sustains crop yield under drought stress

Silicon is a micronutrient with a versatile role and provides many benefits for plant growth, specifically under stresses like drought and heat. Silicon enhances photosynthesis, plant growth, yield and crop quality and also improves water relations. Addition of silicon-containing fertilisers has also been shown to have a positive effect on grain quality by improving its nutritional profile.

Riverine Plains, along with other project partner organisations and sites, investigated the use of silicon in broadacre cropping systems through the applications of a commercially available silicon-containing fertiliser as a foliar spray, across replicated and demonstration trials.

Native corridors

The use of native corridors near productive cropping paddocks was also investigated by Riverine Plains. This project component involved baseline soil testing and plant identification to better understand the role of native plants in our farming systems.

Analysis

A cost-benefit analysis of various practices and treatments across the sites was conducted, while soil, plant, and grazing measurements provided quantifiable metrics. Each farming system was evaluated through an innovative ‘Drought resilience and risk index/indicator’ to quantify drought resilience and risk reduction.

Project Outcomes

Results from this project's 2023 trials were published in Research for the Riverine Plains, 2024.

Key messages were:

Previous trial work under controlled experimental conditions has shown that silicon fertiliser application can improve tolerance to abiotic stress, including drought, via various plant physiological processes, leading to increased water uptake, reduced water loss from the leaves and improved plant growth
While silicon application in this project has yet to show significant differences in grain yield or quality of the evaluated crops, positive trends for plant growth traits for various crop types were observed.
Further work is required to determine the potential yield effects of applying silicon on a commercial scale and the potential for economic returns to farmers.

Read the full article: Silicon fertiliser for drought resilience in broadacre cropping

Key messages from the project’s 2023 trials were:

When applied in drought-stress trials, silicon (Si) has demonstrated increased photosynthetic activity of the plant and improved water relations, leading to improved crop yield.
Silicon fertiliser application did not show any significant differences in biomass and grain yield of the evaluated crops during 2022. The season’s climate must be considered when interpreting this result, as it was not a typical season where crops faced periods of moisture or heat stress.
Visual effects of stay-green phenotype (prolonged green foliage) were observed in wheat plots later in the season, indicating silicon's beneficial effects.

Background

In Australia, drought and heat events have challenged the resilience and profitability of farming businesses. Climate change requires a more resilient farming approach to sustain farm productivity. Diversified farming options can make existing farms more resilient and profitable in changing climate scenarios. On-farm diversification can be a promising strategy for farming communities to cope with and recover from stresses like drought.

The parent project, Whole-system redesign of broadacre farming of southeast Australia, aims to help the agricultural industry to cope with, and recover from drought. One of the main drought mitigation strategies being trialed is the use of silicon fertiliser in broadacre systems. The project also demonstrates overall farm diversity enhancement with the inclusion of native vegetation cover on non-farming areas of the farm.

Aim

To provide evidence-based, innovative research for diversified farms in south-eastern Australia. The projects aimed:

To demonstrate the potential role of legumes incorporation in the wheat/canola monocropping system
Further consider the option of dual-purpose wheat (grain and graze option) cultivars in the Riverine Plains region
To showcase cost effective drought mitigation strategy to the farming community, i.e., foliar application of Si
To consider the health of cropping ecosystem, integration of native vegetation on the farmland to diversify farms income.

Table 1 Site details

Sowing date:	15 June 2022
Varieties:	Spring wheat: Scepter Dual-purpose wheat: Annapurna Faba bean: Samira Canola: Roundup Ready
Starter fertiliser:	80 kg/ha MAP
In-season fertiliser:	150 kg/ha urea (excluding faba beans)
Soil mineral nitrogen:	38.5 kg/ha
Average annual rainfall:	542 mm
Actual annual rainfall	679 mm

Method

Eight plots were sown to each crop type in a paddock within the Riverine Plains region. Crop types included faba beans, spring wheat, dual-purpose winter wheat, and canola. The treatments were control (no silicon) and foliar silicon application, with four replicates per treatment. Before sowing, 12 soil cores were taken across site, segmented into 0-10cm and 10-20cm , with the pre- sowing soil chemical analysis presented in Table 2. A demonstration site for faba beans was also included as a part of this project. This site was managed within a farmer’s paddock and silicon fertiliser spray was applied to half of the selected area. The commercially available silicon fertiliser was applied at the rate of 300ml/ha, with a water rate of 400L/ha, five times throughout the season. The first application was in mid-August, GS30 in wheat, with the consecutive sprays being applied 10-14 days after the previous.

A native corridor assessment by expert Meredith Mitchell and FDF project staff identified plants and marked them for continuous monitoring.

Three different types of native grasses were identified in the Riverine Plains native corridor. To understand the impact of these native grasses on the soil microbial community composition, diversity and their role in shaping the soil health for sustainable crop production, soil samples will be taken throughout the length of the project.

Grazing wheat plots had half the plot area mown to represent grazing at GS25. The biomass cuts were taken for all wheat plots at GS33 and again at GS65. Approximately 2.7m²of the grazed area of the plot was sprayed with silicon fertiliser and 1 L/ha of micronutrient formulation in mid-October to enhance crop re-growth after a grazing period. Final biomass cuts and harvest index calculations were taken on this portion of the plot to compare with the unsprayed control grazed area.

Harvest index was calculated at crop maturity. Plots were harvested for grain yield and sub- samples were taken to test protein and nutrient content. The dual-purpose wheat plots were harvested separately, the grazed and non-grazed areas.

Table 2 Pre-sowing soil chemical properties

Soil chemical properties	Pre-sowing 0-10 cm	Pre-sowing 10-20 cm
Ph (cacl2)	4.8	4.9
EC (ds/m)	0.06	0.07
Nitrate N (mg/kg)	12	13
Ammonium N (mg/kg)	6.9	3.1
Colwell P (mg/kg)	12	27
PBI	91	90
Organic carbon %	0.3	1.3

Results and discussion

Site details and soil data are shown in Tables 1 and 2. Post-harvest soil test data are at analysis stage, and not included in this report. Due to excessive rainfall, all canola replicates were not taken through to harvest at the Uncle Tobys site. Faba bean replicated plots were maintained near our demonstration site in Bundalong South due to poor establishment at the Uncle Tobys site.

The faba bean replicated trial did not receive all anticipated silicon sprays due to unexpected rains and a road closure due to flooding, therefore the results are not included in this report.

Tables 3 to 5 show biomass, harvest index, plot yield and grain traits, averaged across all replicates. Across all crop types at this site, no significant difference was observed between the treatment of silicon and control. Visual differences were observed with silicon-treated plots showing slightly higher growth and extended green foliage compared to their non-treated counterparts.

Table 3 Biomass results

Crop type	1st Biomass cut (t/ha), early-mid Oct		2nd Biomass cut (t/ha), mid December
Crop type	Control	Silicon treated	Control	Silicon treated
Canola	3.93	4.46	N/A	N/A
Wheat	6.71	8.12	8.71	10.55
Grazed dual-purpose wheat	4.22	4.12	3.17	4.31
Grazed dual-purpose wheat + micronutrient treatment	N/A	N/A	5.24	5.03
Non-grazed dual-purpose wheat	8.35	4.12	7.81	8.90

Table 4 Harvest traits

Crop type	Harvest index		Yield (t/ha)
Crop type	Control	Silicon treated	Control	Silicon treated
Wheat	44.34	41.40	2.65	3.02
Grazed dual-purpose wheat	47.19	48.86	3.40	3.44
Grazed dual-purpose wheat + micronutrient treatment	49.75	48.86	2.60	2.48
Non-grazed dual-purpose wheat	35.46	40.24	1.88	2.07

Table 5 Grain traits

Crop type	Grain protein %		Moisture %
Crop type	Control	Silicon treated	Control	Silicon treated
Wheat	9.90	9.60	6.30	5.45
Non-grazed dual-purpose wheat	8.72	8.28	8.10	6.03

The native corridor area will be analysed throughout the duration of the project to understand the effect native vegetation on the soil biodiversity and nearby cropping systems. These results will be included in future Trial Book articles.

Silicon is a micronutrient that has been used in previous drought-stress trials under controlled and field conditions at The University of Melbourne. Silicon induced tolerance to abiotic stresses, such as drought, promotes enzymatic activities, and therefore improves photosynthetic efficiency. Results from previously published research trials showed that silicon applications have improved water relations through higher water uptake by roots, reduced water loss from leaves, and improved antioxidant defense mechanisms.

Silicon application may have potential to improve grain quality by increasing antioxidant compounds in the grain. Silicon application can potentially increase the soil microbial biodiversity and nitrogen fixing capacity in legumes.

Conclusion

Previous research trials have confirmed that the effects of silicon on plants are primarily seen in times of stress (such as drought and heat). It can be inferred that no significant differences were seen between the treatment of silicon and control (no silicon) across all crop types, due to the extremely wet seasonal conditions, including flooding, across the sites. Extended stay-green phenotypes were observed in spring wheat, providing a reasonable indication of the positive effect of foliar silicon application regardless of waterlogged conditions.

