Mallee
Matters
Promoting agriculture
in the SA Mallee
April 2016
How much stored moisture in Mallee soils this year?
M
Chris McDonough, Insight Extension for Agriculture & Jeremy Nelson, Natural Resources SAMDB
oisture probes set up by the
should be noted that stored safe
weather in the first week in October
Natural Resources SAMDB
moisture at depth is generally what the
really did finish crops off quickly.
across numerous Mallee locations and
crops utilise late in the season when
While the spring and summer rains
soil types are showing in many cases
they really need to finish off, and this
have helped to refill the bucket to
that Plant Available Water (PAW) is
moisture is likely to be worth far more
some extent, there is still a way to go
already above the level that many sites
to crop yield.
before farmers should consider that
got to at any time last growing season.
Some moisture probe graphs show that
the seasons risk is low.
Soils in the southern Mallee that
many soils are up to 75% full, based on
In low risk years (when the bucket is
received the good rains of over 25mm
how much PAW can become when the
full at the start of the season) farmers
in early March generally have between
soil profile is fully wet up, while many
can target higher fertiliser rates and
20-30mm of PAW available as of
others are closer to 50% or less.
higher risk break crops with more
March 16. Most other areas appear to
Viewing last year’s probe data reveals
confidence.
be storing about 10-15mm, while
that on the loamy to heavy loam soils,
Farmers have the opportunity to visit
Waikerie has between 15-20mm.
the 30-50cm soil depths did not go
their nearest Natural Resources
Using the French/Schultz formula of
anywhere near filling up to their
SAMDB soil moisture probes on the
20kg/mm PAW, this would equate to
potential, which is why the season was
internet. Reference probe sites for the
about 0.4t/ha cereal yield. However, it
always at high risk, and why the hot
Page
2&3
What’s
happening
with soil N in
2016?
Automatic
Weather
Station
Network
Page
4&5
Time to review
your frost risk
plan
Page
6&7
Highlights from
2015 Mallee
Challenge
nrmFARM
Continued page 2...
Page
8&9
Dog worm
control key
to sheep
measles
Mapping
livestock
grazing
Page
10&11
Huge yield
benefits
from
spading
Is VRT
worthwhile
in the
Mallee?
...continued from page 1
Mallee are located at Waikerie,
Drained Upper Limit
Pinnaroo, Lowaldie, Coomandook,
Current moisture
level
Moorlands and Lameroo. Go to the
following link:
http://aqualab-data.dyndns.info/
2015 Growing Season
Username: samdb (all lower case)
Password: demo (all lower case)
Then click on either the
‘Stacked’ (shows soil moisture at
varying depths) or ‘Summed’ (shows all
depth moistures as one value) graphs
Crop Lower Limit
for the desired location. Use the date
tabs to alter the time frames displayed
and the vertical cursor to display values
noting that calibration works are still
vertical blue bars from the X axis of
Figure 1: Heavy soil at Waikerie showing the poor 2015 season with the
summed soil moisture line (0-90cm) never showing the PAW at more than
50% full. Early 2016 season is showing slightly higher PAW than at any time
of 2015 growing season.
each graph.
[email protected] or
For further information please contact
Jeremy Nelson, 0429 845 216,
either Chris McDonough 0408 085 393,
[email protected]
underway and values are not at this
point absolute. Rainfall is displayed as
What’s happening with soil Nitrogen in 2016?
P
art of analysis and calibration of soil moisture probe
in the surface layers where it can be taken up early by
sites also involves measuring soil N levels. While the
plants. It may also mean that there is less N to mineralize
soils and rotations have a large impact on the amount of
later in the season. The implications of this is that it may be
soil N available at any given site, test results have revealed
better to target later N application on fertile paddocks and
some reasonably consistent trends across the Mallee when loamy soils rather than apply all N up front. The N
comparing 2016 soil N levels at the start of 2015.
measurements on deep sands were still very low at many of
Generally there is higher N levels, particularly in the surface
the measured sites and will likely benefit from up front
soil layers than last year, often 30-50% higher. This is most
applied N.
likely due to the increase in spring and summer rainfall that
Paddocks that grew good pulse crops and medic pastures
would encourage the early N mineralization from the soils
are also expected to also have high N levels going into 2016,
organic matter (which can vary from 0.2% in gutless sands
but it is worth noting that these N contributions are often
resulting in less than 10kg/ha N contribution annually,
significantly reduced on the sandy less fertile paddock areas.
through to heavy loams with 1.5% organic carbon which may It is stressed that these are only very general trends
mineralize well over 70kg/ha each year) as well as from the
observed from specific sites, and that individual paddock soil
