VOLUME
03
July
2014
QUARTERLY
COMMUNICATION
FOR AGRICULTURE
IN THE SA MALLEE
this issue:
P.
No
Mallee Dune Seepages
continued
2
Sustainable Focus
Farms 2014
2-3
MSF—Improving the
integration of cropping &
livestock
3
Lambs & Lice Workshop
4
Give yourself a score for
successful grass weed
Mallee Soil Moisture
Probes
Upcoming Events
Mallee Matters
5
6-7
8
Have we got your
details correct?
E-mail subscription
requests/ changes to:
[email protected]
Mallee Dune Seepages
Reports by farmers of Mallee dune
seepage in the SA Murray-Darling Basin
have been increasing across the Mallee.
The issue first came to the notice of the SA
Murray-Darling Basin NRM Board (the Board)
three years ago with Bernadette Lawson
Team Leader Land Management and Rural
Solutions consultants visiting properties
experiencing dune seepage. It was found the
dune seepages can transpire in a number of
ways.
Seepages usually start as non-saline wet
areas prone to water logging but are still able
to grow good crops. These areas over time
become too waterlogged, with excess water
collecting and running down the paddock to
the low point which can leave eroded
channels in the ground.
The area eventually becomes saline as water
evaporates drawing salt within the soil to the
surface. After a time the area becomes bare
and scalded and is too soft for machinery to
drive over. The only plants known to grow on
these scalds are rye-grass, brome and
thistles.
Other seepages occur in landlocked depressions at the base of a large sand dune. Poor
drainage means the water has nowhere to go
as it is constrained by the surrounding sand
dune and sub-soil clay. The water eventually
rises to the surface.
There are a number of management
options which can be investigated to use
up excess water, these include;