Acknowledgements

This project is led by The University of Melbourne (Project lead – Associate Professor Dorin Gupta), with partners Riverine Plains, Birchip Cropping Group, Gap Flat Native Foods, Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority and Black Duck Foods. Riverine Plains would like to thank its farmer hosts, Ian and Kaye Wood, and Adam and Ingrid Inchbold for the use of their land and support throughout this trial.

Author: Rhiannan Mcphee, Riverine Plains

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Term
2023-2025

Project Officer
Rhiannan McPhee

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Find out more

For further information please contact Riverine Plains Project Manager, Rhiannan McPhee at rhiannan@riverineplains.org.au

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WHY IS THIS PROJECT IMPORTANT

The project aims to give farmers a better understanding of their soils and how soils can be managed to improve production and water retention.

Soil issues in the Riverine Plains region are complex and can be segmented through the soil profile (i.e acidity may not be present at the surface but can be quite profound at 15cm depth). This means that soil testing needs to be comprehensive in order to understand where problems lie.

Traditional soil testing at 0-10cm depth does not pick up deeper soil issues, however comprehensive soil mapping, ground truthing of soils and amelioration is expensive, and this has traditionally been a disincentive for farmers.

This project aims to support land managers by promoting the benefits of increased frequency and comprehensiveness of soil sampling and testing to inform soil management decisions and take action to improve soil health.

In short: Supporting farmers in soil testing and interpretation, mapping soil types, demonstrating soil amelioration techniques, establishing baselines for strategic decisions, and addressing soil constraints for sustainable, profitable farming.

Project focus

Two farmer discussion groups have been established, through which high priority soils issues such as sodicity, poor structure and low organic carbon levels will be identified. Participants will be involved in soil testing and have the opportunity to engage with soil scientists at field walks, workshop and demonstrations designed to test and evaluate soil amelioration strategies such as lime incorporation and sub-soil incorporation of organic materials.

This project supports land managers and farmers to participate in soil testing and the interpretation of results. It aims to:

Improve knowledge and understanding of mapping and ground-truthing soil types in paddocks.
Demonstrate innovative land management practices that protect and manage the soil resource in paddocks to improve efficiency, production and soil health.
Improve the understanding of the value of soil data as an important part of land management decision making.
Support land managers and farmers to contribute soils data to relevant national databases.
Help establish baselines for current soil physical, chemical and biological status to provide a basis for farmers to make strategic decisions and identify future management practices, ameliorants and nutrient requirements to correct possible imbalances.
Contribute to delivering sustainable, productive and profitable farm businesses.
Improve farmers’ understanding and knowledge of soil constraints in paddocks and estimate the cost of the constraint to future production and water storage of soils.

Project outcomes

Results from the project's 2023 trials were published in Research for the Riverine Plains, 2024.

Key messages were:

Segmented pH soil testing in problem paddocks can help farmers get a clearer picture of what is happening within each soil layer
Many factors influence soil behaviour, so it’s important to understand your soil before making amelioration decisions
Soil can have high levels of variability and this will play a role in choosing which amelioration options will suit best
Once a soil constraint is identified, it is important to understand other soil characteristics before committing to deep incorporation of an ameliorant such as lime; some machines may go too deep and cause further issues, for example, by bringing up toxic sub-layers
Where surface lime was applied, pH increased in the 0-5cm range only. The use of machinery incorporation resulted in a pH increase at depth, with a higher pH achieved as liming rate increased.

Learn more about the trial methods used, results and conclusions from the 2023 trials in the full article: Soil extension activities - Evaluating different rates of lime and incorporation techniques when ameliorating acid soils.

Smart farms small grants: soil extension activities – case study

Update

In early 2022 our farmer hosts identified paddocks with problem soils, determined through electromagnetic surveys. These sites were soil tested at 5cm increments, to understand the key constraints contributing to the issues seen above ground. The results were analysed by soil scientists and presented at our 2022 workshops alongside further discussion on acidic and sodic soils.

After these events, we asked local farmers and agronomists to join our discussion group for the project. This group allows farmers to follow what is happening in the trial more closely and be involved with decision making.

Our first discussion group worked through soil tests taken across the host farms in Rand, Buraja and Daysdale, sharing ideas on a treatment plan for the 2023 amelioration demonstration trial.

From the two paddocks selected to continue, one paddock had acidic soil, with high aluminum saturation and the other sodic soil (high percentage of sodium ions).

The result of the discussion was to focus the trials on different machinery options to incorporate various lime rates at the acidic site, and lime with various gypsum rates at the sodic site. The numerous machine options, speedtiller, deep offset discs, Lemken Rubion 10 and Horsch Tiger, will help provide further understanding and comparisons for product incorporation and depth, seed bed preparation and overall plant establishment.

The final treatment plan has been reviewed by soil scientists and shared with the discussion group. The next step is for the paddocks to be grid sampled for pH to assist with determining lime rates for the trial. A field walk was held at both sites in August 2023 to see the effects of the various treatments. Yield maps and post-harvest soil tests will be used to measure results at the end of the trial and presented at our final workshop in early 2024.

Acknowledgements

This project is supported through funding from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry through the Smart Farms Small Grants program and is co-funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation.

It is delivered by Riverine Plains with partners AgriSci, Precision Agriculture and NSW Department of Primary Industries. Riverine Plains would like to thank farmer hosts, Roy and Michael Hamilton, Denis and Rebecca Tomlinson and Beau and Rebecca Longmire, for the use of their land and support throughout this trial.

Author: Rhiannan McPhee, Riverine Plains

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This project is funded by the Australian Government through the National Landcare Program Smart Farms Small Grants initiative and is a co- investment of the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC).

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Term
2020-2024

Project Officer
Kate Coffey

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Find out more

For further information, please contact Riverine Plains Senior Project Manager, Kate Coffey at kate@riverineplains.org.au

WHY IS THIS PROJECT IMPORTANT

Following on from the success of Hyper Yielding Cereals (HYC) project in Tasmania, the GRDC Hyper Yielding Crops project commenced nationally during mid-2020, to look at how to maximise crop yields across Australia.

In short: In the Riverine Plains region, we are focusing on maximising the yield potential of wheat and canola through focus farms and innovation groups, while agronomic trials are also helping to unlock crop yield potential.

The GRDC Hyper Yielding Crops project, led by FAR Australia, is a research and extension project designed to push the boundaries of wheat, canola and barley yield in the higher rainfall zones of Australia. Under the guidance of Jon Midwood from TechCrop, Riverine Plains engaged with local farmers, through focus and award paddocks, to benchmark and push yield potential based on research results.

Project focus

As part of the project, GRDC Centre of Excellence trial sites were established in Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, NSW, and Western Australia. In southern NSW, a Centre of Excellence research site was established at Wallendbeen (near Cootamundra), NSW, chosen because it had a water-limited yield potential of 10 t/ha for cereals and 5 t/ha for canola.

Riverine Plains worked alongside lead organisation, FAR Australia, to establish focus farm sites in southern NSW in support of the Wallendbeen Centre. Riverine Plains Innovation Groups were also established to link local growers with focus farm paddock trials at Gerogery, Culcairn and Howlong.

Paddocks from across the region were also nominated the Hyper Yielding Crop Awards. The Award benchmarked agronomic aspects of individual wheat crops, with participating growers receiving an agronomic benchmarking report comparing that paddock to all others entered, both regionally and nationally.

The project combined the expertise of several farming groups, including Riverine Plains Inc, with FAR Australia, SARDI, Brill Ag, CSIRO, DPIRD, TechCrop and CeRDI.

The project provided an opportunity to unlock yield potentials through a greater understanding of the possible constraints and the agronomic practices required to achieve potential yields in a given season.

Results presented were from demonstration strips only and were indicative results.

Project outcomes

Hyper yielding crops – 2022 results

Some of the causes of crops not achieving yield potential in the regions were found to include inherent soil fertility, nitrogen levels, low soil pH in the root zone and variety (winter vs spring wheats).

Key points

The application of excess levels of nitrogen in 2020 statistically increased the yield of wheat crops in 2021, indicating the previous year’s unused nitrogen can be “banked” for the current year’s crop.
Lime incorporated to target subsurface acidity in 2021 caused a yield increase compared to areas where lime was not incorporated, with incorporation increasing pH values across the profile.
Green area index (GAI) can be used to quantify the size of the canopy and assist with nitrogen rate and timing — in 2021, using the GAI to determine the timing and rate of nitrogen application gave a significant yield benefit.

Focus paddock 1: DS Bennett wheat – nitrogen application

Aim

To ascertain the impact of prior year nitrogen application on the yield of the current year’s crop.

Method

DS Bennett wheat was sown with tillage radish at Gerogery, on the 18 March, 2021. Soil nitrogen was measured prior to sowing in 2021, following the application of different rates of nitrogen to canola during the previous year’s strip trials. The paddock was grazed by sheep and cattle for a period of approximately six weeks and stock were removed by the end of July. A total of 210 kg/ha of urea (97 kg N/ha) was applied to the paddock in three applications.