turnover of soil microbes breaking down stubbles, that could testing and assessment is recommended to target optimal
also contribute 10-30kg/ha N into the system.
management strategies for each farm.
This early availability of N should will assist in crop
This project is supported by Natural Resources South Australian Murray-
establishment and early vigor, as their will be less N tied up
Darling Basin, through funding from the Australian Government’s Na-
in breaking down stubbles at seeding time, and unless there tional Landcare Program.
is strong leaching rains in the next 8 weeks, the N will remain
Page 2
Automatic Weather Station Network
To access data – www.naturalresources.sa.gov.au/
samurraydarlingbasin/home
and click on Weatherstation
What is an automatic weather station?
Chill hours (hours below 10 degrees Celsius) – an
Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) record various
online calculator allows specific calculations of chill
weather observations at set intervals during every 24
hours or portions respective to location.
hour period. The South Australian Murray-Darling
Frost – recorded time below 2 degrees Celsius at a
Basin Natural Resources Management Board has
given location.
established a network of 40 automatic weather sta-
Evapo-transpiration (ET ) – inferred mm of moisture tran
tions and seven automatic tipping bucket rain gauges
spired from a plant surface during a 24 hour period. Two
across the South Australian Murray- Darling Basin
ratings one for short crop (0.12 m height) and one for a tall
region.
crop (>0.50 m height).
What data do AWS’s record? AWS’s have a dual
Delta-T – suitability of conditions for application of
function – they record key climate data and combine
some of these collected data sets to calculate
important climatic indicators for agricultural and
horticultural production.
Basic data collected
Rainfall (mm)
Temperature/Humidity (degrees Celsius and relative
humidity (%)).
Global Solar Radiation (Watts per m2).
airborne sprays (safe operating standard is between 2
– 8 Delta –T degrees).
In – crop canopy temperature (degrees Celsius) relative
humidity (%) and leaf wetness index (0% dry to 100%
fully wet). This feature is available at a handful of sites in
vineyard applications.
Calculated Minima/Averages/Maxima for most data
sets.
How frequently is data collected and available
Soil temperature (in degrees Celsius at 150 mm
on the internet?
depth).
Data from all stations is collected hourly and uploaded to
Wind speed (kilometres per hour).
the internet (see link at the bottom of this page). There are
Wind direction (compass degrees, pointing to
plans to increase this data collection frequency to 15
direction wind is coming from).
minutes to provide a greater degree of accuracy to users
Calculated indicators
of the network.
Dew Point – (degrees Celsius) - the likelihood of dew
Can data be viewed on a phone or tablet?
formation with respect to atmospheric temperature
Yes, data can be viewed on these devices but it may re-
and humidity levels (usually interpreted in conjunction
quire resizing the display to permit suitable viewing.
with likely overnight temperatures and hence frost
Plans are currently underway to develop mobile and
risk).
tablet friendly screen displays.
Apparent Temperature – (degrees Celsius) - an in-
Some AWS locations in the Riverland & Mallee
ferred rating of current temperature based on the
Barmera, Berri, Bookpurnong, Cadell, Chaffey, Loxton,
combined effects of several climatic data sets to breed
Lyrup Flats, Moorook, Murtho, Paringa, Pyap, Renmark,
a ‘feels like’ temperature rating from a human per-
Taylorville, Waikerie, Caurnamont, Mypolonga, Narrung,
spective.
Swan Reach, Wellington East, Copeville, Lowaldie,
Growing Degree Days – Tally of hours where emper-
Peebinga, Pinnaroo, Sherlock, Wanbi, Cambrai, Wilkawatt.
atures above 10 degrees Celsius have been sustained
For more information
divided by the time maintained.
Natural Resources Centre, Murray Bridge 8532 9100
Page 3
Natural Resources Centre, Berri 8580 1800
Time to review your frost risk plan
Provided by Sue Knights, Knowledge Manager, GRDC National Frost Initiative
C
ropping is a challenging business
the University of Adelaide (UA) and togeth-
which involves balancing opportuni-
er with DAFWA, SAGI and other partners,
ties and risks. An example is to consider
recently released another piece to the frost
sowing early to chase yield whilst
management plan; the preliminary rankings
weighing up the risk of incurring frosts at
of commercial wheat and barley varieties
critical growth stages later in the season
for their susceptibility to frost at flowering.
that may result in devastating yield losses.
The frost susceptibility data is generated
Pre-season is the best time to review your
from research trials grown in frost prone
frost risk plan so that you can make
parts of the commercial production envi-
changes to try and mitigate frost damage
ronment - near Loxton SA, Merredin and
later in the season.