Increasing water use efficiency of
crops

Planting deep rooted perennials in
strategic locations

Managing water repellent sands by
clay spreading

Revegetating the edge of the seep
with salt tolerant species
(Continued on page 2)
(Continued from page 1)
Managing seepage areas needs careful consideration to
ensure remediation works will fit into the farm business.
The SA Murray-Darling Basin NRM Board is supporting a
project to investigate the potential of satellite imagery
as a tool to identify the direction of spread of existing
seeps and help choose appropriate management options
that can be strategically implemented. The placement of
soil moisture probes is also helping to understand the
nature of these seepages.
Work is continuing with affected farmers and a meeting
to discuss Mallee dune seepages is planned for August at
Karoonda. Discussion will assist to gain a better understanding of water movement within the landscape, why
seeps are occurring and potential management options.
To find out more or register your attendance please
contact Bernadette Lawson on 8532 9100.
Article by Bernadette Lawson, Team Leader Land Management, and Rebecca Tonkin RSSA
Sustainable Focus Farms 2014
The Sustainable Focus Farms project is a 12
month project funded by the SA Murray Darling
Basin NRM Board. The project aims to increase
the confidence of growers in the SA Mallee to use
precision agriculture in managing their land
resource.
The remote sensing NDVI platform called Geosys was
used to identify management zones in 12 paddocks
across the Southern Mallee. These zones were based
on historical biomass imagery, dating back to 2000.
Soil testing in these zones was then completed before
seeding and plant tissue testing was undertaken in
late June. The zones appear to be reasonable from
this initial ground-truthing and treatments are going
out now.
The treatments vary according to the different properties and issues but include applying trace elements
post-emergence, using sulphur to improve the
productivity of delved sand ridges, and applying varia-
2
ble rate nitrogen. The following table lists the issues
being investigated at each of the 12 focus paddocks.
As part of the project, Rural Directions Pty Ltd consultants will be running three workshops in August. The
workshops will discuss the different focus paddocks,
the issues in different management zones, and what
approaches are being used to overcome them.
Jim Castles from Geosys will also be present to explain
the satellite imagery and how it can potentially be
used for NRM and production in the future.
Workshop dates and locations
Pinnaroo 25th August 2014, 2pm – 5pm
Lameroo 26th August 2014, 8.30am – 11.30am
Karoonda 26th August 2014, 1.30pm – 4.30pm
For more information and to register for the
workshops please contact Claire Gutsche from Rural
Directions Pty Ltd on 08 8841 4500 or email
[email protected]
Sustainable Focus Farms cont...
District
Issue being investigated
Wynarka
Assess different nitrogen rates and trace element responses across soil types
Mannum
Test different foliar trace element rates in canola
Pinnaroo
Assess different nitrogen rates across different zones post emergence
Pinnaroo
Assess different rates of nitrogen and sulphur on sandhills versus flats
Lameroo
Assess variable rate nitrogen across different management zones at sowing
Lameroo
Assess different nitrogen rates on soil zones post emergence
Lameroo
Compare performance of urea versus sulphate of ammonia on sandy blowout areas
Lameroo
Trial strips of Manganese, Zinc, and Copper to improve ryegrass and medic pasture
production on a variable paddock.
Karoonda
Assess different foliar rates of Manganese, Zinc and Copper on poor performing sands
Karoonda
Compare NDVI maps with EM information, and assess trace element responses across
zones
Geranium
Addition of Copper and Manganese foliar sprays to improve production on clayed sands
Coonalpyn
Management of sulphur, potassium and organic matter levels on poor performing sand
areas
Improving the integration of cropping and
livestock enterprises on mixed farms
Mixed farming is important to many Mallee farming
businesses. The 2012 GRDC farm practices survey
reported that over 20% of the regions farm income is
generated from sheep, wool and lamb production and
that 52% of the cropped area is grazed by livestock
over the summer months.
However, improving the integration of cropping and
livestock enterprises is a major priority for mixed farming
businesses in the Mallee.
A new Mallee Sustainable Farming (MSF) project funded
by GRDC is looking for interested farmers and advisors to
be part of a focus group that will identify potential
management practices that could improve the integration
of cropping and livestock enterprises on mixed farms in
the Mallee.
About the project
Two focus groups will be formed to identify and evaluate
management strategies and technologies that could
improve the integration of cropping and livestock enterprises in Mallee farming businesses. The potential
management strategies and technologies that are
identified will then be evaluated in terms of their
impact on the cropping and livestock enterprises as well
as whole farm profit and risk.
The project will form one group in Victoria and another
in South Australia. The group discussions will be
supported by leading consultants Ed Hunt and Daniel
Schuppan who have a wealth of experience of working
with mixed farmers in southern Australia.
How to be involved
Both groups will commence in spring this year and
there will be a total of three workshops over a two year
period. Participation in the focus group will be a great
opportunity to learn from likeminded farmers and
interact with experts such as Ed and Daniel.
MSF is seeking farmers and advisors with a strong
interest in improving mixed farming in the Mallee to be
part of these groups. If you would like to participate,
please contact Michael Moodie on:
ph: 0448 612 892 or
email: [email protected]
3
Lambs & Lice Workshop
Lamb survival, reproductive wastage and sheep lice
were the focus of discussion at a recent workshop
held at the Ettrick CFS shed.
The workshop kicked off with Dr Gordon Refshauge from
the NSW DPI conducting autopsies on dead lambs
brought in by farmers who attended the workshop.
The autopsies were conducted to determine the cause
of death. Gordon said ‘ the causes of lamb death will
vary between regions and years and that the effects of
predation and exposure will depend on the time of
lambing and the lambing paddock. However, generally
predation is not the primary reason of death’.
Dystocia and starvation were the primary causes in the
lambs autopsied at the workshop. Dystocia is a difficult
birth that may result in some brain injury and starvation.
To improve lamb survival producers must first identify
the primary cause of death on their property.
Jason Trompf from JT Agri-Source delivered a powerful
presentation driving home the message of reproductive
wastage in sheep flocks and the need to scan ewes to
enable producers to measure reproductive loss.
The failure of ewes to rear a lamb results in lost productivity and profitability to the sheep enterprise. By
managing the ewe properly through her pregnancy and
paying attention to the nutritional needs of the ewe, optimal reproductive efficiencies can be achieved.
TAKE HOME MESSAGES