Results and discussion

The yield results of this trial have been analysed (Table 1). The results show a significant yield increase in the wheat crop (2021) from the additional application of nitrogen in the canola crop (2020). An additional 36kgN/ha applied in 2020 to canola compared to Treatment 1, resulted an additional 0.44t/ha in wheat in 2021. With urea priced at $800/t at the time, the investment of $29/ha gave a benefit of $140/ha (wheat price $320/t). An additional 73kgN/ha applied in 2020 to canola compared to Treatment 1, resulted in an additional 0.65t/ha in wheat in 2021. With urea priced at $800/t, the investment of $58/ha gave a benefit of $208/ha (wheat price $320/t).

Table 1 Urea applied 2020 to Hytec Trophy, deep nitrogen and plant counts in Bennett wheat, 2021.

2020 CANOLA				2021 WHEAT
	*Urea applied (kg/ha)**	DM harvest (t/ha)	Yield (t/ha)	Soil N 0-60cm (kg N/ha)	Plant counts (plants/m²)	Yield* (t/ha)
Treatment 1: Target 2.5t/ha	217	12.86	2.73b	176	142	6.32a
Treatment 2: Target 2.95t/ha	296	9.63	2.86a	137	110	6.76b
Treatment 3: Target 3.41t/ha	376	15.18	2.87a	153	137	6.97c

*Yields were statistically analysed using a paired-T test (0.05). Yields with a different letter are statistically different from each other.

2022 updated results: The application of excess levels of nitrogen in 2020 statistically increased the yield of wheat crops in 2021. This indicates the previous year’s unused nitrogen can be “banked” for the current year’s crop.

Conclusion

The data suggests that excess application of nitrogen to a canola crop is still available for the following wheat crop, provided the nitrogen is not lost due to waterlogging or leaching. In this case, soil nitrogen was assessed on 24 May 2021 however the soil test did not reveal the additional nitrogen in the soil. The reason it did not show up in the soil test is unknown. Based on the input and commodity price scenarios of 2020 and 2021 there was an economic return from the previous year’s excess nitrogen. In 2022, fertiliser prices doubled, which makes it less economically viable to apply excess nitrogen. Also the extremely wet conditions increased the potential for the nitrogen to be lost due to waterlogging conditions.

Focus paddock 2: T4510 canola – lime incorporation

Aim

To ascertain the impact of ameliorating sub- surface acidity by incorporating lime.

Method

The paddock was identified by the grower as having potential subsoil acidity constraints. Maps of average crop vigour over a five-year period gave an indication that there were under-performing zones of the paddock (Figure 2). Sites one and two were in the high performing area, three and four in the low performing area with five and six in the medium area. The paddock was extensively soil tested through the Cool Soil Initiative project to gain an understanding of the limiting soil conditions.

A Lemken Rubin 12 was used to incorporate variable rates of lime, rather than applying to the surface, targeting a pH (CaCl2) of 5.8 in the top 10cm. The NSW Department of Primary Industries pH (CaCl2) target of 5.8 ensures there is sufficient lime applied to address acidity in the 0-10cm layer, as well as allowing for some lime to penetrate below 10cm.

The lime was applied at a variable rate with a range of 2.5t/ha to 4.5t/ha and an average application rate of 3.4t/ha. Three areas were left uncultivated, to test the benefit of incorporating lime compared to surface application. Figure 3 illustrates the trial design with the black boxes representing the area where no incorporation took place. The paddock was sown to T4510 canola at Brocklesby, on 30 April 2021. Throughout the 2021 season a total of 162 kg N/ha was applied to the paddock in four applications: 8 kg N/ha at sowing, 37 kg N/ ha on 20 April; 25 kg N/ha on 20 May, 46 kgN/ha on the 9 July and 46kgN/ha on the 9 August 2021. In 2022 the paddock was sown to wheat.

Results and discussion

Comprehensive soil testing was re-done in September 2022; this was postponed from April due to the very wet season. Results indicate that the lime has been incorporated where the treatment was applied. NDVI imagery showed that the small areas of surface applied lime had less dry matter compared to the incorporated areas throughout the 2021 season (surface applied areas are located inside the squares in Figure 5). During 2022, this re-occurred, and while not as obvious, the low yield unincorporated area had visible lower biomass and slower growth in the paddock (Figure 4), although yield maps were unavailable. NDVI imagery from 2022 showed similar results to 2021, with comparison between years shown in Figure 5.

The soil testing completed in 2022 was analysed in 5cm increments from 0-20cm. Figure 6 shows that where the lime was incorporated, the pH of the profile increased down to 15cm. The pH values at 20cm show little increase, meaning the incorporation did not reach this depth. The incorporation mixed the lime through the profile, removing the stratification of pH. The increase in pH down to 15cm will provide significant benefit to microbial activity and nutrient availability in that zone, while reducing aluminium below toxic levels. Some lime will continue to move down to 20cm depth, especially in the low yielding zone, where there is excess alkalinity in the 5-10cm zone.

Incorporating and applying lime has a long-term benefits as it aids the movement of lime beyond the surface. This demonstration shows that the incorporation has distributed the lime through the profile, increasing pH.

A key learning from this trial was that the machinery used for incorporation can leave the paddock rough and can cause some issues with sowing and post incorporation. Adjustments have since been made by the grower to put a grader board on the machinery to level and firm up the surface after mixing.

Yield was a stand out benefit for incorporation, and could be visibly seen in the two years following incorporation.

2020 updated results: Lime was incorporated to target the subsurface acidity in 2021 and those areas had an increase in yield compared to areas where the lime was not incorporated. The incorporation increased pH values across the profile.

Focus paddock 3: Raptor canola – nitrogen rates

Aim

To determine the optimum rate of nitrogen for canola.

Method

The paddock was sown to Raptor Canola on 26 April 2021. The demonstration (Figure 5) was designed based on farmer input and included five treatments with varying rates and timings of nitrogen application (Table 1). The green area index (GAI) method trialed by Jon Midwood from TechCrop used soil nitrogen measurements and drone technology to assess the amount nitrogen required. GAI is the ratio of green leaf and stem area to the area of ground on which the crop is growing, with the GAI protocols based on a target of 5t/ha dry matter, which equates to a GAI of 3.5 at early flowering to optimise yield. It takes 50 – 60 kg N/ha to make 1 GAI, therefore 3.5 GAI equates to 175 – 210 kg N/ha. The GAI is measured at set growth stages in the season to enable nitrogen rates to be adjusted to ensure the dry matter target is reached. For further information on how the GAI was calculated and nitrogen rates determined, refer to Riverine Plains Trial Book, 2022.

Results and discussion

A range of nitrogen application rates were tested in consultation with the host farmer, including using GAI to determine application rates. Deep soil nitrogen (0-60cm), taken prior to sowing (5/04/21), showed soil levels between 33 and 54 kg N/ha. Compared to the paddock control, representing farmer practice, the applications of 0 kg N/ha and 37 kg N/ha were significantly lower yielding and less profitable (Table 3). The highest yielding treatment was 221 kg N/ha, however it was less profitable than the GAI treatment (147 kg N/ha, in three applications).

Even though the treatments did not reach the dry matter target of 5t/ha at the start of flowering, favourable seasonal conditions at flowering meant that high yields were still achieved on the GAI and nitrogen-rich treatments.

This paddock was monitored in 2022, to ascertain if the additional nitrogen applied in 2021 had an impact on the wheat crop grown in 2022.

Table 2 Nitrogen treatments - Raptor canola

	Urea application
Treatment	Sowing (kg/ha)	Mid-Jul (kg/ha)	Mid-Aug (kg/ha)	Total N (kg/ha)	DM start of flowering (t/ha)	Yield (t/ha)	*Gross margin, compared to control ($/ha)**
Paddock control	80	100	100	129	3.0	3.41c	-
0 kg N/ha	0	0	0	0	0.4	1.78d	-916
37 kg N/ha	80	0	0	37	0.8	2.30d	-617
GAI 147 kg N/ha	80	150	90	147	3.0	3.79b	235
N- rich 221 kg N/ha	80	200	200	221	3.1	3.96a	225

*Based on urea price of $800/t and canola price of $700/t.

Updated results 2022: The Green Area Index (GAI) can be used to quantify the size of the canopy and may be more accurate with rates and timings of nitrogen application. In 2021, using the GAI to determine the timing and rate of nitrogen application gave a significant yield benefit compared with the farmer application.

The Hyper Yielding Focus paddocks provide an opportunity for farmers and advisors to evaluate hyper yielding research results in a paddock situation.

Conclusion

The Hyper yielding crops project demonstrates the yield possibilities in wheat, canola and barley paddocks. This on-farm demonstration shows that nitrogen is a key driver of high yielding crops. However there is a point where the cost of applying additional inputs becomes uneconomical. In this demonstration, that point was reached with the application of 221 kg N/ha, based on 2021 prices and inputs. This paddock was monitored in 2022 to identify if any of the nitrogen applied in 2021 carried over to benefit the wheat crop in 2022 (results not available at time of publication).

Acknowledgements

The Hyper yielding crops project is a GRDC investment, led by FAR Australia. The Cool Soil Initiative is a partnership between Mars Petcare, Kellogg’s, Manildra Group, Allied Pinnacle, Corson, Charles Sturt University (CSU), and the Food Agility Cooperative Research Centre (CRC), with support from the Sustainable Food Laboratory, Vermont USA.

The authors wish to thank farmer co-operators: The Moll family, the Russell family and the Severin family.