Wickepin WA and Narrabri NSW in 2012,
Frost mitigation pre-season includes
2013 and 2014. To improve the predictions
reviewing your personal approach to risk in
for these environments, similar trials grown
Key research staff—Tim March (University of
your business, assessing the risk of your
in Loxton SA in 2010 and 2011 were also
Adelaide) and Ben Biddulph (Department of
property to frost and individual paddocks
included in the analysis.
and regions of your farm to frost. Consider
The genotypes that were grown included
paddock preparation, choice of crop
some of the most commonly grown wheat
species (oats are less susceptible to frost
and barley varieties in the three states,
adapted high yielding variety for most of
followed by barley then wheat), variety and
which had been well characterised
the area. Emu Rock, Yitpi and Scout all have
sowing times and even consider setting up
previously for frost tolerance.
lower sterility than Mace when there are
temperature loggers in crops to learn more
about the spatial variation of frost over the
property.
Agriculture and Food Western Australia)
inspecting crops at the Loxton Research Centre.
flowering frosts. Emu Rock has earlier
The relative ranking of frost
susceptibility has been expressed
maturity than Mace while Scout is slightly
later and Yitpi is later again. When
The Grains Research and Development
as a Frost Value (FV) for each
managing Emu Rock and Scout, growers
Corporation (GRDC) has long recognised
variety in each environment.
need to ensure they are sown later than
the significant challenge Australian grain
FVs are presented as positive or
Yitpi has traditionally been sown to manage
growers have in managing frost and in 2014
negative differences relative to
frost risk comparably to Yitpi.
embarked on a National Frost Initiative to
the average frost induced sterility
better understand the impact of frost on
Limitations on using the ranking
(FIS) of all varieties in the current
cereal crops, and develop mitigation
information
data-set for a given year and site.
strategies.
The rankings are based on the variation in
Low FVs are more desirable than
wheat and barley variety’s ability to
high FVs.
maintain grain number under minor
Managing frost risk requires a multidisciplinary approach therefore the National Frost
Initiative encompasses genetic, manage-
When using FVs for variety selection
ment and environment approaches to
decisions, it is recommended that growers
mitigating frost and has a team of scientists
and advisors consider the relative
from across the nation focussing their com-
performance of varieties across years with-
bined intellect on the challenge of frost in
in a region.
Australian cropping systems.
FVs can be displayed graphically for a set
A new piece to the genetic component
of either wheat or barley varieties of
The Genetics Program, led by Ben
interest using the interactive tool that is
Trevaskis, CSIRO, Canberra is screening
available from NVT Online.
current wheat and barley varieties for sus-
http://www.nvtonline.com.au/frost
ceptibility to frost as well as searching
international germplasm collections for
improved frost tolerance.
This work is managed by Tim March from
Figure 1 shows an example of the ranking
reproductive frosts. Under reproductive/
floret or head frosts, grain number is the
main yield component affected. Yield is a
function of grain size multiplied by grain
number and hence grain number normally
corresponds to yield. However, this may
not be the case if there is variation in the
length of season and the ability of varieties
to compensate with late tillers, synchronisation of flowering time or plasticity of
grain number. Therefore, it is critical that
varieties are selected on local adaptation
of adapted wheat varieties for the Southern and yield first and FVs are only used to
Region. Mace is a widely grown and
identify and manage frost risk.
Page 4
On-Farm temperature sensor options
Figure 1. Frost Value of sterility under flowering frost for five wheat varieties
tested at Loxton South Australia. Each FV for each variety is presented along with
prediction standard error bars. The number of frost events is indicated in brackets
for each site/year. Lower FVs are better.
Further research is ongoing within the
for hay). A healthy respect for frost is
research focus remains aligned to growers’
National Frost Initiative to validate the yield
rational, but growers must balance the
needs, a Steering Committee comprised of
relationship to FIS and also compensation
rewards of earlier flowering against the risk
experienced growers, scientists and consult-
ability.
of frost; being overly conservative on frost
ants, oversees its operation.
The Management and Environment
risk by delaying sowing can lead to increased
Further information
Programs of the National Frost Initiative
risk of heat and water stress.
A new Frost Management Tips and tactics is
The Management Program of the National
To manage frost risk growers need:
available from www.grdc.com.au/
Frost Initiative is overseen by Ben Biddulph