Dystocia & starvation primary causes of death in
autopsied lambs

Pay attention to ewe nutrition to reduce lamb
losses

Mob sizes are critical to lamb survival

Chemical resistance often blamed for lice
re
-infestation however incorrect treatment most
likely cause
A proactive management of ewe condition score by
feeling how much fat and condition is covering, the loin,
backbone and short ribs will help you gauge the ewes
‘fuel tank’.
Scanning and separating ewes with singles and twins
and managing their nutritional needs accordingly will
prevent wastage of feed and help with pasture allocation. It can be detrimental to over feed single bearing
ewes, just as issues will arise by underfeeding multiple
bearing ewes.
The first 48 hours of a lamb’s life are critical; around 80%
of lamb mortality (between birth and weaning) occurs in
this 48 hour period.
Mob sizes are also critical to lamb survival; it is recommended that mob sizes for single bearing mature ewes
be no greater than 400 for mature ewes and 300 for
maidens, whilst multiple bearing ewes should lamb
down in mobs no greater than 200, and 150 for maidens. Lambing paddocks should also provide adequate
shelter as this will also drive lamb survival.
The primary cause of lamb loss is starvation and mismothering, followed by dystocia. There are some key
areas producers can focus on to improve the lamb loss in
these areas.
The workshop concluded with an open group discussion
around sheep lice. This included the importance of on
farm biosecurity in regards to the introduction of new
sheep.
There is a need to shear and/or treat on arrival, or keep
newly purchased sheep separate from the main flock
for 3-4 months, and continually check for signs of lice.
Correct application of chemicals is extremely important.
Chemical resistance is most often blamed for a lice reinfestation, however incorrect treatment is, in most
cases, the more likely cause. There were varied treatment options and methods used by the group to control and eradicate lice and the pros and cons of these
application methods were also discussed.
The workshop was supported with funding from AWI
and SheepConnect SA.
For more information or to conduct a sheep health and
lice workshop in your area, please contact Tiffany Bennett, Livestock Consultant, Rural Solutions SA on
0887629126 or email [email protected]
4
Give yourself a score for successful weed management
This is the time of year that many farmers look forward
to. It’s when crops have established, many of the
inputs have been applied and in a good year crops are
green and growing with potential.
It’s also the time of year when paddock inspections and
crop monitoring can reveal how well certain rotations and
management practises are performing, particularly in relation to grass control.
So how are things looking on your place? Can you pick
differences in management strategies? How would you
score yourself for successful grass control across the farm
this year?
Now is the time to work out what’s worked well and what
hasn’t. You may be inspecting clean paddocks with satisfaction or you may be starting to see escapes of early weed
control. In addition late emergence of grasses, particularly
brome, may be causing you worry. Now is the time to question why those plants survived, why they are there, and
what will be done about it.
What is your score out of 10 for grass control in each paddock?
Check the survivors
Herbicide resistance is a reality. The brome grass resistance
survey conducted in the Mallee last year showed nearly all
samples had some group A or B resistance setting in therefore any grass weeds that have survived a typically lethal
dose of herbicide should be tested for resistance.
Survivors should be sampled now using the Quick-Test
method. Results are back in around 4 weeks and you can
find out for sure if resistance is the cause and what action
needs to be taken. Following on, management of survivors
that prevents seed set should be front of mind.
How many paddocks have grass weed survivors?
The most expensive herbicide treatment is the one that
doesn’t work.
How much is it worth $, to know the resistance status of the
survivors?
See www.plantscienceconsulting.com for more info on
Quick-Test
Grass control is more than just rotating herbicides
Integrated Weed Management has been around for a while
now and emphasises the need to implement strategies that
prevent herbicide resistance. As part of this process we have
been taught for years to rotate herbicide groups and this may
be the extent of IWM for many. Herbicide use alone, albeit