Authors: Kate Coffey, Riverine Plains; Jane McInnes, Riverine Plains; Jon Midwood, TechCrop; Nick Poole, FAR Australia; Cassandra Schefe, AgriSci Pty Ltd.

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This is an investment of the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC).

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Term
2020-2024

Project Officer
Kate Coffey

Find out more

For further information, please contact Riverine Plains Senior Project Manager, Kate Coffey at kate@riverineplains.org.au

WHY IS THIS PROJECT IMPORTANT

In short: In the Riverine Plains region, we are focusing on maximising the yield potential of wheat and canola through focus farms and innovation groups, while agronomic trials are also helping to unlock crop yield potential.

Project focus

The project combined the expertise of several farming groups, including Riverine Plains Inc, with FAR Australia, SARDI, Brill Ag, CSIRO, DPIRD, TechCrop and CeRDI.

Results presented were from demonstration strips only and were indicative results.

Project outcomes

Hyper yielding crops – 2022 results

Key points

The application of excess levels of nitrogen in 2020 statistically increased the yield of wheat crops in 2021, indicating the previous year’s unused nitrogen can be “banked” for the current year’s crop.
Lime incorporated to target subsurface acidity in 2021 caused a yield increase compared to areas where lime was not incorporated, with incorporation increasing pH values across the profile.
Green area index (GAI) can be used to quantify the size of the canopy and assist with nitrogen rate and timing — in 2021, using the GAI to determine the timing and rate of nitrogen application gave a significant yield benefit.

Focus paddock 1: DS Bennett wheat – nitrogen application

Aim

To ascertain the impact of prior year nitrogen application on the yield of the current year’s crop.

Method

Results and discussion

Table 1 Urea applied 2020 to Hytec Trophy, deep nitrogen and plant counts in Bennett wheat, 2021.

2020 CANOLA				2021 WHEAT
	*Urea applied (kg/ha)**	DM harvest (t/ha)	Yield (t/ha)	Soil N 0-60cm (kg N/ha)	Plant counts (plants/m²)	Yield* (t/ha)
Treatment 1: Target 2.5t/ha	217	12.86	2.73b	176	142	6.32a
Treatment 2: Target 2.95t/ha	296	9.63	2.86a	137	110	6.76b
Treatment 3: Target 3.41t/ha	376	15.18	2.87a	153	137	6.97c

*Yields were statistically analysed using a paired-T test (0.05). Yields with a different letter are statistically different from each other.

Conclusion

Focus paddock 2: T4510 canola – lime incorporation

Aim

To ascertain the impact of ameliorating sub- surface acidity by incorporating lime.

Method

Results and discussion

Yield was a stand out benefit for incorporation, and could be visibly seen in the two years following incorporation.

Focus paddock 3: Raptor canola – nitrogen rates

Aim

To determine the optimum rate of nitrogen for canola.

Method

Results and discussion

This paddock was monitored in 2022, to ascertain if the additional nitrogen applied in 2021 had an impact on the wheat crop grown in 2022.

Table 2 Nitrogen treatments - Raptor canola

	Urea application
Treatment	Sowing (kg/ha)	Mid-Jul (kg/ha)	Mid-Aug (kg/ha)	Total N (kg/ha)	DM start of flowering (t/ha)	Yield (t/ha)	*Gross margin, compared to control ($/ha)**
Paddock control	80	100	100	129	3.0	3.41c	-
0 kg N/ha	0	0	0	0	0.4	1.78d	-916
37 kg N/ha	80	0	0	37	0.8	2.30d	-617
GAI 147 kg N/ha	80	150	90	147	3.0	3.79b	235
N- rich 221 kg N/ha	80	200	200	221	3.1	3.96a	225

*Based on urea price of $800/t and canola price of $700/t.

The Hyper Yielding Focus paddocks provide an opportunity for farmers and advisors to evaluate hyper yielding research results in a paddock situation.

Conclusion

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank farmer co-operators: The Moll family, the Russell family and the Severin family.

Authors: Kate Coffey, Riverine Plains; Jane McInnes, Riverine Plains; Jon Midwood, TechCrop; Nick Poole, FAR Australia; Cassandra Schefe, AgriSci Pty Ltd.

This is an investment of the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC).

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Term
2022-2023

Project Officer
Sophie Hanna

}', 33='{type=image, value=Image{width=2880,height=800,url='https://20998586.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/20998586/Saving%20soil%20during%20drought%20-%20Header-1.jpg',altText='Saving soil during drought - Header-1',fileId=167695464847}}', 34='{type=string, value=

Find out more

For more information on this project, please email Riverine Plains Livestock Project Officer, Sophie Hanna at sophie@riverineplains.org.au

Looking to learn more about containment feeding? Download A guide to confinement feeding sheep and cattle in NSW produced by NSW Local Land Services.

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WHY THIS PROJECT WAS NEEDED

Drought can have a devastating impact on livestock production systems and on farm natural assets, particularly soils.

Soils that are exposed due to loss of groundcover often become dry and powdery, making them vulnerable to wind and water erosion. The impact of this is seen through dust storms and severe soil erosion, which can impact significantly on water quality and cause major sediment build-up.

Appropriate management of livestock during drought is critical for pasture persistence and the resilience capacity of soils, vegetation, and farming enterprises.

In short: This project helps farmers prevent soil erosion during drought, through appropriate management of livestock.

Project focus

This project demonstrated the best practice application of stock containment areas (SCAs), and was supported by a comprehensive suite of tools, materials, and information tailored to southern NSW. The project provided livestock producers with knowledge and confidence to adopt SCAs for maximum benefit.

Maximising profits with a SCA

Maximising livestock operating profits by better utilising stock containment areas was the focus of a Riverine Plains workshop on 25 October at Andrew Bouffler’s Lockhart property.

At the workshop, sheep graziers heard Tanisha Shields from Agrista outline the key drivers for maximising business operating profits. Discussions around gross profit (revenue minus variable enterprise expenses) and earnings before interest and tax (gross profit minus fixed costs) highlighted the need to maximise efficiencies to maximise business performance. To increase operating return, farmers must either reduce expenses or increase revenue; this is where SCAs can play a role, however there are underlying considerations around establishing and effectively using SCAs.

Benefits of SCAs and barriers to adoption

There are many benefits to feeding in containment areas, compared to the paddock. These include saving time and labour, maintaining stock condition by reducing unnecessary walking in search of feed, supporting shy feeders, maintaining pastures, reducing erosion, and maximising autumn growth by keeping stock off pastures until well established. During drought, farmers can feel overwhelmed and a SCA can allow farmers to manage the condition of their stock more efficiently, which can help support mental health.

Potential barriers to adoption were also discussed, including water availability, appropriate location for a SCA, the need to establish infrastructure, and labour availability for frequent feeding, as well as associated costs.

Feeding in a SCA

Containment feeding requires diligent feed management to ensure the class of stock receive adequate nutrition for maintenance and to achieve production objectives. Tanisha discussed key feeding considerations and drivers of intake such as weight, age, physiological state, feed quality and palatability, water quality, mineral deficiencies, trough allocation, environment, health issues, social stress and wool cut.

Providing adequate energy is paramount as energy is used for maintenance, growth and muscle and fat development. Performing feed tests and considering feed on the basis of cents per megajoule (MJ) of metabolisable energy (ME) is important, particularly when purchasing feed. Feed quality is variable and farmers need to ensure they are getting value for money.

Having adequate effective fibre — fibre that is physically effective in stimulating chewing and saliva production — is also important for bicarb production and buffering against acidosis, as well as reducing the risk of water belly and increasing vitamin B12 absorption.

Feed budgeting

Feed budgeting ensures stock nutritional requirements are met by feed energy, protein, fibre, mineral and vitamin contents to achieve production objectives at a reasonable cost.

Information on various feed budgeting components, feed requirements and content tables can be found in A guide to confinement feeding sheep and cattle in NSW and on the Agriculture Victoria Sheep Resources website.

SCA design

It’s important to keep in mind that every SCA set up will be different depending on the farmer's enterprise, objectives, location, etc. Host Andrew Bouffler demonstrated his containment area, explaining how and why he chose the site, and how it’s been used over the last five years. Great discussions were had by attendees around the practical aspects of SCA utilisation, location, infrastructure, stock access, feeding and water access and systems.

Thank you to Tanisha Shields, Agrista, for an exceptional presentation and to Andrew and the Boufflers for providing an excellent SCA example.

Project outcomes

May SCA workshop

Riverine Plains farmers learned about the advantages, regulations and design practicalities of stock containment areas at a workshop and demonstration near Barooga, NSW, on 30 May.

Rebecca Stacey and Garry Armstrong from Murray Local Land Services (LLS) shared the advantages, regulations and design practicalities of SCAs, as well as animal nutrition while host farmer, Tom Marriott, explained the benefits and practicalities of SCAs on his property.

SCAs are valuable tools that can be used for holding stock for drought feeding to maintain paddock ground cover over 70%, to provide flood and fire respite and can be used for quarantining or joining.

When establishing a site consider:

1. Site selection
Ensure good drainage and consider soil type, shelter, feed storage, water access and proximity to yards.