a representative on-farm record of
ManagingFrostRisk
minimum temperatures,
New frost information is available from the
a good understanding of temperature
GRDC Southern GrowNotes
variation across paddocks,
www.grdc.com.au/Resources/GrowNotes
reliable predictions of when a crop will
GRDC National Frost Initiative playlist
flower for a given sowing time,
www.grdc.com.au/GRDC-Video-
from DAFWA. Options being assessed in this
program include pre-sowing, and in-crop

management options. Pre-sowing decisions
are based on landscape and knowledge of

the incidence of frost, variety selection and
options to blend varieties, time of sowing,

and an understanding of the potential
NationalFrostInitiativePlaylist
paddock history (e.g. stubble type and load),
damage caused by different
Contacts
delving/claying/cultivation etc.
temperatures.
Ben Trevaskis, NFI Genetics Program Leader,
Crop management choices include fertiliser
The Environment Program, managed by
CSIRO, 02 6 246 5045,
timing and amount, row spacing and
Peter Hayman from SARDI, will explore tools
[email protected]
orientation, seed rate and density, products
and technologies to generate accurate,
Ben Biddulph, NFI Farming Systems Program
and growth regulators, and grazing
user-friendly, spatial temperature
Leader, DAFWA, 08 9 368 3431,
management.
measurement information at a resolution
[email protected]
To use genetic and agronomic solutions to
consistent with the scales of farm and crop
Peter Hayman, NFI Environment Program
manage frost, firstly growers must be able to
management.
Leader, SARDI, 08 8 303 9729,
plan farming systems that minimise the risk
Members of the National Frost Initiative are
[email protected]
of frost damage to crops (e.g. manage crop
working as a team to synthesize and
Juan Juttner, GRDC General Manager, Ge-
selection, time of sowing, agronomic inputs),
interpret information from the three
netic Technologies 02 6166 4500,
and secondly make rapid post frost-event
programs to provide focussed regional
[email protected]
decisions regarding the management of
information for grower uptake throughout
affected crops (e.g. continue cropping, or cut
the life of the initiative. To ensure that the
Page 5
Highlights from 2015 Mallee Challenge farmer trials
Chris McDonough, Insight Extension for Agriculture
Can NDVI technology be accurately used to predict
and lentils amongst the next best. However, the highest gross
crop N requirements for malting barley?
margins for the 2 years combined was the vetch/wheat on the
This proved to be the case in the Mallee Challenge paddock
near Alawoona for Bulla Burra. At the 2-3 leaf growth stage
strips of UAN were sprayed at various sections of the paddock.
These areas were later scanned using a hand held green seeker
device, along with the adjacent crop.
The results of this NDVI scanning were then processed and
suggested that this paddock did not require extra nitrogen appli-
loam with chickpeas/wheat not far behind, both over $500/ha.
The best 2 year gross margins on the sand were the chickpeas/
wheat at just over $250/ha followed by lupins/wheat at $133/ha.
It is also important to note the very poor yields of wheat following
wheat in comparison to all the other pulse rotations in graph 1.
This reinforces the needs for legumes to be used in Mallee farming
systems.
cation. Six strips of post urea were spread across the paddock at
rates of 20kg/ha and 50kg/ha to test if there would be a yield or
grain response.
When harvest results were analysed of these strips against strips
either side, there was shown to be no yield advantage to post N
application on the 6 test strips. Grain testing showed that 5 of 13
sample areas without urea went Malt 1 quality, while 4 of 13
went malt 2. Two of the remaining 4 samples that went Feed 1
were on the sandy soil, suffering from high screenings and low
retention. This was thought to be a fairly good result in a year
that most northern Mallee farmers struggled to achieve malt
quality.
It was also worth noting that the strip of 20kg/ha post urea on
the sand between these 2 sample sites did achieve malt 2 quality
with lower screenings and higher retention. This was consistent
with a late season scan with the green seeker that suggested the
sand was borderline for needing extra N. The farmer remarked
that in other paddocks and other years they believe the NDVI
technology has successfully predicted where post nitrogen has
been required.
It is hoped that this NDVI technology will become more accessible to farmers in the future through access to satellite imagery,
but at present there are still issues with avoiding cloud cover for
long enough at the critical times of the year to be able to analyse
the key paddock data.
What is the N value of various pulse options in rotation?
Measurements of soil N following a large scale pulse trial at
Wunkar in 2014 revealed that peas, lentils, vetch and vetch
brown manured produced a nitrogen gain over the cereal strip
of between $50 and $60/ha. Vetch was clearly the highest on
the sand with an estimate $59/ha worth of extra N produced. The
chickpeas were $16-$21/ha lower in N contribution on both the
loamy flats and the sand than most of the other pulse options.
The lupins also produce poor N carryover, but they along with the
peas had suffered bad frost damage in 2014.
The yield graph shows the most outstanding wheat crop was
following the vetch brown manure, with wheat after chickpeas
Page 6
At Pinnaroo a survey of nine paddocks after different crop options
from 2014 showed soil N levels in the top 50cm ranging from only
56kg/ha after oaten hay, 76kg/ha after canola, 113kg/ha following
lentils, 131kg/ha after peas, 141kg/ha N following an oat/vetch hay
crop, 158kg/ha after lupins, to an amazing 204kg/ha on a paddock
that had canola in 2014 and vetch in 2013.
While these soil tests were taken from the loamy flat areas of each
paddocks, the results are less directly comparable as their organic
carbon levels vary from 0.9% to 1.45% which alone will lead to
significant variation in mineralised N. Making adjustment for these
differences, it is estimated that the extra N contribution from various pulse options ranged from $40/ha to $80/ha.
It was interesting to note the different levels of moisture left
behind at the start of last season after each crop. Lentils left approximately 40mm more water behind than other rotations. The
wheat following this crop yielded about 1t/ha more than wheat
following the other crops.
Can we successfully no-till into pasture ground?
This long term Mallee Challenge paddock is about to enter its
second cereal phase following pasture, and has part of the
paddock sown to no-till farming systems practices, aiming for
pasture grass control as well as chemical summer and autumn
weed control. The rest of the paddock is managed to the farmers
normal pasture livestock system, including cultivation prior to
sowing.
Root disease testing was carried out in Dec 2015 on different soil
types to compare the effects of grass removal verses allowing
Continued page 7...
nrmFARM
Can we successfully no-till into pasture ground? Continued...
Soil type/
Take-All
Rhizoctonia
Fusarium
Bipolaris
Pythium
treatment
pgDNA/g
pgDNA/g
pgDNA/g
pgDNA/g
pgDNA/g
Loam flat/
Grass free
Loam flat/
Grass
Mid slope/
Grass free
Mid slope/
Sand/
Sand/
nrmFARM is a free online farm management program for
farmers, horticulturalists, and rural property owners in
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the Natural Resources SA Murray-Darling Basin (SAMDB)
region. Accessed via a secure log-in, nrmFARM is a web
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based farm management tool which allows users to
create and save a map of their property and record farming actions and activities that have been undertaken on it.
nrmFARM allows users to record information including:

crop and livestock types

fencing and irrigation

soil improvement and fertiliser applications

chemical applications

animal husbandry activities
This table shows the build-up of numerous root diseases that are likely

spraying and baiting
to cause yield loss in the following crop due to the brome grass being

soil test results.
grazed, not chemically removed in 2015. While this pasture feed is
The program is compatible with a very broad range of
vital for the very profitable livestock enterprise, it must be realised
commodities that are farmed within the SAMDB region
that it is also compromising the farmers cropping phase.
and is suitable for farms and rural properties of all sizes.
Unfortunately, sowing a vetch pasture last season was not possible
nrmFARM has been developed in partnership with
due to the dry autumn, which would have provided excellent grazing
Natural Resources South East, to be easy and practical to
and multiple benefits to the following crop.
use, and to provide users with the ability to maintain,
Previous no-till in to pastures projects have shown spray-topping to
cross reference and collate farm records either by pad-
allow more disease carryover than grass removal, and that chemical
dock or property.
summer and autumn weed control, rather than just grazing, is vital in
How to get assistance
successfully no-tilling into pastures in the Mallee.
A user guide is available in the help section of nrmFARM.
Natural Resources SAMDB will be conducting training
sessions throughout 2016 and our staff are available to
assist those who wish to take advantage of this fantastic
farm management tool.
How to access nrmFARM
If you are a first time user of nrmFARM you will need to
create a user login and password first. To do this click on
Other recent Mallee Challenge paddock trial include:
'Manage your Account here' when you reach the sign in

Using EM38 mapping to target gypsum rates into sodic heavy flats
at Cambrai
Using a biological fertiliser (worm juice) vs conventional fertiliser,
Loxton
Growing quality wheat using VRT, Lameroo
Using winery waste to improve sandy soils at Waikerie
Second year impact of deep ripping nutrients into non-wetting
page.
sands at Karoonda.
SAMDB
Nitrogen types (SOA or UREA) and timings across various soil
website.





To access
nrmFARM go
to the Natural
Resources
types at Paruna.
It is intended that all of these trial reports will become available on
http://www.naturalresources.sa.gov.au/
the NR SAMDB website soon. #MalleeChallenge will also provide an
samurraydarlingbasin/land/digital-tools/nrm-farm
opportunity for you to engage with activities
Mallee Challenge projects are funded through the South Australian Murray-Darling
Basin Natural Resources Management Board and the Australian Government’s National
Landcare Programme under the management of Eliza Rieger, Regional Landcare
Facilitator Natural Resources SA Murray-Darling Basin and Chris McDonough of Insight
Extension for Agriculture.
For more information
Tony Randall
Principal Project Officer Sustainable Farming
P 08 8532 9101
M 0427 834 396
E [email protected]
Page 7
Dog worm control key to sheep measles
Dr Patrick Kluver, Livestock Biosecurity Network
M
ost producers are not worming their dog often
In dogs the sheep measles tapeworm itself is quite large and can
enough to control sheep measles. A recent MLA measure up to 2 metres long, it can start to produce eggs with 32survey showed that on average we worm farm
35 days and these eggs can contaminate a large area thought to be
dogs around twice per year and the old recom-
several kilometers. If you do have a sheep measles problem then
mendation for controlling hydatids of worming every 6 weeks is
you may want to talk to your neighbours about tapeworm control
probably too long for effective sheep measles control.
as well.
There are three dog tapeworms which have a life cycle that
Foxes may play a part in the spread of the disease but when we
includes sheep: hydatids, sheep measles and bladder worm.
compare the prevalence of disease in sheep that come from fox
Economically the most important is sheep measles which affects
free areas like KI to other regions in SA, there appears to be no
the majority of properties in all sheep regions in Australia.
difference in the level of infection.
Sheep measles is estimated to cost the sheep industry $2.4 million
annually.
The losses to the industry occur in a number of ways; most lesions
occur in the heart and the diaphragm and are
condemned, if lesions are found in the carcass they are trimmed
and if there are more than 5 lesions then the whole carcass is
condemned. No matter where the lesions are found, all affected
carcasses are diverted to a less valuable frozen product.
Some of our overseas market are completely intolerant of sheep
measles and whole container loads have been condemned, but this
has not happened since the late 1960s due to vigilant meat
inspectors.
The life cycle for all three tapeworms includes an adult tapeworm in
dogs, the intermediate stage is found in sheep as a fluid cyst in the
offal for hydatids and bladder worm (false hydatid) or a small solid
cyst in the heart diaphragm and muscle for sheep measles. Sheep
pick up the infection off pasture from dogs faeces and the life cycle
is completed when dogs eat affected carcasses or offal (see diagram
below).
Figure 2 Data courtesy enhanced abattoir surveillance program
PIRSA Biosecurity.
The life cycle needs to be controlled by;

Treating all dogs every month with a wormer containing
Praziquantel,

Remove sheep meat and offal from the diet of dogs by feeding
commercial dog food, tinned or kibble and prevent scavenging.

