Blog 2 - West Midlands Group

Rowes Road Crop Nutrition Tour – Farmer Summary

By Kate Parker, WMG Project Officer

Introduction

The Rowes Road Crop Nutrition Tour occurred on the 1st of August with 22 attendees, a mix of farmers and industry. The tour involved stopping off at three different trial sites along Rowes Road hosted by CSBP and WMG.

Site 1 – CSBP Legume Trial Site (Cahill’s)

The CSBP legume trial site resulted from concerns around declining organic levels in soils and overall sustainability in farming systems. There is a well known limit to productivity in farming operations with no legumes in the system. The trial is looking to build carbon levels and assess the value of adding legumes into a system alongside the impacts of this on fertiliser needs. Lupin, serradella and canola are being assessed for their benefits to agricultural systems with data being collected across multiple seasons/rotations. Initial results are showing crops are more responsive to N with legumes in the system, particularly after amelioration. CSBP emphasises a need for resilience and long term sustainability.

Attendees all had experience with legumes, mostly lupins with some serradella, clover and vetch for stockfeed. General consensus from the group was N applications tend to be the same every year even with additional inputs such as a previous year of legumes or manure applications.

There was discussion around looking into a multiyear cost-benefit analysis and how long benefits from legumes can last. N uptake is dependent on how ‘exhausted’ your soils are of N; Resilience and capturing top yields are important as well as a back end supply of N. Adding lupins into rotation can give a higher ‘natural’ yield for a following crop than with just N applications.

Site 2 – WMG K Cycling Trial Site (Brown’s)

The West Midlands Group K Extension Project is investigating the cycling trial is looking into potassium management, specifically different crops ability to upcycle potassium from deep in the subsoil. The reasoning behind this trial arose from 10 paddocks across the region being soil tested to 90cm and finding stores of potassium at depth, typically below compaction layers in the soil. The trial is looking at 5 different crops replicated 6 times with half the site being deep ripped post seeding to increase crop ability to get roots deeper into the profile.

Attendees discussed the effects of post seeding amelioration on seeding depth and if you could adjust rate and depth to compensate for any effects.

Site 3 – CSBP N Inhibitor Trial Site (Brown’s)

The CSBP inhibitor trial site is comparing different inhibitor products aimed to increase fertiliser use efficiency. Attendees had previously heard of inhibitor products with a handful trialling the practice on their own properties this year for many reasons. The products looked at classified as either volatilisation and/or leaching inhibitors. The products afford growers a larger window for pre-rain application (up to 3 weeks ahead of rain) and can reduce emission intensity for cropping rotations as there is less nitrous oxide emissions.

Attendees discussed the potential economic value of the practice and how to best use these products to boost farm profitability. The inhibitor products were viewed as an ‘insurance’ policy for nitrogen application, essentially a mitigation of risk from rainfall events that do not materialise, the ability to get more area spread between rainfall events, and increase in peace of mind in seasons were leaching and/or volatilisation will be an issue.

Conclusion

The day wrapped up with discussion around each of the stops. The attendees all appreciated the legume site and noted an increased or reinforced view on the value of legumes however deemed there was more work to be done in profitability, marketability and options for the heavy soils prevalent in our area.

WMG CEO Nathan Craig & CSBP’s James Easton

The K site sparked interest in post seeding ripping and the feasibility of this practice as an option for dry starts to the season.

Economics was a large subject of conversation across all plots but specifically the N inhibitor site with interest in looking into decisions around granular vs liquid and subsequently spreaders vs sprayers. The N inhibitor site also stimulated talks around conscious decision making around N applications and making them proactively rather than reactively.

WMG CEO Nathan Craig ended the day with a facilitated discussion around turning one percenters into fifteen percenters to increase profit and lower risk alongside how to define what those one percenters to chase are.

Gravel Soil Amelioration Crop Walk – Farmer Summary

By Kate Parker, WMG Project Officer

Site Introduction

The gravel soil amelioration trial site was established in June 2024 at Warra Warra hosted by Tim Creagh and family. Tim has been ameliorating gravel soils for the past 4 years using a Plozza plow and is looking to trial other equipment and approaches to address the issue of soil water repellence and to improve soil fertility.

The site is a shallow sand (10-20cm depth) over gravel with few large rocks evident in the gravel layer. Five treatments were implemented to understand the benefits and issues of a range of approaches, including the Plozza ‘Fanger’ plow, Nufab ripper/delver – single and double pass, compared to no amelioration (control) and current farmer practice of Plozza plowing. The Plozza plow and Fanger treatments were rolled following amelioration by a heavy steel roller, and the surrounding paddock was Plozza plowed at the same time as site establishment. The site was sown to oats in the week following amelioration.

This crop walk was an opportunity for attendees to discuss their own experiences with managing soil water repellence, with most attendees indicating that they have a soil amelioration program in place and that the Plozza plow and mouldboard plough has been the most effective methods in the past ten years. There has been few examples where there has been a re-emergence of soil water repellence. Farmers were generally attending to look at the next phase of soil amelioration to further build the productive capacity of their soils and ensure that soil water repellence does not return.

Control Plot 1

The first control treatment had a soil profile of about 20cm of sand over gravel subsoil.

Attendees noted significant weed burdens in control plots vs ameliorated plots.

‘Fanger’ Plow Treatment

The Fanger plow is a new implement developed by Ben Plozza and is designed for shallow sand over gravel soils where spading is not an option, and its intended use is to delve and mix soil through the top 30cm of the soil profile. The current design is at the concept stage with the benefit of being easier to use than the Plozza plow but with the disadvantage that it will drag up any obstacle that it finds in the soil, including large rocks.

It was discussed that a delver needs cohesive soil to slide up the delving face but the Fanger has a wider blade so doesn’t need soil to be as cohesive and therefore has the ability to mix well on dry soils. There was discussion around speed of working and power needed to pull the machine, with speed helping to add a bit of throw to mix the profile, and power being dependent on the depth of working.

Plozza Plow Treatment

Attendees at the soil amelioration crop walk were very familiar with the nature of the soil after using a Plozza plow as many have been using these machines previously.

The soil pit shows a typical Plozza plow profile with easily visible bands of topsoil being layer in the soil profile. The presence of crop roots following the bands down was also evident.

Nufab Ripper with Delving Plates (Single Pass) Treatment

There was significant interest in the use of the Nufab ripper with delving plates attached to bring up more of the subsoil to the surface. This machine is commonly used in deep, sandy soils to bring up subsoil sand and attending farmers were keen to see what could do in gravelly soils. The experienced farmers in attendance commented that it looks good when done but does take a fair bit of pulling. Tim was surprised that the tractor could pull it but ended up doing well considering it as a 420hp tractor.

Farmers were surprised in the amount of gravel that it was pulling up from the sub soil, with columns of gravel coming up the profile and lines of gravel were evident on the soil surface. Attendees discussed issues using the machine in severely rocky country and that a Plozza plow or reefinator maybe more suitable in those areas. Crop residues were mixed in but retained on the top of the soil and there was discussion on the positives of leaving some organic matter as groundcover to protect the soil.

Attending farmers were interested in following this plot to ascertain how much it addresses non-wetting considering it is not a traditional mixer of soil. Discussion on the role of this machine with other machines included having to tackle one constraint at a time such as using a mouldboard first then ripping later. The Nufab machine presents the opportunity for a one machine, one pass option to tackle multiple constraints. The Nufab treatment was seeded with minimal issues noted from Tim. The group discussed the importance of steel and rubber tire rollers to avoid developing deep wheeltracks on the paddock, and either cross working or waiting a few years and ripping on an angle to aid further soil mixing.

Control Plot 2

The second control plot for this site has shallower sand topsoil (10cm) compared to the other control plot, and with a similar gravel subsoil. There was discussion about the suitability of different machinery for various soil types. There was consensus on the following discussion points:

This treatment would have been more appropriate for the Fanger plow as it likes very shallow topsoil
Once gravels become wet, they become softer and this allows amelioration machinery to go deeper
Each machine has its ‘sweet spot’ for doing the job of improving soil productivity, the role of this project should be to identify what machine for where.
Farmers will need to know the soil type and amount of clay needed to be brought up from the subsoil, and cross reference this to which machine they intend to use to maximise the benefits of soil amelioration.
The effect of crop residues on amelioration, whereby too much stubble can cause the machines to not work effectively and block up. This was discussed in the context that the soil amelioration process could be used to incorporate organic amendments to further improve soil health.

Nufab Ripper with Delving Plates (Double Pass) Treatment

The Nufab machine was passed over the plot twice in the same direction. Tim noted that the second pass went in much easier but also bogged down a bit. As evident in the soil pit, the second run reinforced the tine lines, bringing up a lot of gravel into the topsoil and allowing crop roots to follow down into the delve lines. Penetrometer measurements taken from the site immediately after amelioration and six weeks later showed the soils starting to firm up again across all plots, especially in the Nufab double pass plot.

The group discussed their own experiences and noted that soils tend to firm up quickly after the first year, with sands being more prone to compaction. There was also discussion about how much clay should be brought up (around 5% in the top 10 cm) and how to best gauge the depth needed depending on the soil type to achieve this. Attendees noted that the loader tracks from making the soil pit were more pronounced on the Nufab double pass plot.

Event Handout

Event-Context-Sheet-Soil-Amelioration-Project-Crop-Walk Download

Collaboration, connectivity, and community in transforming agricultural extension

By Nathan Craig, WMG Chief Executive Officer

One of the things about WMG that often goes under the radar is our involvement on the national stage through the Soil CRC. This co-operative research centre has been in operation for the past 7 years and has been the source of many of our projects (currently 12 active projects). This has allowed us to investigate some interesting aspects of soil fertility, to build some new skills and tools for both farmers and grower groups to utilise, and to develop a strong relationship with universities and farming systems groups across Australia. One of the largest benefits that I could see early in the Soil CRC was WMG’s involvement allowing for the ability to develop capacity in our organisation. Consequently, WMG have been more active in Program 1 (of 4) in the Soil CRC which predominantly focuses on better understanding extension and adoption of farming practices.

Program 1 of the Soil CRC has allowed WMG to strongly build capacity in delivering good extension and communication activities to our members and broader farming community. This is particularly important as the world of agriculture and agricultural extension continues to change and evolve, with information needs and learning styles of our audience also continuing with it. While many successful practices that we use in extension have been around for years and are not new or revolutionary, there is the need to continually review what we are doing and adjust to the evolving learning preferences of our farming community.

A large driver of the way we access and use information has been the rapid growth in online connectivity, driven by the ability to have the world at your fingertips via a smartphone and the internet. This constant digital connection is in stark contrast to when I was farming in Victoria in the 2000’s, where information could only be accessed in printed form or by going to field days and crop walks. From this, a decision was normally made about the adoption of a new farming practice or technology. And you largely went alone on the adoption journey or joined a farming systems group to learn together.

Casting further back to 1995 on my family farm when we first adopted no-tillage through purchasing a new seeder, our first crops all died from the chemicals that we applied according to the label. It took 15-year-old me to write a blog post on an online forum run by the state newspaper, that was subsequently answered by a WA-based farmer who said, “put the chemicals on pre-sowing instead of post-sowing when using presswheels,” to completely change our success with crops and improve our bank balance!

One of the key changes in our current environment is that farming is now no longer a single player game when it comes to adoption in this connected world. X (formerly Twitter) is now well used to troubleshoot, and you can #asktwitter about anything and get multiple responses from others who have been through the process of adoption.

The role of crop walks and group events has now changed to one of peer learning, normalising, and trialling. The peer learning component has evolved to learning about the local nuances of adopting a practice, while talking between growers helps to normalise the new farming practice and highlight the many other people who are going through the same journey of considering this innovation.

Local advocates for the farming practice/technology also help in sharing their knowledge to encourage others to adopt and access the benefits that they are getting. An observation that we see in farmers attending crop walks and group events is that often they are at the trialling stage of adoption. By trialling, I mean that they are trialling it in their heads, turning over this and that, how it will fit with existing operations and what needs to change, can the tractor pull it, do we have enough time or money, can/should I use contractors, etc.

When farmers come to a decision to adopt, they appear to pull the trigger with confidence as they have answered many of these questions and know the rest of adoption will not be lonely. The role of farming systems groups in this process has now changed from supporting adoption to facilitating the farmer to come to an informed decision in adopting a new farming practice.

I believe that while the method of engagement remains similar on the surface, farmers are using each tool differently, and this means what is presented at each stage has needed to change to cater better for their needs. There are also key areas in which farmers are looking for more information, including the cost in both financial and time for a new practice, and to understand the financial benefit to their farming operation.

To better understand the way that farmers consider the adoption of new farming practices, WMG have developed an Adoption Pathway of 6 stages. This approach helps to understand where each farmer is currently situated, often subconsciously, when considering whether (or not) to adopt a new farming practice or technology. It also helps to understand the role of farming systems groups in this process both now and potentially into the future.

Through our continual improvement process and involvement with the Soil CRC, WMG has now developed a greater understanding of extension and how it is changing. More importantly, this sets us up well for the future in knowing how to continue to adapt and evolve with the WMG continual improvement process that has been built from tools used in many Soil CRC projects.

The Soil CRC now has three years left to run until it is finished, and we look forward to many of the exciting new things that we will learn and do in this time. There are still at least two exciting extension-based projects to be delivered that further build on the knowledge gleaned in previous projects. I do look forward to the future and where WMG is going, and particularly our involvement with the Soil CRC.

Innovative Soil Amendments and Amelioration Methods Discussed at Wathingarra Crop Walk

By Simon Kruger, WMG Project Communications Officer

Last month, a group of 20 local farmers and agricultural industry representatives gathered at the Future Carbon Project long-term trial site on Jeremy Roberts’ Wathingarra Rd property in Badgingarra for another West Midlands Group (WMG) crop walk.

The focus of this discussion event was to review key results from the four years of the project and to engage in conversations and shared learnings around soil amendments, amelioration methods, and building soil carbon and health.

The site, which has historically undergone various cropping and pasture phases, features naturally low pH levels, high soil water repellence, and is prone to wind erosion. With these constraints in mind, much of the conversation centred around soil amendments and amelioration, exploring their potential benefits and practical applications.

One of the highlights was the discussion on compost, specifically C-Wise’s ‘Humicarb’ applied at 15t/ha, with added context provided by C-Wise’s Chris Wieman. This highly processed compost has been the standout performer so far on the site, with the group discussing incorporation and the idea that naturally occurring ‘micros’ in the compost may be contributing to its effectiveness.

Other amendments across the site, such as Zeolite, Ironman Gypsum, clay, frass, and biochar, were also investigated. Knowledgeable input from Murdoch University’s Dr Richard Bell provided added context, detail, and ability for further discussion. As with the conversation around compost, attendees agreed that while there are promising signs, the economics of each of these novel amendments need to be carefully considered. Factors such as freight, availability, and application rates and methods can significantly impact their cost-effectiveness and usefulness.

The three types of soil amelioration carried out across the site—spading, mouldboard plowing, and shallow tillage—were also discussed, with farmers sharing their personal experiences and expertise with these different methods. As with any WMG event, the considered and valuable input from the Plozza brothers, Ben and Sean, supplemented the conversation around all things soil amelioration.

One of the key outcomes of the day was the realisation that there is no ‘magic potion’ of amelioration methods and soil amendments. While the cumulative benefits of each practice are visible, compost as an additive has shown the most promise over the years of the trial, though not significantly.

The event also provided an opportunity for Nathan Rosair from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development to review the trial site, having managed the overall Future Carbon Project for the last few years.

DPIRD’s Nathan Rosair, WMG CEO Nathan Craig & Murdoch University’s Dr Richard Bell & Hassan Sardar

Each attendee’s engagement and involvement in different portions of discussions ensured that knowledge sharing was enriched with multiple layers of experience and technical know-how.

The event underscored the importance of understanding the economics and effectiveness of novel soil amendments and their practical applications in broadacre farming. Continued research and field trials will be crucial in optimising these soil management practices for long-term sustainability, with funding secured to continue work on this important site.

For more detailed results from the trial site and the Future Carbon Project, contact WMG or visit the Future Carbon Project webpage.

WMG on the National stage at Soil CRC Conference

By Nathan Craig, WMG Chief Executive Officer

The West Midlands Group (WMG) team recently attended the annual Soil CRC conference in Wagga Wagga, NSW. This is one of the most anticipated trips of the year for the WMG team, with CEO Nathan Craig, Project Communications Officer Simon Kruger, and Project Officer Kate Parker able to make the trip over and participate.

The Soil CRC, or Co-operative Research Centre for High Performing Soils, is a federally and partner-funded cooperative between various agricultural, educational and research organisations, formed to conduct research on soils that would typically remain unexplored.

The conference provided the WMG Team an excellent opportunity to meet many project collaborators in person, and to strengthen relationships and networks with the seven universities and 25 farming systems groups collaborating to deliver the outcomes of the Soil CRC.

As a result of the involvement with the Soil CRC from inception, WMG now collaborates nationally on 12 projects with numerous universities and grower groups across Eastern Australia. Collaborative universities include Southern Cross University, University of Tasmania and Charles Sturt University, and grower groups include Birchip Farming Group, Central West Farming Systems, Southern Farming Systems and more.

While project topics WMG are involved in vary in their direct relationship to soil health research, WMG is also heavily involved in Program 1 (of 4), where it is now the national lead on two projects focused on developing better tools for the extension and communication of information to the farming audience.

Day one of the conference primarily consists of project meetings and workshops, however in contrast to previous years, this year Nathan participated in the Soil CRC Board meeting following his recent appointment to the Soil CRC Board in July 2024. Consequently, the WMG project meetings were led for the first time by Simon, where he coordinated meetings effectively with multiple commendations on his facilitation skills and professionalism. New to her role as WMG Project Officer, Kate was assigned the task of note-taker for these meetings to ensure progress and outcomes in these collaborative discussions were captured.

Day two featured the main conference session, where WMG again played a significant role. Nathan presented alongside Bret Ryan from Southern Farming Systems in Victoria, introducing their new Soil CRC project aimed at developing a framework for accelerating the adoption of research within the farming community. Nathan also joined Robbie Sefton, Soil CRC Board Member and communications specialist, in a ‘fireside chat’ presentation discussing the art of communicating with the farming audience and the changes observed through various Soil CRC research projects.

While the format of the conference is relatively content heavy, the time spent ‘outside’ of proceedings had multiple objectives and outcomes for WMG. Beyond work hours, the team socialised and networked with project participants, researchers, students, and other industry representatives, further developing these important relationships.

One of the key highlights of the Soil CRC conference was the recognition of the WMG Team’s contributions, with much appreciation expressed by collaborators and industry peers. For a small grower group based in Dandaragan, WMG have demonstrated capability to perform on the national stage. This is crucial for WMG as it validates its efforts in delivering projects to the farming community, ensuring they are comparable to the best across Australia. This alignment with contemporary farming practices further supports the WMG strategy of fostering the sustainable growth of its farming community.

Exploring perennial pastures, multispecies mixes, cattle backgrounding and soil health at Koojan Downs Tour

By Simon Kruger, WMG Project Communications Officer

On Wednesday, August 14th, the West Midlands Group (WMG) hosted the Koojan Downs Perennial Pastures and Backgrounding Tour at the Harvest Road Koojan Downs farm. The event was another in the WMG Farmer Discussion series, this time highlighting the work of the Harvest Road backgrounding team of Nick Woods, Ian Greenwood and Troy Grundy.

The tour began at the Koojan Downs Transit Yard Gate, with participants traveling together in utes to various stops across the Koojan Downs cattle backgrounding operation, including Willow Springs and Danmoor farms. Each stop provided an in-depth look at the innovative practices being implemented by the Harvest Road team to enhance pasture quality, soil health, and overall farm productivity.

Key topics covered during the tour included large-scale perennial pasture establishment, in-field nutrition options for cattle, and multispecies mixes that can survive summer and bridge the autumn feed gap. Attendees also explored pasture and cereal species that improve ground cover and soil structure, as well as soil amelioration methods and amendment options such as compost across the different tour stops.

The day concluded with a relaxing sundowner at the Willow Springs shed, where participants enjoyed beverages and reflected on the day’s insights and learnings. Some of the key takeaways from attendees included:

Perennial pastures can be widely used across different operations, especially how they can fit in high intensity systems and at the scale of Koojan Downs.
The importance of rotational grazing systems and grazing management.
Waste from one enterprise can be beneficial for another enterprise – with Koojan Downs using the manure from the feedlot to make compost and utilise across the backgrounding paddocks.

On top of other pop-up crop walks and discussion events throughout July and August, the Koojan Downs Tour has seen the WMG team host its fourth event in four weeks, with several more planned through September and October. As with other WMG events held across 2024, an in-depth Farmer Summary will be completed and shared on the WMG website in coming weeks.

WMG would like to thank the Harvest Road team, especially Nick, Ian and Troy for their expertise, time and knowledge and for guiding the group across the Koojan Downs cattle backgrounding operation. There is another tour of the Koojan Downs feed lot planned for later in the year, so be sure to keep an eye open for more details.

To see more detail of the topics discussed on the day and some of the key takeaways, be sure to read the WMG Farmer Summary of the event.

Koojan Downs Backgrounding & Perennial Pasture Tour – Farmer Summary

By Kate Parker, WMG Project Officer

Tour Leads: Ian Greenwood, Nick Woods, Troy Grundy – Harvest Road

Property: Koojan Downs Backgrounding Operation

Key Takeaways

Optimising Backgrounding Operations
- Efficient animal nutrition management was a significant focus. Troy mentioned, “We try not to bunk feed but it’s useful if needed,” and discussed the importance of maintaining a steady supply of cattle through the Koojan Downs system, moving from backgrounding paddocks to feedlot to achieve optimal growth rates and final weights.
Innovative Grazing Techniques
- Innovative grazing techniques, such as rotational grazing and mob density management, were also discussed. Ian highlighted the setting up of a “wagon wheel” grazing system to optimise pasture use and animal handling.
Water Management and Infrastructure
- Effective water management and infrastructure development were emphasised. The team at Koojan Downs discussed setting up solar bores as a reliable water source and the logistics of establishing water points and fencing to allow for rotational grazing.
Soil Health Management
- Soil health was a recurring theme, with discussions on composting, manure application, and soil amendments. Nick highlighted the benefits of compost and noted its positive impact on soil biology and fertility. This discussion also covered the economic impact of different soil amendments. He also highlighted the cost benefits of using compost over fresh manure, noting that composting reduces bulk and improves nutrient availability, making it a more cost-effective and sustainable option for farmers.
Crop Resilience and Biodiversity
- The importance of crop resilience and biodiversity was highlighted through discussions on integrating different plant species mixes. Nick observed that Winfred Brassica “has characteristics to survive low moisture and high temperatures,” making it a possible valuable addition for enhancing resilience across the summer months.
Adapting to Climate Variability
- Adapting to climate variability was a significant topic, with farmers sharing experiences of dealing with unpredictable weather patterns. Strategies such as selecting resilient crop varieties and adjusting planting schedules were discussed to mitigate the impact of increasingly variable temperatures and rainfall.
Balancing Annual and Perennial Systems
- The balance between annual and perennial systems was discussed, with Ian noting that annuals and perennials can “cohabitate and make the paddock better.” This balance is crucial for maintaining soil health and ensuring sustainable production across Koojan Downs.
Importance of Continuous Learning and Experimentation
- Continuous learning and experimentation were emphasised as essential for improving farming practices. Comments from attendees highlighted the value of ongoing learning and knowledge sharing, one noting “try everything, make mistakes, learn, pass on knowledge.

Read on to see a summarised list of notes from the event.

Stop 1: Property Introduction and Initial Conversation

Cattle Management:

Cattle have been arriving from the station for the past 3-4 weeks, with 3000 head currently on-site and a capacity for 4000-5000 head.
Bunk feeding is used as needed to maintain stock for the feedlot, with each animal receiving 11-12kg of feed ration per day.
Average Daily Gain (ADG) is around 1.5kg per head per day, with some animals achieving 2-3kg per day due to compensatory growth.
Cattle are weighed every two weeks and grouped by weight to ensure even growth and ease of feedlot management.

Grazing and Soil Health:

Grazing of paddocks is delayed, and rotational grazing is used to manage feed and ground cover, with tagasaste serving as a buffer.
The aim is for a 60-day rotation on perennial grasses, depending on paddock conditions and feed budget.
In bunkers, cattle tend to stay near the feed bunk but move away in the afternoon to graze, with feed delivered in the morning. Grass growth in these paddocks is enhanced by the extra manure deposited.

Stop 2: Multispecies Mix & Compost Discussion

Multi-Species Mix and Soil Amendments:

A multi-species mix was sown in 2023, including sunflowers, tillage radish, Winfred forage brassica, Persian clover, Bindoon clover, Rhodes grass, oats, barley, and ryegrass.
‘Convert’ seed dressing was added, and knockdown herbicide was applied. No fertiliser was used due to previous manure application (50m³/ha).
Brassica stood out as a resilient species, surviving over a tough summer. Nick noted its potential, stating, “Brassica has characteristics to survive low moisture and high temp.”
The focus is now on improving soil health with manure to support better species in the future, with another 50m³/ha of manure applied in 2024.
CSBP K-Till fertiliser is used as a base fertiliser.

Compost vs Fresh Manure:

Compost is preferred over fresh manure due to fewer compliance and regulation issues, product stability, and reduced bulk for transport.
Compost retains nutrients and enhances soil biology, speeding up natural processes and breaking down pathogens and chemicals.
Tillage stimulates ryegrass growth, and shallow tillage is used to flatten the land before silage, incorporating compost/manure to prevent it from blowing away.

Stop 3: Perennial Grazing System Discussion

Perennial Sowing and Soil Management:

The goal is to sow 1100ha to perennials by the end of 2025, with 700ha sown in 2023 and ready for grazing.
Spading was done on 9ha, but the job was not well executed, confirming that perennials should not be sown immediately after spading due to soil fluffiness.
Soil pH ranges from 4.5 to 5.5, and some paddocks were Plozza plowed two years ago, showing 30% better perennial growth.
Early observations indicate that manure application and soil disturbance benefit both annuals and perennials.

Rotational Grazing System:

A rotational grazing system is being set up, dividing 700ha into four paddock cells with a central trough, creating 30-40ha paddocks.
At the third stop, a “wagon wheel” grazing system was demonstrated, being set up with solar bores as a water source.
The area will be grazed once infrastructure is complete, with troughs, water pipes, and fences already in place.

Stop 4: Perennial Establishment Discussion

Soil Amelioration and Sowing:

Soil was ameliorated in 2023 using a topdown machine to disc 20cm and rip to 40cm, with 2t/ha lime applied due to low soil pH.
Cereal rye was sown in 2023, with the aim to establish 2000ha of perennials on the farm, potentially expanding to 7000ha if successful.

Perennial Benefits:

Perennials provide a buffer for cattle arriving from stations, ensuring year-round feed availability. Management focuses on maintaining feed as cattle arrive as needed from the station.
At Danmoor, deep ripping and cover cropping are used with establishment of perennials. The importance of timing and soil conditions for successful germination was highlighted.
Cereal rye is sown in the interrow most years between perennial grasses, with both annuals and perennials growing better together across all soil types.

Investigating livestock pasture systems with FEED365

By Kate Parker, WMG Project Officer

Introduction

The 2024 season marks the third year of the FEED365 Project. This year will see the continuation of the Gillingarra site from 2023, focusing on the topic of seasonally over-sown perennial pastures to increase livestock and paddock productivity, groundcover, and farm resilience. The site will follow 3 paddocks across the 2024 year, measuring pasture growth and animal performance to investigate the economic impact of over-sowing perennial pastures with a cereal and legume mix.? Paddocks consist of an established perennial grass paddock over-sown with cereal and legume mix, an established perennial grass paddock (Control 1)?and an annual pasture paddock (Control 2). A key output from this project will be an economic analysis of these different pasture systems utilising the animal performance data that will be collected over the season.

A new trial site has been set up in Warradarge for the 2024 season. This site will follow 3 paddocks to measure effectiveness of 3 different pasture systems: a regenerative legume pasture base with over-sown cereal, standalone cereal pasture, and a control (farmer practice) annual sub-clover pasture. The host farmer’s interest is in creating a permanent pasture paddock that can support early grazing and with a low potential for soil erosion. In previous years, the farmer has utilised cereals for feed but has not formally gathered animal performance data to give an indication of the economic value of using cereals for grazing. As with the Gillingarra site, an economic analysis will also be prepared for the Warradarge pasture systems.

Gillingarra Site – Early Results

Figure 1. Plant establishment in the perennial control paddock for 2024 measured on the 9/7/24. Error bars denote the standard error of the mean where presented. Pictures taken on 17/07/24.

Figure 2. Plant establishment of 2024 sown cover crop in the perennial/cover crop paddock for 2024 measured on the 9/7/24. Error bars denote the standard error of the mean where presented. Pictures taken on 17/07/24.

Figure 3. Plant establishment in the annual control paddock for 2024 measured on the 9/7/24. Error bars denote the standard error of the mean where presented. Pictures taken on 17/07/24.

Regardless of the pasture system that is being implemented at each site, the pastures are largely dominated by grasses, either annual or perennial, with broadleaf weeds being the second most dominant in most cases. The presence of legume species is a relatively low proportion of the pasture mix but will be increasingly important to improve the quality of each of the grass dominant pastures. The presence of regenerating serradella and some vetch (although not captured in the data) indicates there is a long-term benefit to annual seeding of cover crops to improve pasture production, and this could lead to a cumulative benefit of this practice over time.

Rainfall for the first 6 months of 2024 can be categorised as extremely dry with a total of 6.6mm for the summer period and 12.4mm in April at the treatment sites, the break to the season came at the end of May when 35.6mm was received.

Groundcover measurements were taken for each paddock after the seeding of the cover cropped paddock and 2 months later. The established perennial paddock went from 73% to 86%, the perennial and cover crop paddock went from 54% to 70% and the annual pasture paddock went from 64% to 79%. All paddocks shifted from an average 10% green to a 38% green proportion of groundcover with an average 15% jump in groundcover and 28% jump in green groundcover.

Warradarge Site – Early Results

Plant establishment counts were as expected for the sowing rate and season in the sown treatment paddocks, the control paddock had such a high number of regenerating pastures that it was difficult to measure accurately.

Rainfall for the first 6 months of 2024 can be categorised as extremely dry at a total of 11mm for the summer period and 9mm in April at the treatment sites, the break to the season came at the end of May when 29mm was received.

Groundcover measurements were taken for each paddock after the seeding of the two treatments. The serradella paddock had 58% groundcover, Triticale at 30% and the annual pasture control had 92% groundcover. Recommendations to prevent soil erosion are to maintain groundcover at above 50%, these results show us that established regenerating pastures are far more likely to achieve those levels.

Conclusion

The FEED365 demonstration sites at Gillingarra and Warradarge have been successfully established in a season where there was a late break. There have been two differing strategies implemented for sowing the pasture treatments this year with the Gillingarra farmer choosing to sow early and the Warradarge farmer choosing to sow later near the break of the season.

The late break has resulted in slower pasture growth than expected and this has meant that pastures have not been grazed as much as in previous, higher rainfall years. It has been challenging for all farmers in the region, with little feed in paddocks and large amounts of supplementary feeding occurring. While this was hard to manage, the sites in this project had been managed responsibly over summer and had >50% groundcover at the season break. Good rainfall in winter is expected to drive an increase in pasture growth, however, the low soil temperature will slow this growth until August when day length and temperature increase.

The extended dry summer also caused some uneasiness amongst our pasture producers, and this prompted an extremely successful discussion group meeting at the Gillingarra site. From this discussion there is a renewed focus on the autumn feed gap window and developing strategies to better manage this. There are four events planned for the 2024/25 year to further explore these topics and continue the momentum of the project amongst farmers in the region. There continues to be increased interest in the FEED365 project as farmers see this year as a pressure test and opportunity for review of their current management systems. There has been excellent engagement from the WMG pasture community (~40 farmers) to explore the economics of growing pastures and improving feed quality, with the timeliness of the project helping to inform their management strategies for future years.

Silver Bullets, Step Changes, and One Percenters

By Nathan Craig, WMG Chief Executive Officer

We all love a ‘silver bullet’ in farming—something that comes along and just solves the problem with a minimum of fuss. They don’t come along that often, roughly every 20 years. However, when they do, they allow us to take a huge step forward in the productivity and profitability of our farming businesses.

Looking back over the last 100 years of farming, the major silver bullets were:

The use of superphosphate to supply much-needed phosphorus for crop growth.
The introduction of legumes into the farming system for a significant boost of nitrogen (N).
The Haber-Bosch process for manufacturing urea, which has greatly enhanced crop yields.
The availability of glyphosate and the adoption of no-tillage practices, which helped address wind erosion and declining soil structure and fertility, now a mainstay of our farming system.
Addressing trace element deficiencies, which led to a substantial increase in grain yield across Western Australia (WA).