2. Stocking density and mob size
Regulations vary across states, so check LLS and Agriculture Victoria websites. Stocking densities for NSW are: sheep 1 per 2-5m2, weaner cattle 1 per 9-10m2, dry cows 1 per 15-25m2, ewe with lamb 1 per 100m2.

3. Feeding
Consider trough height and size. Trail feeding directly onto the ground is not recommended.

Key feed & nutrition points:

Ensure there is enough feed in storage to cover livestock requirements
Identify how long you plan to feed
Feed budgeting is important
Planning is critical when deciding which stock to sell
Cracked grain increases the risk of acidosis
Know the digestibility and energy contents of various feeds; animal intake is limited to 3% of body weight, therefore the digestibility or fibre content affects feed intake
Digestibility and energy content are directly related, so buy feed according to cost per megajoule of metabolisable energy per kilogram of dry matter, rather than dollars per tonne.
Know the protein content of various feeds, including crude and bypass
Use the NSW drought feed calculator app to assist with feed budgeting

4. Water
At least two to three days’ worth of clean (non- salty) water must be available and livestock must have adequate access. Ensure a flow rate of 1-15 L per head per hour and keep the temperature between 16-18 °C (bury pipes).

5. Shade and shelter
To ensure tree survival, use tree guards and monitor nutrient load. Recommendations are for 0-4 m² per sheep or lamb, 2 m² per cow. Orientate shade in a north/south direction.

6. Animal health and welfare
Keep areas as clean and dry as possible. Control dust, introduce grain slowly, ensure stock have access to roughage and ensure rapid treatment of sick animals.

7. Regulations
Permits are not required for SCAs but are required if the areas are used for feed-lotting. SCAs must be located a minimum of 100m from a natural water source, 500m from residential house and 200m from main roads.

Thank you to Tom Marriott for generously hosting the day.

This event was held as part of the Saving Our Soils During Drought project through the Southern NSW Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub, supported by LLS, through funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund.

Electronic identification and stock containment area field day

Around 50 Riverine Plains farmers and advisors saw some real-life examples of how stock containment areas (SCA) and electronic ID (eID) equipment can add value to their livestock enterprises at the Electronic identification and stock containment area field day on 15 June. It was held near Howlong and featured presentations from industry professionals and on-farm demonstrations.

Garry Armstrong from Murray Local Land Services (LLS) addressed the importance of eID adoption for improving the traceability of Australian livestock for biosecurity purposes.

Currently, cattle lead the way in eID adoption and traceability in Australia through the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS), however sheep and farmed goats are catching up.

While eID has been mandatory in Victoria for sheep and farmed goats since 2017, from January 2025, all sheep and goats born on-farm in NSW must also be eID tagged. From January 2027 all animals leaving a NSW farm must also be eID tagged. It was recommended NSW farmers start applying eID tags as soon as practicable to accelerate improvements in traceability and to capitalise on this technology to improve stock management decisions.

Garry also outlined the key considerations of stock containment areas and how they can be used to improve farm business resilience in dry conditions. He addressed important design considerations for maximising stock performance including pen size and stocking density, soil type, access to shade and shelter, as well as feeder and water-trough placement. Garry also explained the importance of monitoring and managing diseases, as well as feed budgeting to understand the quality and quantity of feed.

Host farmer Ian Trevethan demonstrated his containment area, explaining considerations behind the design and sharing insights into the design aspects that work well, as well as ideas for improvement.

The applications and opportunities for eID technology on-farm was addressed via a panel session with Ian Trevethan, Simon Riddle, Rozzie O’Reilly and Rob Martin from FarmLink. Key messages included:

You can’t manage what you don’t measure; eID enables efficient data management which helps make important management decisions
Plan what you will use the data for before collection; define your breeding objectives and determine what data you need to collect to achieve these
Depending on breeding objectives, farmers may use eID to record a combination of traits such as, weight gain, pregnancy or lactation status, fleece weight, birth type, etc.
Recording individual data may empower important and timely decisions such as deciding which stock to sell, feed budgeting and identifying animal health conditions
When handling data, whether in Excel or engaging with other software programs, keep it simple.

Gallagher, Te Pari and Datamars also demonstrated a range of technology and equipment available to maximise the use of eID tags for stock management and handling. Henry Hickson from Nextgen Agri, also spoke about the importance of having a plan before collecting data. Henry emphasised the key values of eID technology for driving mob improvements, including:

Measuring responses to management in stock
Hitting management targets
Increasing labour flexibility
Selecting animals to retain
Enhancing traceability and transparency

Thank you to Ian Trevethan for generously hosting the field day and sharing his valuable insights with the group.

This event was held as part of the Saving Our Soils During Drought project through the Southern NSW Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub, supported by Local Land Services, through funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund.

This event was also supported by the Australian Government’s Agricultural Innovation Hubs Program through the Victoria Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub.

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This project was completed in 2022.

Project Officer
Jane McInnes

}', 33='{type=image, value=Image{width=2880,height=800,url='https://20998586.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/20998586/Fodder%20for%20the%20Future%20-%20Header-2.jpg',altText='Fodder for the Future - Header-2',fileId=171018364259}}', 34='{type=string, value=

Find out more

For more information on this project, please email Riverine Plains Senior Project Manager, Jane McInnes at jane@riverineplains.org.au

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WHY THIS PROJECT WAS NEEDED

The use of fodder in dairying systems has become an increasingly important component of dairying across the Southern Murray Darling Basin (MDB) for both dairy businesses and fodder and grain producers.

Fodder for the Future is designed to assist agricultural communities adapt to a water limited future. This project highlights the value of ‘closed loop’ fodder production systems, which involve the transfer of high-quality fodder between businesses within the Southern MDB, whilst retaining the value of production locally. The project also aimed to increase the knowledge and skills of dairy farmers who are increasingly growing fodder to support their overall feedbase systems.

In short: The Fodder for the Future project helped dairy farmers and fodder producers optimise the quality and yield of a range of fodder species in the southern Murray Darling Basin. It included an assessment of various pasture species combinations for fodder quality and ease of harvest, including vetch.

Demonstration trials explored a range of fodder types across the Murray region of northern Victoria and Southern NSW. Fodder for the Future offered both dairy and fodder producers the chance to explore fodder production strategies for their businesses, building networks and draw on knowledge and expertise from partnering organisations.

Project focus

The project aimed to be a cross-sectoral collaboration designed to support the development of complementary farming systems that optimise the use of both irrigated and dryland forages across the Southern MDB by:

Increasing the quality and yield of fodder produced on both dairy, hay and grain farms and;
Brokering long term relationships between dairy and hay producers to increase risk management options, diversification of income and resilience in business management.

As part of the project, Riverine Plains established a demonstration site at Boorhaman in northeast Victoria. The trial evaluated an oats/vetch mix sown at two different sowing rates and dates, with a variety of physiological growth measurements taken throughout the growing season.

This site, along with results from additional trials established in other areas, has provided farmers and service providers an opportunity to look at economic and biophysical performance of different cereals and under a range of climatic and market conditions in Murray region. Trials included wheat, barley, oats, triticale, vetch, sorghum and maize, comparing the suitability of varieties within each species for fodder production.

Project outcomes

The Fodder for the Future project was designed to improve the supply chain for quality fodder between the cropping and dairy industries.

Results from the Youarang demonstration site

Key points

Vetch grown as a ‘companion crop’ with a small amount of oats increased the harvestability of the fodder, while decreasing the quality of the fodder for dairy cows.
If growing a cereal with legume, match the time of maturity of the cereal with the legume.
Be proactive with using fungicides rather than reactive.
Balance quantity and quality of fodder, the Benetas variety had a greater biomass to the detriment of quality.

Aim

To demonstrate the harvestability and quality of silage and or hay on a crop of vetch with and without a standing crop.

Demonstration details

A 60ha paddock, in Youarang, Victoria, was used as the demonstration site for 2022. The site was sown on 24 May 2022 using two varieties of vetch – Morava and Benetas, which were sown individually as well as with a small amount of oats (cv Mitika). Sowing rates and varieties are presented in Table 1, while the site set up can be seen in Figure 1.

Fungicide (400mL/ha Veritas Opti) was applied on 28 July 2022 and on 21 September 2022.

Table 1 Species and varieties sown, with target sowing rates

Species	Variety	Sowing rate (kg/ha)
Vetch	Morava	42
Vetch/ Oats	Morava /Mikita	42/ 8
Vetch	Benetas	35
Vetch/ Oats	Benetas / Mikita	35/ 8

Prior to sowing, soil samples for full chemical analysis was taken from two places in the demonstration site. There were also two samples taken in 5 cm increments from 0-20 cm depth.

Table 2 pH results from 5cm incremental soil samples

	Sample 1	Sample 2
Depth (cm)	pH (CaCl2)	pH (CaCl2)
0-5	4.7	NA
5-10	4.7	5.7
10-15	4.7	5
15-20	4.8	5.7

Table 3 Chemical analysis of soil from Yourang demonstration site

Sample	pH (1:5 CaCl2)	*EC (dS/M)**	Nitrate nitrogen (mg/kg)	Colwell P (mg/kg)	PBI^	Organic Carbon (%)	Soil texture
1	4.6	0.2	9.6	48	74	0.8	Clay
2	5.1	0.5	13	49	36	0.7	Clay Loam

*EC; electrical conductivity, ^PBI; Phosphorus buffering index

Figure 1 Layout of plots at Youarang demonstration site.