All dogs coming onto the farm should have been wormed in the
last 30 days. Wild dog and fox control is sensible practice
where they occur and may have some impact on sheep measles.
By doing this you will control sheep measles, hydatids and bladder
worm.
PIRSA Biosecurity monitors a number of sheep carcass conditions
at TFI Murray Bridge, if you want to know more about this scheme
put PIRSA EAS in your search engine and you should able to find it
or http://pir.sa.gov.au/biosecurity/animal_health/sheep/health/
Figure 3 Life cycle of sheep measles, hydatids and bladder
worm are very similar.
enhanced_abattoir_surveillance_program
Page 8
Mapping livestock grazing in large Mallee paddocks
Michael Moodie, Zac Economou, Mark Trotter , Ali Frischke and James Murray
T
he integration of cropping and grazing remains a major management challenge, as paddock sizes tend to be large to benefit efficient cropping practices. Mallee paddocks are also characterised by extreme soil variability and these variable soil types
support different levels of feed availability and have
different susceptibilities to soil erosion.
Technology such as portable fencing systems and virtual fencing
potentially offer a solution to the issue of grazing large Mallee
paddocks with high soil variability. However, to effectively
implement these innovative grazing techniques, the grazing
behaviour of livestock in paddocks needs to be understood and
quantified. This project has started to address this knowledge gap
by quantifying livestock (sheep) grazing habits in a large
Mallee paddock with variable soil types.
Methodology
A flock of two-year-old merino ewes (approximately 200) grazed a
107 ha paddock near Nandaly during summer (barley stubble) and
then again in winter grazing (vetch) in 2015.
Prior to grazing, 25 animals within the flock were fitted with UNE
Tracker II GPS collars. Livestock monitoring was supported with on
-ground assessment of vegetative soil cover and feed quantity
over both grazing periods. At the end of each grazing period, the
collars were removed and the data downloaded from the GPS
devices. Data was then analysed to quantify grazing
pressure.
Results—Summer grazing
Initially the sheep spent most time grazing the lighter soil types in
the paddock before moving on to the other zones. This may
suggest preferences for certain zones or soil types before feed
became limiting and grazing other areas was necessary. By the
end of the summer period, paddock utilisation was relatively
even.
A sheep fitted
with a UNE
Tracker II GPS
collar
During summer, grazing speeds and distance travelled were very
high as the sheep constantly searched for grain. The amount of
grain declined from around 80 kg/ha when the sheep were
introduced to approximately 20 kg/ha when they were removed
40 days later. Very little green pick was available during the
grazing period and as a result they lost condition over this time.
Results—Winter grazing
Grazing intensity was much more variable on the sown vetch pasture in winter than on the cereal stubble in summer. Figure 3
shows that the sheep concentrated grazing on the western end of
the paddock during the first 10 days after which paddock
utilisation by the livestock slowly increased over time. However,
during any 10-day period, livestock spent 50% of the time grazing
only 25% of the paddock and a further 25% was not utilised.
Spatially variable grazing led to significant under-utilisation of
pasture on the eastern end of the paddock where approximately
2.5 t/ha vetch still remained when the sheep were removed. Two
hundred ewes with lambs at foot grazed the paddock, or 5.6 Dry
Sheep Equivalent (DSE) per hectare. However, as grazing occurred
on only 75% of the area, the stocking pressure on the utilised part
of the paddock was 7.3 DSE/ha. It is logical that, with improved
grazing management an additional 65 ewes with lambs could have
been fed. Alternatively, a quarter of the paddock could have been
cut for hay. If 1.5 t/ha of vetch hay were cut from 25% of the
paddock, an additional $150/ha of profit would have been made
on a quarter of the paddock or the equivalent of approximately
$4000 additional profit.
Implications for commercial practice
Currently there is no easy solution to overcoming the problem of
uneven grazing by livestock in large paddocks. Management
actions such as moving water points, increasing mob sizes and
rotating sheep in and out of paddocks regularly are likely to
improve paddock utilisation but will not fully resolve the issue.
Rapid fencing systems such as portable electric fencing have been
used effectively by some Mallee farmers, but require resources to
erect and dismantle. The development of new technologies like
virtual fencing could drastically improve the utilisation of large
Mallee paddocks and the data from this project can start making
an economic case for investing in more flexible fencing technologies.
Acknowledgements
This project is supported by Mallee Catchment Management
Authority, Mallee Sustainable Farming, University of New England
and BCG through funding from the Australian Government’s
National Landcare Programme.
Further information
Michael Moodie, Mallee Sustainable Farming
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 0448612892
Page 9
Huge yield benefits from spading chicken manure
Chris McDonough, Insight Extension for Agriculture.
S
pading Chicken Manure has virtually doubled
yields at 2 farmer scale Mallee sand trial sites.
This includes a non-wetting sand site
surrounding a saline seep at Karoonda, as well as a
large replicated farmer scale trial at
Waikerie, covering 3 sand hills, mid-slopes and
loamy flats.
The latter includes many treatments including clay
spreading, chicken manure, high fertiliser, both left on
top and spaded into 40cm.
The success of spading is a combination of breaking
compaction, dramatically increasing soil fertility and
improving soil moisture dynamics leading to
increased rooting vigour and depth.
Initial economics suggest spading treatments with chicken
manure are affordable with costs
recoverable in the short term. Optimal rates of about
5-6t/ha chicken manure have improved yield enough to
cover costs in the first year at Karoonda.
It is intended that these sites will be monitored over coming
years to assess the long term effects of various treatments.
While 5t/ha chicken manure may be supplying up to an ex-
Economic analysis of Karoonda Seeps Spading Trial, 2015
Below is an example of deep compaction present in many
Mallee sands, resulting in few roots penetrating to below 30cm,
where the soil is often still found to be wet after the crop has finished
in October. Spaded areas in the soil pits showed strong roots growth
down into the clay at 120cm at Karoonda, and to 150cm at the
Waikerie site. Soil moisture probes are showing far better moisture
retention in the top 40cm of treated areas, with crops roots quickly
accessing this moisture, as well as deeper moisture in profile.
tra 150kg/ha nitrogen into the soil, in many cases up to
70kg/ha N was already removed through the high yielding
grain with high protein. So while the benefits spading chicken manure are
expected to be due to more than N supply, it may still be a
significant driver of the high yield in the next few years, and
will diminish over time. These are all factors that must be
monitored and managed in coming years.
Plot yield comparisons, Karoonda Seeps
Spading Trial 2015
Spaded with Chicken Manure, Karoonda site with very thick crop
and strong roots beyond 1m depth, Sept Field Day 2015
Page 10
Huge yield benefits from spading chicken
manure continued...
These results are from the following projects:

Mallee Seeps Monitoring,

Sand improvement through
manure profiling in low rainfall
Northern Mallee

Mallee Challenge 2015
These projects are funded through the South
Australian Murray-Darling Basin Natural
Resources Management Board and the
Australian Government’s National Landcare
Programme.
Is VRT worthwhile in the Mallee?
V
ariable Rate Technologies make a lot
of sense in the Mallee, given the way
the soils in our paddocks vary in texture,
fertility, plant available water (PAW), yield
potential and risk. The cost of fertiliser
inputs continues to increase so it makes
sense to target them in the areas they are
most needed to maximise your profits.
There are 4 essential areas to get right for
successful VRT:

Understanding where soils vary
enough to warrant treating differently,
so paddock zones can be made

Working out the optimal rates to use
in each zone, using soil potential, seasonal conditions, crop needs and budget available (this can be done using a
variety of techniques and layers of info
that best suit your decision making)

Getting the spatial information into a
data format and working within your
farm machinery

Applying test strips across soil zones
and being able to effectively assess
where soils are responsive to higher or
lower rates, so that VRT strategies can
be refined for the future.
In 2015, 15 Mallee farmers were involved
in a VRT project, ranging from some
already using VRT, to those who had the
capability but had not been able to take
the next step in applying it, to those who
could only apply VRT manually, but wanted
to test whether it was worth pursuing
with machinery upgrades.
All farmers were guided through the
process of soil mapping, testing, zoning and
ground truthing, with plans made so they
could practically apply VRT to their
paddocks, including various application test
strips across all zones.
The project presented many challenges on
many different levels, emphasising the
individual circumstances and needs of each
farm business, and that it was certainly not
a case of “one size fits all” when helping
each farmers into successful VRT.
Contributed by Chris McDonough & Mark May
Despite this, the project always showed
economic advantages to targeting different
rates into different soil zones.
Some of the main findings from the
project were:

VRT definitively worthwhile in the
Mallee

Comparative advantages over set flat
rates were often worth $10-$30/ha
but sometimes over $100/ha

Carefully ground truthing paddocks
with soil testing, GPS tablets with
paddock maps, and farmer knowledge
was vital in refining zone boundaries
and crop needs,

Higher upfront N into sandier soils
consistently lifted yields, however, it
was often not economic to feed the
deep sands too much,

Targeting the highest inputs into the
mid slope sands consistently gave the
best value for $ spent

Good loams often responded to post N
inputs where yields exceeded a
specific level

Heavy loams with subsoil constraints
and shallow stony ground generally
gave the best results with lower
fertiliser and seeding rate inputs.

VRT is more important in intensive
cereal phases of rotations, than
following good pulse crops

For farmers recording data,
particularly with older machinery, it is
best to use new USB’s or card every
year, to minimise the chance of losing
information.

