Local field days & Crop walks dominate busy Ag calender

A full spring ag calendar across the Eyre Peninsula has had farmers busy attending field days, workshops and crop walks.

The Pulse Field Day was particularly popular, with about 75 people attending the South Australian Research and Development Institute’s trial site at Neil Cummins’ Lock property on September 5.

The program was dominated by lentils, looking at varieties, nutrition requirements, herbicide applications, marketing and delivery options.

AIR EP Executive Officer Naomi Scholz said this was no surprise, as the area of lentils grown on the Eyre Peninsula has doubled over the past year.

“Lentils have definitely become more of an option for Eyre Peninsula farmers than ever before, so it was the perfect opportunity to further examine the pros and cons of introducing lentils into the cropping rotation,” Ms Scholz said.

The group also visited the Elders trial site to hear about lentil varieties from Jonathan Forrest, then onto the GRDC-funded hyper-yielding and hyper-profitable cereals in low to medium rainfall environments.

The event was organised by AIR EP and funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation, and was facilitated by Andrew Ware of EPAG Research.

More than 50 people attended the AIR EP Lower EP Crop Walk titled Finding the farming system “sweet spot”. Despite a decile 1 rainfall average, the trial site at Edillilie looked fantastic.

Agronomic Engineer Rodrigo Coqui da Silva from the University of Adelaide and Research Agronomist Andrew Ware provided a trial update, focusing on economics and profitability.

More than 300 cropping variations will be trialled, using soil analysis to forecast yield, calculate rates of nitrogen, and to determine the maximum yield potential and economics surrounding various cropping scenarios.

“The information coming from the farming systems trial is going to be critical for us due to rising input costs, and for many growers in the area, the data from the project cannot come quickly enough,” Ms Scholz said.

Mr Ware also gave an update on the GRDC pulse trial, that was ironically planted to wheat this season, to determine the legacy effect of the prior pulse crop. Results from last year indicate lentils came out well in front of lupins economically, however they still carry a higher risk due to waterlogging potential in the area. Beans remain the lowest risk pulse crop option, due to their tolerance to climate and they don’t mind ‘wet feet’.

In addition to the farming systems and pulse trials, the morning program included a soil pit presentation by Brett Masters of EPAG Research. Due to the area having traditional cereal/canola rotations, many were interested in whether maintenance lime rates might change with the introduction of legumes into the rotations. The soil pit, funded by the SA Drought Hub soils and risk project, will be digitally documented and people will be able to access this “virtual soil pit” online. To check out other soils from EP that have been included, head to the Soil Hub website.

As lime rates, application methods and cost become increasingly topical, the program included a visit to Mark Modra’s paddock scale strip demonstration, where he has left a visual nil strip of lime compared to multiple applications of lime across the rest of the paddock. PIRSA Senior Soil Research Officer Josh Telfer stepped the audience through hallmark signs of soil acidity effects in lentils, with the paddock demonstrating the benefits of lime applications over a long period.

As lime takes several years to work its way through the soil profile, many were keen to know whether they could speed up the benefits by incorporating lime into the soil following application. Based on previous trials in NSW, evidence indicates that spreading lime and incorporating by ripping, spading or using a speed tiller (ideally at 2km/h) will make lime available, more quickly to plants.

Between agronomic sessions, Luke Mosley and Joseph Marks from the University of Adelaide presented soil testing equipment and technology, including penetrometer, laser soil infiltrometer, and infrared device for measuring carbon in soil. The ag tech session concluded with a virtual drone mapping demonstration at the Cummins Bowling Club.

For more information, visit the AIR EP website.