Plots with Morava (front & left) were sprayed out and brown manured due to wet conditions. Benetas (back right) was taken to grain.

Yield

Due to the wet seasonal conditions, the demonstration sites were too wet to cut for hay or silage. As a result the Morava vetch was sprayed out and brown manured. The Benetas vetch was taken to grain harvest.

Before the demonstration was sprayed out and brown manured, it was estimated that the Morava would have yielded 7.5t/ha while the Benetas was greater at 8.5t/ha. The grain yield of the vetch averaged 0.8t/ha.

There was a visual difference in the vetch stature between the vetch-only and the vetch with oats, as well as between vetch varieties. The oats kept the vetch off the ground and gave the plant greater opportunity to dry out. The vetch-only created a wet mat on the ground floor giving disease an opportunity to take over. The thick layers of vetch were more pronounced in the Morava (plots 1 and 2) due to Benetas having a tougher, thicker stem and standing taller. Part of the reason for not harvesting the Morava was that it formed a wet mass that would be difficult to pick up off the ground cleanly. When cuts were taken for sampling, the vetch measured 155cm for Morava and 180cm for the Benetas.

Nutrition

Biomass samples were sent to FeedTest for analysis and showed that the samples from each plot had generally good quality. Results can be seen in Table 5.

Table 5 Feed analysis when vetch was at BBCH growth stage 61-63. Results are on a % dry matter (%DM) basis.

Treatment	Sample date	% Crude protein	Soluble % Crude protein	Acid detergent fibre	Neutral detergent fibre	Neutral detergent fibre digestibility at 30hrs
Vetch - Morava	29/09/2023	25.0	45.9	27.6	37.6	71.4
Vetch - Morava/Oats - Mitika	29/09/2023	19.4	40.7	28.6	39.8	56.1
Vetch - Benetas/ Oats - Mitika	20/10/2023	17.9	52.2	38.2	48.7	43.3
Vetch - Benetas	20/10/2023	24.6	53.6	36.6	41.9	51.1

Observations and discussion

Growth during the season looked promising, however with steady rainfall it became one of the wettest springs on record. This meant there were minimal opportunities to dry out the forage once it was cut.

Towards the end of the season, a decision needed to be made between making very poor-quality hay or silage or utilising the legume and incorporating the nutrients into the soil for a nitrogen boost in the next season. As a result, Morava was brown manured, with the decision to take the Benetas vetch to seed based on lack of seed supply. The farmer also hoped to harvest enough for stores for next season.

The harvestability of the vetch-only treatment, especially in a wet year like 2022, was challenging, with the vetch mulched just above ground level creating a ‘wet mass’. The vetch grown with a small amount of cereal stood much taller and allowed for cleaner cutting. Morava vetch was much shorter in stature than the Benetas. The Benetas companion cropped with a cereal created an even larger amount of biomass.

The site was very well managed with a proactive response to disease rather than a reactive one, despite the wet conditions creating an increased risk of disease. Two applications of fungicide were used during the season, which managed to keep diseases at bay. A late application of fungicide on 21 September saved the vetch from late disease.

When taking samples, it was noted that the oat variety (Mitika) matured earlier than the vetch, with Morava vetch maturing around three weeks earlier than the Benetas vetch. An oat variety to match the timing of the vetch variety would be ideal to increase the quality of fodder.

Dairy farmers look for a combination of nutritional characteristics such as metabolic energy (ME), crude protein (CP%) and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) when assessing fodder options. Feed was tested for NDF, which indicated that the Benetas variety had higher biomass, and high stem to leaf ratio. The combination of all nutritional values indicated that the Benetas vetch/Mikita oats were marginal for milking quality feed and the Benetas vetch results were just acceptable for milking quality. The Morava vetch met nutritional value requirements, while the Benetas vetch/Mikita oats were ideal for harvestability.

It was clear from the trial that farmers need to have a clear quality objective in mind when growing fodder. If harvested, both varieties in the trial would have produced over 7.5 t/ha of biomass, however due to the Benetas quality in this demonstration, it was sacrificed for biomass.

Virtual Field Day, 2021

As part of the project, a Virtual Field Day was held in September 2021, see below.

At the virtual field day Shane Byrne, Murray Dairy, introduced the project as providing a forum for sharing technical and market knowledge related to the production of high-quality fodder for the dairy industry.

Catherine Marriott, Riverine Plains, spoke on the benefits of forming long-term partnerships between dairy farmers and grain growers as a way to meet the requirements of dairy farmers, while providing an income stream to grain farmers.

Dr Cassandra Schefe (AgriSci), explained how some soils in our region are naturally acidic while other soils have become acid due to agricultural production. While some farmers in northeastern Victoria apply lime, application rates are not keeping up with increased productivity of meat, milk and grain production systems. The conventional method of broadcasting lime on the soil surface tends to improve the top 1-5cm, while the soil below can become more acidic. Hay production has the biggest affect on acidification of all agricultural systems (i.e. an 8t/ha oaten hay crop requires 200kg lime/ha to replace the acidification). If fertiliser applied to fodder crops are considered (i.e 80kg/ha MAP and 100kg/ha urea), 326kg/ha lime is required to replace the acidification. Acidity is a systems issue for the whole farm, as the range of options for crop and pasture species is reduced at levels below pHCaCl 5. Increased acidity also means that crops and pastures cannot efficiently access nutrients, further reducing their productivity.

Soil sampling using GPS located points is helpful to remove in-paddock variation, and sampling of the same areas over time can help determine trends. Ideally, sample different areas of the paddock (either good/bad or light/heavy soil types). If the paddock has a no-till history, sampling needs to be done in 5cm increments down to 20cm to show where the acidity is located in the profile and determine how to apply and incorporate the lime. Lime is a capital investment, and farmers in the region should target a pH of 5.8 in the topsoil. If correct rates of lime are applied and incorporated correctly based on soil test information, economic returns will be faster compared to if lime was surface applied.

Luke Nagle (Advanced Ag) explained how a fodder crop can provide a weed break and nitrogen fixation for cropping systems and farmers whilst simultaneously providing good protein and energy for dairy systems and farmers. Good communication between the fodder producer and the dairy farmer is essential to ensure the product meets animal production needs. A good dairy fodder option is a cereal and vetch mix, sown at 40kg vetch and 10-20kg of cereal. Common local vetch varieties are Morava and Popany, with an early May sowing the best date to make a quality product.

Luke also recommended avoiding stony paddocks, ensuring irrigation wasn’t too late and that capeweed is hard to get out of vetch. Harvesting at booting stage for silage (35% dry matter) gives the higher quality protein product, while harvesting at head emergence gives a quality product and more dry matter. Even though hay is not as profitable as grain this year, there may be incentives for grain farmers to clean up problem weed paddocks and maintain long term relationships with dairy farmers.

David Lewis (Lallemand) spoke about the benefits of silage as a source of readily digestible feed and nutrients for ruminants, where high quality forages preserved as quality silage can improve animal performance. The key to quality spring silage is in managing the whole process, starting with mowing and raking for rapid wilting and making silage at the correct plant moisture on the day. Contamination with soil from a low cutting height or rough/stony paddocks can be detrimental to silage quality (i.e if it is cut too low, there can be a lot of contaminants in the silage which reduce animal production).

When growing companion crops, it is important to get the mix of species and maturity right to achieve the targeted feed quality (protein, energy etc). Cereals can be cut for silage at two stages: flag leaf and soft dough. When cereals are combined with vetch, the target is generally booting stage, limiting the amount of cereal so it doesn’t dilute the protein levels provided by the vetch.

Harvest timing locks in the feed values of the fodder: generally, the later the crops are ensiled, the more quality decreases. This can be partially overcome in a cereal/vetch mix as vetch protein remains high while flowering. However, the feed quality of the vetch drops away once it finishes flowering. This is where the combination of matching maturities and seeding rates of the two species is important to provide enough frame from the cereal to support the vetch, whilst not diluting the feed value.

The Fodder for the Future project is funded by the Federal Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, through the Murray-Darling Basin Economic Development Program.

This event was supported by the North East CMA through funding provided by the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.

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This project was funded by Murray Dairy through Dairy Australia.

This project was part of a $1.6m investment over 3 years funded by the Australian Government through the Murray Darling Basin Economic Development Program.

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This project was completed in 2020.

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Find out more

For further information on this project, please email Riverine Plains Senior Project Manager Jane McInnes at jane@riverineplains.org.au

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WHY THIS PROJECT WAS IMPORTANT

In north-east Victoria and southern NSW, two soil properties influence soil health and productivity in a significant way – soil pH and soil organic carbon (SOC).

Soil pH plays an important role in governing the chemical environment in the soil, while soil organic carbon (SOC) is a key component of soil organic matter (SOM) and plays many important roles in maintaining soil health.

This project aimed to quantify the baseline variance in soil pH and soil organic carbon (SOC) in four cropping paddocks and four pasture paddocks in north east Victoria, to understand the degree to which these parameters may vary in paddocks that appear relatively uniform.

