Farmers' Newsletter No 184, Autumn 2011

For other issues see here

Each of the files listed below is in PDF format. You will need a minimum of Acrobat version 6 to open them. To access the file click on the PDF symbol to the left of the description. Depending on how your browser is configured the file will either open directly in the browser window or download to your computer.

To prevent the file from opening in the browser window, right-click (Windows OS) or option-click (Mac OS) and use the options to save the file to a location on your hard drive.

RESEARCH TO LIFT PRODUCTIVITY & EFFICIENCY

Durum wheat benchmarking for irrigated crops (1.6 MB)

High yielding, water efficient DR1 durum was achieved in most of the 18 benchmarked fields, in the Hillston irrigation district.
Grain protein, hard vitreous kernels, test weight, 1000 grain weight, falling numbers, semolina colour and semolina yield were all within desirable limits.
Dough strength was poor in the majority of samples, however this may have been due to seasonal conditions and/or varietal characteristics since the two samples of Caparoi performed better than most Bellaroi samples.
Nutrition (sulphur) and irrigation management (time of last irrigation) seemed to influence grain protein in some crops, where added sulphur increased protein, and late irrigations decreased protein.
Paddock rotation had a big effect on nitrogen fertiliser efficiency.

Returns on watering wheat in drought & good seasons (1.3 MB)

Pre-irrigation (with no spring irrigation) resulted in a yield of 4.6 t/ha in the drought years and 6.2 t/ha in good years, demonstrating the importance of pre-irrigation for irrigated wheat.
Soil moisture sensors should be used in autumn to determine subsoil moisture and whether or not pre-irrigation is needed.
If irrigation water is limited, eg 400 ML available for the crop, profitability per megalitre in drought and good years is maximised with pre-irrigation only.
If land is limited, profitability per hectare is maximised with pre-irrigation + full spring irrigations in the drought seasons or pre-irrigation + 1–2 spring irrigations in the good seasons.

Irrigation times to avoid waterlogging in contour layouts (1.6 MB)

The average time to water and drain bays in lasered, side-ditch (or bankless channel) layouts is 40–50 hours. Furthermore, it takes around 60 hours after bays have drained for surface soils to dry/drain to field capacity and allow air back into the profile, resulting in over 100 hours before soil oxygen levels begin to recover.
Waterlogging following irrigation in contour layouts is considered the single greatest production limiting factor in the rice-based farming systems of the southern Murray-Darling Basin. Minimising the time water is ponded on the soil offers the greatest scope for improving productivity and cropping flexibility.
To minimise waterlogging, design and operate bays so they can be watered and drained in 10 hours.
For sodic soils, surface irrigation will almost inevitably cause waterlogging losses. Strategies to reduce waterlogging include individually supplying and draining bays, reducing compaction, increasing organic matter and/or applying gypsum.

SKILLS & KNOWLEDGE

Understanding climate to determine river inflows (1.1 MB)

Analysis of dust from core samples of peat bogs in the Snowy Mountains has revealed series of wet-dry cycles over the past 6,500 years.
The wet-dry cycles can be related to a climate influencing phenomena called the Pacific Decadal Oscillation which has strong influences on the magnitude of El Niño and La Niña, giving a clearer understanding of the potential for medium-term weather forecasts.
Further study, associating the chemistry of lake sediment with particular types of weather events, may provide data for longer-term forecasting.

Adapting to climate change (1.1 MB)

A new project established by High Security Irrigators–Murrumbidgee will provide training and resources to help Murrumbidgee Valley irrigators make their farms and businesses more adaptable and resilient in the face of climate variability and climate change.

Carbon sequestration opportunities for farmers (1.3 MB)

After travelling around the world visiting research centres and farmers involved in carbon trading, Alastair Starritt believes Australian broadacre agriculture is well placed to actively participate in future carbon trade schemes.

MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

Trading water for irrigation infrastructure (1.7 MB)

A pilot project in the Border Rivers-Gwydir region has road tested a program of Federal Government supported infrastructure investment in return for water entitlement.
Tenders for infrastructure improvements ranged in value from $50,000 to $1.2 million, and $4.6 million was awarded to support $5.8 million worth of infrastructure modernisation.
Projected total water savings are 2264 ML in total; and 1274 ML will be transferred to the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder.
One participant believes that infrastructure modernisation will keep water in the valley, enable irrigators to improve productivity and efficiency, and provide flow-on benefits to local communities.

Low interest loans for irrigation infrastructure (1.6 MB)

Low interest loans can be obtained for farm development and new irrigation systems that will bring about an improvement in on-farm water use efficiency.
Administered by the Rural Assistance Authority, and facilitated by I&I NSW, 15-year loans at 4.5% are being offered currently.

Precision agriculture adoption (1.2 MB)

Two thirds of rice farmers surveyed in the 2009–10 rice season were using precision agriculture techniques to manage variability within their fields.
Precision agriculture techniques used include cut and fill maps, GPS, variable rate technology, yield mapping, EM maps and aerial NDVI images for NIR sampling.
The most popular treatments used to restore cut areas in rice fields were extra nitrogen, extra phosphorus and stubble retention.

REGULARS

Chairman’s foreword (1.2 MB)

IREC Executive Committee (620 K)

home

sponsoring IREC