All farmers’ circumstances were
different requiring unique
management strategies for optimal
VRT application to suit their farming
systems.
EM38 soil mapping proved to be a very
helpful tool in zone mapping and analysing
results, but does have limitations to be
aware of. Shallow stone should always be
mapped out separately, as it does not
follow a consistent or exclusive EM38
range. In districts characterised by heavy
clay flats with high subsoil constraints, such
as near Cambrai and Pinnaroo it was far
better to zone paddocks based on the
shallow EM38 readings than the deep.
When analysing yield results of paddock
strips and zones it was very important to
compare these with a paddock strip
directly alongside these treatments rather
than just the rest of the paddock zone
results. Otherwise, many external paddock
variations may unduly influence results and
make comparisons less reliable.
Overall, farmers involved in the project
(with over half implementing VRT for the
first time) said they really benefited from
“understanding my different soil types”,
“getting my controller to actually VR & to
obtain harvest data”, “seeing the response
you get form varying your rates” and
“interaction with like-minded farmers”.
It is hoped that this project will help
encourage more farmers into
implementing successful VRT in the
Mallee. It certainly highlighted that if you
are not using VRT, you are not efficiently
using your fertiliser and seed resources,
and there are great advantages to
targeting the right inputs, into the right
areas, in the right years.
It may take some time and assistance to
help you get to a robust VRT system and
management strategies.
NR SAMDB
Project Manager
Mark May
ground truthing
a VRT paddock.
For more info
contact
Mark May
8580 1800
Page 11
Coorong Tatiara LAP responds
Drought loans for farmers
to the dry season
The Coorong Tatiara Local Action Plan responded to the dry season
P
swiftly in 2015 by running a series of technical workshops for
eter O’Dea, Program Manager, PIRSA, Prudential &
landholders, and providing easy on line access to the range of drought
Rural Financial Services advised that drought affected
support services and technical information available in the Coorong
farm businesses in South Australia can apply for loans un-
and Tatiara. ‘Adapting your farm business to dry and variable
der the Australian Government, Drought Concessional
conditions’, and 'Drought Management Opportunities' workshops were
Loans and Drought Recovery Concessional Loans schemes.
Below is an overview of the current loan schemes
administered in South Australia by PIRSA:
held at Peake and Keith. The Coorong Tatiara LAP team were very
pleased with the attendance at workshops at such a busy time of year.
Tiffany Bennett, Livestock Consultant with Rural Solutions had been
receiving queries from landholders about how to best use failed crops
Drought Concessional Loans Scheme - concessional loans of
for stock feed, and also about what was involved in setting up stock
up to $1 million are available for eligible farm businesses to
containment areas to carry stock through summer. In response to this
restructure existing eligible debt and provide new debt for
operating expenses or drought recovery and preparedness
activities, or a combination of these. These loans are for a
the Coorong Tatiara LAP and Tiffany put together information sessions
with the aim of supporting producers to adapt to the dry farming
conditions with a level of confidence.
The key speakers at these events were; Darren Ray - Bureau of Meteor-
term of up to 5 years with the option of interest only repay-
ology, Tiffany Bennett - Rural Solutions Livestock Consultant, Hamish
ments. A variable concessional interest rate, which is cur-
Dickson - Livestock Consultant with AgriPartner Consulting, John
rently 3.05 per cent applies to the loans.
Squires - Rural Directions, and Mick Faulkner - Agrilink.
Drought Recovery Concessional Loans Scheme - this recently announced scheme provides concessional loans of up to
John and Mick spoke about the dominant features of resilient farm
businesses, and ways to respond agronomically to the variable seasonal
conditions.
$1 million to assist eligible farm businesses with the cost of
Tiffany Bennett and Hamish Dickson presenting at Keith
planting or restocking activities and associated expenses
when seasonal conditions allow. These loans are for a term
of up to ten years with interest-only repayments available
for the first five years of the loan. A variable concessional
interest rate, which is currently 2.71 per cent applies to the
loans.
Total of $10 million of loans are available under both the
Drought Concessional Loans and Drought Recovery Con-
A range of Drought Support Service providers were available for one on
cessional Loans Schemes in 2015/16 (total loan funding is
one discussion. Financial and Counselling personnel attended from:
$20 million). Funding is available until 30 June 2016 or
Department of Human Services, Rural Business Support, Centacare, AC
when funding is fully committed, whichever occurs first.
Care, and Mind Australia.
Farmers interested in applying for the loans are encouraged
to contact PIRSA toll free number 1800 182 235 to discuss
PDF versions of the presentations from both workshops can be found
at: http://www.coorong.sa.gov.au/ctlapevents
In parallel to these pages is a directory of the drought support services
their proposal. This will assist applicants to determine the
also available. This provides a comprehensive list with links to useful
potential benefit of the loan schemes to their farm business
services and technical information. This list will be updated as more
and whether they may be eligible for assistance.
information becomes available.
Coorong:
http://www.coorong.sa.gov.au/droughtsupport
Tatiara:
http://www.tatiara.sa.gov.au/page.aspx?u=599
Mallee Matters is proudly sponsored by
IMPORTANT NOTICE Although all reasonable care has been taken in
compiling this publication neither the funding body or contractor
accept any liability resulting from the interpretation or use of the
information set out in this document. Information contained in this
document is subject to change without notice.
Mallee Matters is edited and compiled by
Tanja Morgan Project Services
P: 0429 395 918
E: [email protected]