Project focus

Soil organic carbon also contributes much to our soil and farming systems and mechanisms are now in place, through the Federal Government Emission Reduction Fund, to pay farmers to maintain an increase in SOC, via the Carbon Farming Initiative. This project sought to provide further information for growers looking to understand more about this process using the methods and pricing available to farmers at the time (2021).

Because the calculation of carbon stocks is more difficult in practice than in theory, and because there was a lack of regionally relevant reference data available for growers, the collection of soil samples using protocols from the Carbon Farming Initiative aimed to provide a regionally relevant example of how to conduct this work, as well as a guide to likely local SOC stocks.

The project also aimed to calculate the benefit that could be ascribed to an SOC increase of 0.5% (within a 25-year contracted period), using data collected for one of the project paddocks.

The project team thanks participating growers for their willingness to contribute to this work.

Project outcomes

Report on pH and soil organic carbon improves local understanding of carbon farming (April 2021)

With many local farmers interested in the potential for carbon farming, Riverine Plains completed a region-first project looking into the viability and practicality of increasing soil carbon for trading through the Australian Government’s Emission Reduction Fund during 2021.

“To participate in carbon farming, farmers need to show an increase in soil carbon stocks over time, however this is easier said than done, with farmers facing a range of challenges in demonstrating the required levels of change” explained former Riverine Plains Project Officer and project leader, Dr Cassandra Schefe (now principal of AgriSci).

“With the support of the Cool Soil Initiative, Riverine Plains established a project in which paddocks were sampled to determine baseline soil pH and soil organic carbon using the specific methods set out in the Carbon Farming Initiative” said Dr Schefe.

“From this, we were then able to calculate stocks of soil organic carbon for each paddock and also used a particular paddock to work out what a 0.5% increase in soil carbon might look like in terms of the Australian Carbon Credit Unit, which can then be traded via the Emission Reduction Fund” she added.

The calculations, based on a pasture paddock near Springhurst, showed the potential financial gains from carbon farming to be relatively modest, with the returns needing to be weighed against the sampling, auditing and reporting costs of participating in the Emission Reduction Fund, as well as the long-term nature of the contract.

“The project highlighted how complex it can be to measure and validate any increase or change in soil organic carbon over time, and that trading carbon through the Emission Reduction Fund requires a thorough understanding of the process before committing” Dr Schefe said.

Aside from carbon farming, one of the most important take-home messages from the project was that soil pH and soil organic carbon influence soil health in a significant way, and it is important to measure changes through regular soil testing.

“While interactions between soil pH and soil organic carbon are complex, soil pH is a key parameter driving the soil’s ability to increase soil carbon, with low pH soils having reduced microbial activity and organic matter turnover.

“We know that soil pH, in both the top-soil and the subsoil, is limiting productivity in a number of soils across north-east Victoria and southern NSW, and recommend that farmers use incremental soil sampling as a tool to help identify soils that require lime or other interventions” Dr Schefe concluded.

Find out more

For more information, please email info@riverineplains.org.au

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WHY THIS PROJECT WAS NEEDED

Stubble retention can help protect soils from erosion, increase soil moisture retention and improve soil organic matter. However managing high stubble loads isn’t always straightforward, especially in no-till systems.

This project formed part of an overarching national initiative focusing on maintaining the profitability of stubble-retained systems. It was designed to investigate, demonstrate, and extend cultural practices to assist growers adopt no-till stubble retention (NTSR) in medium and high rainfall zones.

In short: This project focused on maintaining the profitability of stubble-retained systems. Multiple trials compared stubble management techniques used in the Riverine Plains region. Additional research on temperature and frost effects address growers' concerns, and contributed to local knowledge.

Project focus

The project established four focus farms with large, commercial scale trials at Coreen, Henty, Yarrawonga and Dookie. The trials compared crop growth, frost and disease risk and yield under different stubble management techniques, including burning, mulching or incorporation of stubble as compared to leaving stubble standing. Supporting small scale trials focused on specific issues such as row spacing and cultivar selection, nitrogen timing and disease management. The project built on findings from the previous GRDC funded Riverine Plains project Improving water use efficiency in no-till stubble retained systems.

This project aimed to increase the adoption of NTSR systems across the Riverine Plains region by increasing profitability and sustainability of NTSR cropping systems. The project also developed guidelines specific to the region, enabling growers and advisors to use rotational cultural control measures to enhance the sustainability of their NTSR farming systems.

This project was extended to include additional temperature and frost research, through links to the GRDC National Frost Initiative. As an addition to the Stubble Project, the frost research component aimed to understand the impact of stubble retention on in-canopy temperatures and associated risk of frost in cropping environments with high yields and stubble loads. This was driven by increased interest from growers and the need for more local knowledge.

Frost research stubble management trials were run at Coreen, Yarrawonga and Dookie and included tall stubble, low stubble, incorporated stubble and burnt stubble treatments (with the exception of Corowa where there was no low stubble treatment). Temperature data was gathered by Tinytag sensors at 50mm above the surface and 300mm above the surface, rising to 600mm during the season. At the Dookie site they were also buried at 50mm below the soil surface.

Project outcomes

Stubble retention in cropping systems of the Riverine Plains was published as a summary of project outcomes and learnings.

Major findings included:

Stubble management is not a key driver of yield. Recommendation: Retain stubble where possible, but use other tools, such as straw removal, mulching or incorporation, to manage stubble to optimise the efficiency of the farming system and machinery. Try to use burning as a strategic tool only when necessary.
Row spacing (22.5cm or 30cm) is less important in determining wheat yield in early-sown (mid-April) crops compared with later-sown crops (late May – early June).
During the four years of trials, applying a PGR did not deliver any positive yield effects or consistent quality effects.
Applying nitrogen increased yield potential, however the timing of the nitrogen application (split, single dose etc) did not influence yield. Recommendation: As there is no penalty for applying nitrogen in a split application, a high rate of nitrogen up front, or early, could be valuable under wetter conditions, while a lower rate of early nitrogen could reduce upfront costs when dry sowing, or where the break is late.
Applying either Prosaro (tebuconazole/prothioconazole) or Tilt (propiconazole) typically provided yellow leaf spot (YLS) control in the range 25–50%, which led to small, but consistent, positive yield effects. Recommendation: Use fungicides to control YLS during a wet spring, however sowing resistant varieties and employing rotations that include break crops, such as canola and pulses, also can help control YLS.
Long stubble shades the emerging crop, resulting in a delay in flowering and maturity. Recommendation: Growers can use this to their advantage by sowing crops earlier into long stubble and having them still flower in the right window, thus spreading the sowing window. If using two headers in a paddock, changing stubble height between headers will spread the flowering window of the following crop within the paddock over several days. This will reduce the risk of economic frost damage across a whole paddock/ variety.
Long stubble does not significantly increase the risk of frost in the Riverine Plains region. While in-canopy temperatures differences were measured across the Stubble project trials, these were not physiologically significant. Rather, the difference in flowering date due to shading in high stubble meant either the burnt or retained treatments had more frost damage during 2017, depending on which treatment was flowering at the time of the frost event.
Soil sampling should be conducted at repeatable GPS referenced locations across different soil types. Recommendation: Avoid the bulking together of soil samples that commonly occurs with transect sampling and instead adopt incremental sampling. This will provide a greater opportunity to detect changes in soil properties over time.
Variable rate nitrogen management is of highest value in seasons where water is limiting and when there are strong changes in clay content/CEC across a paddock. Recommendation: Zones developed through EM surveys need to be ground-truthed in order to determine which soil properties are likely to drive or limit production in each zone.

Summary: Comparable yields can be achieved in stubble retained and burnt systems. Even if full stubble retention is not feasible due to machinery, weeds or disease constraints, there are other options such as shallow incorporation, cutting short or straw removal which can provide flexibility, reduce the frequency of burning and address timeliness related issues.

This publication was made possible with funding from GRDC and the Sustainable Agriculture Victoria – Fast Tracking Innovation Initiative.

Stubble management guidelines

Stubble management guides were also produced:

Case studies

Stubble retention case studies with Steve Ludeman and Denis Tomlinson were recently updated, thanks to the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR), and the William Buckland Foundation.

Results summaries

Results from this project have been reported in several editions of Riverine Plains research compendium, Research for the Riverine Plains, as well as having been presented at conferences or seminars. These reports can be downloaded via the links below:

AARES 2019 Precision N paper (Financial Analysis of Variable-Rate)

2018 edition (2017 trials)

2017 edition (2016 trials)

2016 edition (2015 trials)

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This was an investment of the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC).

This project was completed in 2018.

Project Officer
Dr Cassandra Schefe

Find out more

For more information, please email info@riverineplains.org.au

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WHY THIS PROJECT WAS NEEDED

In short: This project focused on maintaining the profitability of stubble-retained systems. Multiple trials compared stubble management techniques used in the Riverine Plains region. Additional research on temperature and frost effects address growers' concerns, and contributed to local knowledge.

Project focus

Project outcomes

Stubble retention in cropping systems of the Riverine Plains was published as a summary of project outcomes and learnings.

Major findings included:

Stubble management is not a key driver of yield. Recommendation: Retain stubble where possible, but use other tools, such as straw removal, mulching or incorporation, to manage stubble to optimise the efficiency of the farming system and machinery. Try to use burning as a strategic tool only when necessary.
Row spacing (22.5cm or 30cm) is less important in determining wheat yield in early-sown (mid-April) crops compared with later-sown crops (late May – early June).
During the four years of trials, applying a PGR did not deliver any positive yield effects or consistent quality effects.
Applying nitrogen increased yield potential, however the timing of the nitrogen application (split, single dose etc) did not influence yield. Recommendation: As there is no penalty for applying nitrogen in a split application, a high rate of nitrogen up front, or early, could be valuable under wetter conditions, while a lower rate of early nitrogen could reduce upfront costs when dry sowing, or where the break is late.
Applying either Prosaro (tebuconazole/prothioconazole) or Tilt (propiconazole) typically provided yellow leaf spot (YLS) control in the range 25–50%, which led to small, but consistent, positive yield effects. Recommendation: Use fungicides to control YLS during a wet spring, however sowing resistant varieties and employing rotations that include break crops, such as canola and pulses, also can help control YLS.
Long stubble shades the emerging crop, resulting in a delay in flowering and maturity. Recommendation: Growers can use this to their advantage by sowing crops earlier into long stubble and having them still flower in the right window, thus spreading the sowing window. If using two headers in a paddock, changing stubble height between headers will spread the flowering window of the following crop within the paddock over several days. This will reduce the risk of economic frost damage across a whole paddock/ variety.
Long stubble does not significantly increase the risk of frost in the Riverine Plains region. While in-canopy temperatures differences were measured across the Stubble project trials, these were not physiologically significant. Rather, the difference in flowering date due to shading in high stubble meant either the burnt or retained treatments had more frost damage during 2017, depending on which treatment was flowering at the time of the frost event.
Soil sampling should be conducted at repeatable GPS referenced locations across different soil types. Recommendation: Avoid the bulking together of soil samples that commonly occurs with transect sampling and instead adopt incremental sampling. This will provide a greater opportunity to detect changes in soil properties over time.
Variable rate nitrogen management is of highest value in seasons where water is limiting and when there are strong changes in clay content/CEC across a paddock. Recommendation: Zones developed through EM surveys need to be ground-truthed in order to determine which soil properties are likely to drive or limit production in each zone.

Summary: Comparable yields can be achieved in stubble retained and burnt systems. Even if full stubble retention is not feasible due to machinery, weeds or disease constraints, there are other options such as shallow incorporation, cutting short or straw removal which can provide flexibility, reduce the frequency of burning and address timeliness related issues.

This publication was made possible with funding from GRDC and the Sustainable Agriculture Victoria – Fast Tracking Innovation Initiative.

Stubble management guidelines

Stubble management guides were also produced:

Case studies

Stubble retention case studies with Steve Ludeman and Denis Tomlinson were recently updated, thanks to the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR), and the William Buckland Foundation.

Results summaries

AARES 2019 Precision N paper (Financial Analysis of Variable-Rate)

2018 edition (2017 trials)

2017 edition (2016 trials)

2016 edition (2015 trials)

This was an investment of the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC).

This project was completed in 2018.

Project Officer
Dr Cassandra Schefe

Find out more

For more information, please email info@riverineplains.org.au

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WHY THIS PROJECT WAS NEEDED

In short: This project focused on maintaining the profitability of stubble-retained systems. Multiple trials compared stubble management techniques used in the Riverine Plains region. Additional research on temperature and frost effects address growers' concerns, and contributed to local knowledge.

Project focus

Project outcomes

Stubble retention in cropping systems of the Riverine Plains was published as a summary of project outcomes and learnings.

Major findings included:

Stubble management is not a key driver of yield. Recommendation: Retain stubble where possible, but use other tools, such as straw removal, mulching or incorporation, to manage stubble to optimise the efficiency of the farming system and machinery. Try to use burning as a strategic tool only when necessary.
Row spacing (22.5cm or 30cm) is less important in determining wheat yield in early-sown (mid-April) crops compared with later-sown crops (late May – early June).
During the four years of trials, applying a PGR did not deliver any positive yield effects or consistent quality effects.
Applying nitrogen increased yield potential, however the timing of the nitrogen application (split, single dose etc) did not influence yield. Recommendation: As there is no penalty for applying nitrogen in a split application, a high rate of nitrogen up front, or early, could be valuable under wetter conditions, while a lower rate of early nitrogen could reduce upfront costs when dry sowing, or where the break is late.
Applying either Prosaro (tebuconazole/prothioconazole) or Tilt (propiconazole) typically provided yellow leaf spot (YLS) control in the range 25–50%, which led to small, but consistent, positive yield effects. Recommendation: Use fungicides to control YLS during a wet spring, however sowing resistant varieties and employing rotations that include break crops, such as canola and pulses, also can help control YLS.
Long stubble shades the emerging crop, resulting in a delay in flowering and maturity. Recommendation: Growers can use this to their advantage by sowing crops earlier into long stubble and having them still flower in the right window, thus spreading the sowing window. If using two headers in a paddock, changing stubble height between headers will spread the flowering window of the following crop within the paddock over several days. This will reduce the risk of economic frost damage across a whole paddock/ variety.
Long stubble does not significantly increase the risk of frost in the Riverine Plains region. While in-canopy temperatures differences were measured across the Stubble project trials, these were not physiologically significant. Rather, the difference in flowering date due to shading in high stubble meant either the burnt or retained treatments had more frost damage during 2017, depending on which treatment was flowering at the time of the frost event.
Soil sampling should be conducted at repeatable GPS referenced locations across different soil types. Recommendation: Avoid the bulking together of soil samples that commonly occurs with transect sampling and instead adopt incremental sampling. This will provide a greater opportunity to detect changes in soil properties over time.
Variable rate nitrogen management is of highest value in seasons where water is limiting and when there are strong changes in clay content/CEC across a paddock. Recommendation: Zones developed through EM surveys need to be ground-truthed in order to determine which soil properties are likely to drive or limit production in each zone.

Summary: Comparable yields can be achieved in stubble retained and burnt systems. Even if full stubble retention is not feasible due to machinery, weeds or disease constraints, there are other options such as shallow incorporation, cutting short or straw removal which can provide flexibility, reduce the frequency of burning and address timeliness related issues.

This publication was made possible with funding from GRDC and the Sustainable Agriculture Victoria – Fast Tracking Innovation Initiative.

Stubble management guidelines

Stubble management guides were also produced:

Case studies

Stubble retention case studies with Steve Ludeman and Denis Tomlinson were recently updated, thanks to the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR), and the William Buckland Foundation.

Results summaries

AARES 2019 Precision N paper (Financial Analysis of Variable-Rate)

2018 edition (2017 trials)

2017 edition (2016 trials)

2016 edition (2015 trials)

This was an investment of the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC).

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Find out more

WHY THIS PROJECT IS NEEDED

Project focus

Further reading

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WHY THIS PROJECT IS NEEDED

Project focus

Project outcomes

Find out more

WHY THIS PROJECT IS NEEDED

Project focus

Project outcomes

Find out more

WHY THIS PROJECT IS NEEDED

Project focus

Project outcomes

Key messages were:

SAVERNAKE SPECIES DEMONSTRATION SITE

BAROOGA GRAZING DEMONSTRATION SITE

Webinar

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WHY THIS PROJECT WAS IMPORTANT

Project focus

Project outcomes

Key messages from the project’s 2022 trials were:

Focus paddock 1: Diverse rotation

Focus paddock 2: Nitrogen banking

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WHY THIS PROJECT WAS IMPORTANT

Project focus

Project outcomes

Key messages from the project’s 2022 trials were:

Focus paddock 1: Diverse rotation

Focus paddock 2: Nitrogen banking

WHY THIS PROJECT WAS IMPORTANT

Project focus

Dual-purpose wheat for graze and grain

Silicon application sustains crop yield under drought stress

Native corridors

Analysis

Project Outcomes

Key messages were:

Key messages from the project’s 2023 trials were:

Results and discussion

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WHY IS THIS PROJECT IMPORTANT

Project focus

Project outcomes

Key messages were:

Smart farms small grants: soil extension activities – case study

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Further reading

WHY IS THIS PROJECT IMPORTANT

Project focus

Project outcomes

Hyper yielding crops – 2022 results

Key points

Focus paddock 1: DS Bennett wheat – nitrogen application

Focus paddock 2: T4510 canola – lime incorporation

Focus paddock 3: Raptor canola – nitrogen rates

Acknowledgements

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Further reading

WHY IS THIS PROJECT IMPORTANT

Project focus

Project outcomes

Hyper yielding crops – 2022 results

Key points

Focus paddock 1: DS Bennett wheat – nitrogen application

Focus paddock 2: T4510 canola – lime incorporation

Focus paddock 3: Raptor canola – nitrogen rates

Acknowledgements

Find out more

WHY THIS PROJECT WAS NEEDED

Project focus

Maximising profits with a SCA

Project outcomes

May SCA workshop

Electronic identification and stock containment area field day

Our vision is to be a trusted partner in farming excellence for the Riverine Plains. Our members benefit from new knowledge and skills through research projects, education and communication.