rotating groups, will rapidly lead to resistance.
List your IWM strategies
Can you list your IWM strategies that don’t include herbicide
use?
Non-herbicide options may include: competitive crop varieties
and higher seeding rates, direction of sowing, delayed sowing,
mouldboard plough, cutting hay, heavy grazing, slashing, green
manure, chaff cart, baling behind the header, seed destructors,
narrow windrow burning
Many of these options may not give full control when used in
isolation and some may be referred to as 1%’s but when combined in a system with herbicides can add up to improve the
end result and extend the effective life of current herbicides.
Non-selective herbicide options may include: double knock,
brown manuring, hay freezing, spray/ crop topping, in crop
knockdown as a salvage to prevent seed set.
How many different strategies are you using in each paddock?
Where to from here?
If you have weed survivors, plan now. With grasses in particular there are few late season control options. Ask yourself, can
something be done late in crop or at harvest or do you need to
write it off and prepare for next year with a bigger problem
and a new plan?
Seed capture at harvest is a viable option and may only be necessary in a few paddocks but now is the time to start researching your options. Good info on harvest weed seed capture can
be found at the Weed Smart website. There are short Youtube
clips that show many of the options and tips for getting set up.
See www.weedsmart.org.au/10-point-plan/capture-weedseeds-at-harvest/
The SAGIT Brome Grass project will also be
putting out a manual early 2015 specific to
brome management with IWM (herbicide
and non-herbicide) options so stay tuned.
Left: Follow up crop monitoring this year showed
how successful cutting hay on the outer lap of the
paddock was for grass control—score 10/10
Inner lap score 5/10—followed up with grass
selective this year but will need to check for
survivors. The canola will also be windrowed giving
another opportunity to capture escapes. Page 5
Page 5
Mallee Soil Moisture Probes What are they telling us & how can they be used?
Soil moisture monitoring probes have been used
to optimise irrigation management in
horticulture for many years and there is a
growing interest in applying soil moisture probe
technologies within dry-land farming to increase
our understanding of soil/plant/water dynamics
and assist in decision making.
Currently there are 27 dry-land moisture probes being
monitored across the SA Mallee. A key aim is to assess
the value of soil moisture probes for dry-land farmers to
make more informed, efficient and economic management decisions. Whether this be by accessing the data
and recommendations from for existing network of soil
moisture probes, or shows value in farmers purchasing
and utilising their own probes strategically placed on their
own farms, is yet to be determined.
Soil moisture probes should give farmers a clearer understanding of Plant Available Water (PAW), which will
assist in key management decisions including crop choice,
crop potential by soil types, optimal fertiliser application
and timing, summer weed control and even grain marketing.
Methodology
In 2010 the SA MDB NRM established 8 probes in 3 locations across the SA Mallee alongside automatic weather
stations, only a variety of soil types and paddock
treatments. This year, another 15 low cost capacitance
probes have been placed at 8 sites, with a further 4 of the
latest John Deere soil moisture probes set up on a paddock at Wunkar. This gives a total of 27 probes at 12 sites,
each with rainfall recording and 4 sites with weather stations.
All sites have been deep soil tested and characterised, and
are directly associated with various farmer trials and soil
management issues that need addressing, including nonwetting sands, recharge soaks, summer weed control,
variable rate farming and targeting soil nutrition.
Soil moisture data has been analysed from the 3 NRM
sites spanning 4 seasons. New sites have been established
using EM38 mapping to identify different soil types and
variable rate cropping zones, with 3 to 4 probes in the
same paddocks, representing deep sands, mid-slope
sands, loam flats and heavy flats with subsoil constraints.
Initial results from these sites have given some interesting
findings.
Understanding “gutless” sands—Figure 1
One probe was placed in a deep sand hill, which is trialling
nutrition applications and variable rate. While the top
profile was textured as loamy sand through to clay sand at
70-90cm, the actual soil moisture levels in mid-March was
6
TAKE HOME MESSAGES

