Project Overview

Crop intensive farms are running down soil carbon levels and require ever increasing inputs to maintain or increase yields without necessarily improving profitability. They are increasingly reliant nitrogen fertiliser; are leading to chemical resistance; and are causing water tables to rise due to inefficient water use, especially over summer. Herbicides use over the summer fallow period in pursuit zero-tolerance weed control is causing issues with weed resistance and herbicide carry-over. This is compounded by impact of changes in climate causing increased incidence of summer rainfall and warmer growing conditions.

New technologies have enabled farmers to develop more intensive farming systems and adapt to changes in climate. This has provided the farming sector with a steady increase in productively over a long period, however this growth is slowing. Modern farming systems are input hungry, high risk and often degrade the soil resource. A transformational change in farming systems is required to protect and rebuild soil fertility, improve profitability and adapt to ongoing changes in climatic conditions.

This project will deliver strategies to promote the use of multi species cover crops – diverse crops grown often outside the main growing season to build fertile and resilient soils, and sustainable and profitable farming systems. Suitable cover crops will be investigated and tested in a range of environments across south eastern Australia. The impacts of cover cropping on soil health, nutrient cycling and stratification, organic carbon and fractions, soil moisture will be measured and the economic benefits to following crops quantified.

Project Outcomes

To develop suitable cover crops to:

  • Improved soil fertility across south eastern Australia for improved farm resilience and profitability;
  • Efficient knowledge transfer to growers facilitating optimum cover crop choice suited to their farming system and environment;
  • Improved nutrient cycling and reduced fertiliser and chemical inputs through integration of livestock into the farming system and the use of novel termination methods.

The project has four components:

Farm Paddock Demonstration Trials

Cover cropping will be examined on 20 farms across south eastern Australia. On each farm, a replicated demonstration trial will be established from summer late 2018 and will be monitored until harvest in summer late 2021, providing up to 3 years of data. Paddock will be sown with multiple species cover crop (Treatment 1), and will serve as a demonstration paddock. Replicated areas within in the paddock will have two further treatments as follows:

  • Treatment 2: No soil disturbance, no seed added (i.e. business as usual summer fallow)
  • Treatment 3: Single cover crop species sown

Scientific support from the CSIRO will focus on measurements of nutrient cycling and stratification; soil organic matter and fractions; microbial biomass size and activity; soil physical parameters (bulk density, moisture content, qualitative water holding capacity); analysis of C and N in cover crop; biomass cuts and grain samples. Assessment of invertebrate communities will occur at 5 representative sites to assess benefits from increased crop diversity. The provision of increased crop diversity needs to be monitored to link the perceived benefits to both economic and environmental outcomes.

Cover Crop Demonstration Trail Sites

Co-operator Location Lead Organisation
Simon Patterson Medlingie Hill Road, Streaky Bay, SA SANTFA
Neville Dolphin Dolphin Road, Port Kenny, SA SANTFA
Garath Scholz Kwsterski Road, Minnipa, SA SANTFA
Bruce Morgan Flinders Highway, Coulta, SA LEADA
Jamie Phillis East Dog Fence Road, Ungarra, SA LEADA
Scott Clarke Belalie East Road, Belalie East, SA SANTFA
Jason Berends New Honiton Road, Honiton, SA SANTFA
Tom Robinson Hoyleton Rd, Hoyleton, SA SANTFA
Callum March Wedding road, Balaklava, SA SANTFA
Allen Buckly Maggea Road, Waikerie, SA SAMDB
Brad Moyle Gurrai Road, Parilla, SA SAMDB
Kelvin Candy Ephriam Road, Langhorne Creek, SA SAMDB
Ted Langley Langley Road, Pine Hill, SA MFMG
Travis Bell Springs Rd, Hundred of Menzies, KI Ag KI
Will & Jenny Stanton Stokes Bay Rd, Hundred of Cassini, KI Ag KI
Neil Vallance Lake Bolac, Victoria SFS
AG Morrison Cressy, Tasmania SFS
Rowan Vallance Toongabbie, Victoria SFS
Jaeschke Partners Sherwood, SA MFMG
Matt Nottle Booleroo Centre, SA UNFS

 

Cover Crop Species Evaluation Field Trials

Trails will be established to assess suitability of new and emerging summer and winter active plant species/varieties that most suited to different environments across the region.

 

Cover Crop Species Evaluation Trial Sites

Co-operator Location Lead Organisation
Will & Jenny Stanton Stokes Bay Rd, Hundred of Cassini, KI Ag KI
AG Morrison Cressy, Tasmania SFS
Rowan Vallance Toongabbie, Victoria SFS
SA MFMG
Minnipa Ag Centre Minnipa, SA EPARF / SARDI

 

Cover Crop Termination Trials

Trail will be established to determine the most effective strategies and timings to terminate a cover crop for achieving the optimum benefits for subsequent crops and soil health.

Cover Crop Termination Trial Site

Co-operator Location Lead Organisation
Scott Clarke Belalie East Road, Belalie East, SA SANTFA
Tom Robinson Hoyleton Rd, Hoyleton, SA SANTFA
Ted Langley Langley Road, Pine Hill, SA MFMG
Will & Jenny Stanton Stokes Bay Rd, Hundred of Cassini, KI Ag KI
AG Morrison Cressy, Tasmania SFS
Rowan Vallance Toongabbie, Victoria SFS
Brad Moyle Gurrai Road, Parilla, SA MSF
Garath Scholz Kwsterski Road, Minnipa, SA SANTFA
Matt Nottle Booleroo Centre, SA UNFS

 

Extension and Communications

Extension activities will be held at each of the demonstration sites over the course of the project and will be included in other grower group events. Project updates will be provided on this web site, hosted by the CSIRO. Communication products to be produced by SANTFA will include case studies; web site and social media activity; production of instructional videos; and case studies on Podcasts.

How this project will influence growers and what will success look like: