Farmers' Newsletter No 178, Autumn 2008

• Cereal yields in 2008 will benefit from good retention of moisture from summer rains – in 2007 barley grown on summer moisture and no spring irrigation yielded 3–5 t/ha
• Layout appears to be a critical influence in good yield for cereals – in 2006 a survey showed average wheat yield on contour layout to be 3.8 t/ha compared with 6.9 t/ha on beds
• The last few dry years has resulted in more cereal crops in the same paddock than ideal, so cereal paddocks should be chosen carefully to minimise disease risk
• Break crops such as canola, faba beans, field peas and chick peas should be considered given their good price prospects

• The 2007 irrigated winter cereal trials at Yanco achieved average yields of 10 t/ha
• Key traits of lodging and maturity did not have large effects on yield in 2007
• There was a high level of correlation of results between sites in the trial program

• Farm size, soil type, layout, farmer preferences and water allocations determine the farm enterprises, intensity of irrigations and the wheat management systems on any one farm
• A range of irrigated wheat management systems may be used on the one farm in any one season
• Soils ideal for rice growing which are generally poorly structured and poorly drained suit non or limited irrigation wheat systems while better structured non rice soils with well drained layouts are suited to multiple irrigation wheat growing systems
• A comparison of wheat systems found wheat direct drilled into rice with or without a spring irrigation had the best gross margins per megalitre
• The profit per megalitre for the multiple spring irrigation system was higher than the popular one spring irrigation system

• The prospects for canola are good in 2008 and into future years, with good price signals, and new variety and management technology available
• A range of different types of canola (hybrids, specialty varieties, junceas) makes it possible to grow canola in a range of environments and for a range of markets
• Several strategies can be implemented to reduce the risk of a canola enterprise, such as strategic use of nitrogen fertiliser and deferring herbicide applications; choosing paddocks with stored nitrogen and stored moisture; and timely sowing

• Canola varieties for nearly every environment and end-use are available for growers in southern Australia
• This article classifies the different canola types and provides a description of each variety

• Nuffield Scholar and Yenda rice grower, Helen Dalton is adamant that there will be economic and ecological benefits for rice growers with a stronger focus on native vegetation and biodiversity
• Exposure to English and American models convinced Ms Dalton that an environmental stewardship scheme that provided long-term financial security to farmers was “the way to go”
• Ms Dalton says that private net benefits must be positive if we want landholders to adopt environmental practices conducive to biodiversity, such as native vegetation establishment

• A chemical users training course for ‘all-women’ groups has proven to be a resounding success
• As well as learning all aspects of chemical handling and safety; the course has been well rounded out with a component on back health and body strength

• Rice grown on raised beds produced equivalent yields to the traditional flat layout
• The over-riding conclusion from this experiment is that adoption of terraced zero-graded bankless channel rice layouts (including raised beds) is likely, as the layout system increases cropping choice and flexibility, and significantly reduces labour requirements
• Adoption will be dependent on locations with:
  - existing land grades that allow creation of zero-graded layouts with appropriate terrace widths and steps to allow adequate drainage (landforming costs not being excessive)
  - access to large irrigation flows or on-farm storages in order to achieve short duration ‘water on/water off’ times for crops other than rice

Lucerne seed study tour of the US (217 K)

• The average seed yield of seed alfalfa in the US is 1000 kg/ha, which is almost twice that of yields here in Australia
• Water management is quite different in that the lucerne growing areas are over a perched watertable
• Leading seed lucerne growers in the US plant single purpose lucerne stands, which means they are not pushed to produce good hay yields before being locked up for seed production
• Varietal selection in the US is based on seed yield not on plant longevity as here in Australia – most stands are kept for 3 or 4 years
• Seeding rates are lower in the US, so that the plants will have room to crown out in the second year

• A web-based service is being designed so Coleambally irrigators will be able to determine where every drop of water goes
• The first stage of the project has been a trial testing soil moisture probes to gather base data
• The ultimate plan is to have the moisture probes sending ‘real time’ data back to a website, so irrigators can have access to real time data and make immediate decisions about watering
• It is also anticipated the service will be linked to other facilities including area-specific crop ET estimates, crop water use monitoring, spatial ET mapping and a district-wide water balance

• The collaborative efforts of individual landholders and community groups at Murrami, in establishing and protecting native vegetation on farms, is building significant linkages into the broader habitat corridors along drainage lines within the MIA and Murrumbidgee Catchment Area.