In the past 20 years, we have also seen several step changes in our farming system. These are smaller changes that have accumulated to create significant, localised impacts. Some key developments include:

Building on no-tillage practices, GPS autosteer was adopted primarily to reduce machine overlap and costs, allowing longer working hours each day without extra effort.
In the past 10 years, addressing soil constraints has been crucial for many farmers, particularly in the West Midlands region. Practices such as:
- Application of lime to address soil acidity.
- Deep ripping to remove compaction.
- Soil amelioration to combat soil water repellence.
Arguably, the last significant advancement was the shift to earlier sowing times, which has greatly increased grain yields for most crops, especially canola.

Amelioration of non-wetting soils is one of the crucial step changes made over the past 10 years in the West Midlands region.

Overall, for farming in general, WA’s farming system is becoming well optimised, despite a few long-term issues in certain regions (e.g., frost impacts on crop yields).

The support networks for farmers have also grown significantly over the past 20 years. Farmers now have access to a variety of consultants, advisors, and machinery manufacturers to meet their diverse needs. This access ensures they have the information and tools necessary to make informed decisions about adopting new farming practices.

However, apart from the advent of automation and autonomous vehicles, the future may see a limited number of ‘silver bullets’. The focus is likely to shift more towards step changes and increasingly on the ‘one percenters’.

‘One percenters’ are the small changes that can be made in a farming business that, over time, can lead to significant impacts on productivity and profitability. A popular quote states that if you could improve by one percent each day for a year, you would be 37.78 times better off. The compounding effect of these ‘one percenters’ is what WMG aims to leverage moving forward. Ross Kingwell (AEGIC, 2019) published an article highlighting the value of one-percenters. In one of his examples, a 1% decrease in costs, a 1% increase in grain yield, and a 1% increase in wheat price resulted in a profit increase of 29%!

As we move forward, WMG will increasingly focus on identifying the ‘one percenters’ that could significantly enhance the productivity, profitability, and sustainability of farming businesses. Projects like the GRDC RiskWi$e initiative directly address this goal. Additionally, several projects completed by WMG in recent years have strengthened our capacity to provide farmers with actionable information to facilitate informed decision-making.

A recent RiskWi$e event ended with a session where farmers discussed one percenters and decision making.

We will encourage our farming community to identify both step changes and one-percenters within their businesses and across the region. We will support them in evaluating and trialing practices and technologies to implement these changes on their farms, striving for informed adoption of new methods. Through these efforts, WMG aims to contribute to the sustainable growth of agriculture in the region.

Read more about the value of one-percenters in Ross Kingwell’s article here.

Initial results from amelioration of gravel soils at Dandaragan trial site

By Kate Parker, WMG Project Officer

The GRDC funded Soil Amelioration Project aims to explore key aspects of soil amelioration on variable soil types including:

Diagnosing paddock scale soil constraints.
Identifying the most appropriate amelioration method(s) for the constraints.
Determining the economic advantage (ROI for the paddock) behind these methods.

Established in June, the Dandaragan trial site’s main focus is on dealing with soil water repellence and determining the most appropriate method of amelioration for the gravel soils present. The soil amelioration treatments include a control strip, Plozza plow, novel deep ripper (‘Fanger plow’), Nufab rip/delve, and a double pass of the Nufab rip/delve.

**Figure 1.** Trial design for the Dandaragan gravel soil amelioration site.

Early Results

Soil Testing

Soil tests were conducted pre and post amelioration for each of the treatments. Initial tests indicated a soil water repellency (MED) score of 2 in the top 10cm and a pH level of 4.6 throughout the profile. This sites soil type is shallow sand atop gravel as indicated by a 0% gravel proportion in the top 10cm and a 60-65% gravel proportion in 10-30cm.

Post treatment and post-rain soil tests indicated a slight rise in pH, particularly in the top 10cm as expected from an application of lime earlier in the season. Gravel re-distribution throughout the profile was evident in the treated strips versus the control with the Nufab double pass treatment having the largest mixing effect on the different layers within the soil. This was also true for various nutrients and organic carbon percentages.

Plant Establishment

There was no significant differences across the treatments for plant establishment however a trend was observed that the Fanger treatment had the most uniform establishment.

In general, all treatments had higher levels of establishment than the control strip.

In field observations noted high numbers of weeds in the control strip in comparison to almost zero in ameliorated strips, weed counts will be conducted later in the season post-weed treatment to ascertain how the treatments and control perform under traditional farmer practice scenarios.

There will be a pop-up crop walk at the Dandaragan site on Wednesday, 7th August from 3:00pm for those interested in a first look and to begin the initial establishment of a soil amelioration farmer discussion group. See the flyer below for more details.