Soil Moisture Probes are proving useful in understanding our Mallee soils.

Local farmer group projects are developing this
technology for practical access and use

Some sands will need more than good
agronomy to significantly improve.
only at 1-2% moisture – well below wilting point levels,
despite having received 75mm rainfall in mid-February. This
sand was shown to bead moisture (i.e. show water
repellence) to 60cm depth. A subsequent rainfall event of
24mm saw moisture quickly leach to 90cm with only a very
slight increase at each level. The following 54mm rainfall
quickly flowed past all sensors, and quickly returned to the
same moisture, meaning that this rain passed right through
the profile.
Practical implications
This deep “gutless” sand appears to make up 15-20% of this
paddock. While much has been achieved over the last 15
years to consistently improve the yields of Mallee sands
through more intensive no-till farming and improved
nutrition, it would appear that this deep sand will always
have very low yield potential due to very poor water holding
capacity. While this soil is currently very low in P, N, CEC
and Organic Carbon, it will require a major changes (possibly
through clay spreading, polymers, etc.) to greatly improve
its yield potential, rather than just more N.
The moisture retention and PAW of the slightly better midslope sand at this site is significantly higher and represents a far greater opportunity for nutritional
investment. Every farmer has a limited fertiliser budget, so better
targeting applications to get the “best bang for buck” is vital.
This data also has strong implications for the growing issue
of waterlogged soaks that are taking out many hectares of
productive cropping land in the mid and southern Mallee.
Many of these areas are surrounded by non-wetting sands,
where farmers are now applying full summer weed control.
It is easy to see how these soils will allow even moderate
summer rainfalls to quickly leach through to limestone or
clay layer beneath, and then appear as soaks lower in the
catchment. We now have 3 probes specifically in these
areas to help us better understand where high water use
options should be targeted for greatest impact.
This project is part of Mallee Sustainable Farming’s (MSF) Mallee Challenge projects funded through Caring for our
Country and this States NRM Community Grants
Fig 1.
Deep non-wetting
sand soil moisture
profile, showing
corresponding
rainfall event.
Fig 2.
Clay loam flat
moisture profile
from same
paddock and
rainfall events.
Heavy Clay Soils—Figure 2
Another clear trend, is that many major rainfall events of 25
-50mm are barely registering to 30cm (see Fig 2, which represents the heavy flat soils with significant subsoil constraints at 60cm depth). This means that most of the rainfall
stays within the available root zone of the crops, because
clay soils have a large capacity to store moisture. These
soils generally have a constant level of high moisture at
depth, because the high salinity, boron or sodicity makes
the water that has made it through unavailable for crop use.
The good news is that in reasonably wet years like 2014 it
would appear that these soils are not actually losing their
moisture to the subsoils, meaning they retain very high yield
potential. They are generally quite fertile, but in years with
high yield potential may still benefit from extra nutrition.
The flip side to this is that if most of the moisture is retained
closer to the surface, then it can lead to higher losses in
evaporation, particularly over summer. At another site near
Alawoona, 20mm rainfall in December 2013 hardly made
any change to the 30cm moisture sensor on the heavy flat.
All the moisture gains in the sensor above this were lost to
evaporation within 35 days. The sand in the same paddock
saw clear soil moisture gains in both the 30cm and 50cm
sensors which were retained through the summer by
controlling the summer weeds. A further sandy site at
Parrakie also saw strong moisture gains to 50cm after
summer rainfall which was quickly lost because skeleton
weed was not controlled.
Practical Implications
While in dry years heavy soils can be the first to suffer moisture stress due to low PAW, in wet seasons they can be
amongst the most productive because of their ability to hold
very high levels of PAW in the immediate root zone. It will
be interesting to assess how these paddock zones respond
to higher N rates at various Mallee Challenge sites this season.
In terms of moisture conservation, summer weed control may
be far more affective on sandier soils than on these heavy
soils, where the moisture is generally held in the surface and
lost to evaporation.
Where to from here?
One of the key outcomes to be derived from this work is to try
and better establish soil moisture loss rates for different times
of year, various soil types and regions of the Mallee. It is
hoped this will assist with fertiliser decision making and
recognising if there is an opportunity or risk in terms of
available moisture at the time of application and likely future
losses.
The majority of the soil moisture probes have yet to complete
a full cropping season, and the moisture that the crops leave
behind in October this year should provide a clear baseline to
be able to assess PAW in future years. It is our intention that
this info be developed with farmers to improve access to it,
and to help make more informed management decisions.
So far these soil moisture probes across multiple soil types are
giving us a far better understanding of our different soil /
water / plant dynamics, which is the first step towards working out what are the most strategic things to do in given situations.
Anyone who would like to be more involved should contact
Chris McDonough or Jeremy Nelson (SA MDB NRM Berri).
Contact details
Chris McDonough, Farming Systems Consultant, Rural
Solutions SA
Loxton Research Centre, PO Box 411, Loxton SA 5333
Phone 0885 959100, mob 0408085393
Email [email protected]
7
Upcoming Events
13 August—GRDC Grower Update, Waikerie Hotel/ Motel, Registrations 8am, 9am –1pm. Cost $40pp incl book, morning
tea & lunch.
Topics include

Smarter Weed Management, brome focus & driving down the weed seed bank

Cost of production and enterprise risk

Nitrogen—when, why & how of application

Crop Doctor—insect pests

Soil moisture probes
25 August—Geosys Workshop Pinnaroo, 2-5pm
26 August—Geosys Workshop Lameroo, 8.30-11.30am, Karoonda 1.30-4.30pm
Contact Claire at Rural Directions for more info 88414500 or [email protected]
29 August & 19 September —PING Women’s Leadership Forum at Monarto Zoo, funded by Regional Landcare Facilitator
funding.
Contact Kim Blenkiron for more details, 0427 592 243
2 September—MSF Mildura Field Day at Crop sequencing site. Topics include:

Crop sequencing trial

Grain legume, brown manure demo

Vetch agronomy

Seed set control of brome in peas

Wheat NVT & paddock scale wheat trial

Feb sown winter wheat

Break crop comparison paddocks

Farmer success with break crops
4 September—MSF Karoonda Field Day at Peter & Hannah Loller’s property, Lowaldie. Free event with a BBQ lunch
Topics include:

Weed competition in barley

On row off row and implementing guidance technology

Tracing N in the system

Legume fixed N versus bagged N

Time of sowing effects on wheat yield and frost risk
For more info on MSF field days and events vist www.msfp.org.au
This edition of Mallee Matters proudly sponsored by
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Although PIRSA has taken all reasonable
care in compiling this publication neither
PIRSA nor its officers 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.
Page 8
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Mallee
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Mallee Matters is edited and compiled by
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E: [email protected]
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