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1 13/05/2014 ISSUE 25 UITGAWE 25 NUUSBRIEF / NEWSLETTER Inside this issue: Inhoud: CAWC 2013 video material Junie groentoer June green tour Nuus/News 2014 BLWK Simposium en expo Fertiliser Decisions 8 4 Hallo Almal Ons hoop en vertrou dat dit voor die wind gaan met die plantery en dat almal darem n bietjie reën ontvang het. In die geval van die Swartland is dit seker meer waar as in die Suid-Kaap. CA and water use efficiency Fotobeeld van dekgewas Website 18 Ledegeld 19 Die Riversdal wisselbou proef is al op en groei dat dit bars. Die skyfplanter het baie goed vertoon tydens die plant van die hawer dekgewas, soos julle sal sien in die nuusbrief. Please note the information on the 2nd annual conservation agriculture symposium inside this newsletter. It promises to be a highlight this year. Hope to see you all there. Groete van huis tot huis Johann Strauss Upcoming farmers days and events: Groentoer 11 Junie BLWK symposium 5 tot 7 Augustus SKOG Riversdal Boeredag 3 September

2 P a ge 2 Bewaringslandbou Wes-Kaap Konferensie 2013 Video materiaal nou beskikbaar Dit is lekker om uiteindelik die video materiaal wat in 2013 tydens die konferensie week opgeneem is, te kan vrystel. Jammer dat dit solank geneem het. Die praktiese besoeke en volledige konferensie dag is op n 32GB Flash drive beskikbaar. Die alternatief sou n stel van 11 DVD s gewees het, maar die Koste om dit so te doen was gelykstaande aan die van n flash drive. Die materiaal kos R250. Ons maak geen profit op die materiaal nie. Belangstellendes kan vir my n e-pos stuur by johannst@elsenburg.com. Ons sal dan n faktuur uitreik vir die betaling. Sodra die betaling ontvang is, asook n bewys van betaling, pos ons die materiaal aan u. Meld asb net in die e-pos aan wie die faktuur uitgemaak moet word, asook die pos adres waarheen die materiaal gestuur moet word. Conservation Agriculture Western Cape Conference 2013 Video materiaal now available It is really a happy occasion to introduce to you the video material taken during the 2013 conference week. Sorry it took such a long time. The practical visits' and the full conference day has been put on a 32GB flash drive. The alternative would have been DVD s, but the cost of writing the 11 DVD s was on par with the cost of the flash drive. The cost of the material is R250. No profit is made on the drive. If you would like to order the material send me an to johannst@elsenburg.com. We will then send you an invoice for the drive. As soon as payment has been made and a copy of the proof of payment reaches us, the drive will be sent to you. Please make sure to include in the to whom the invoice must be made out to, as well as the postal address.

3 P a ge 3 GROENTOER 11 Junie 2014 Tygerhoek Navorsingsplaas Ons nooi almal hartlik uit om die eerste groentoer van die jaar meemaak. te kom Die groentoer sal in die vorm van n walk-en-talk wees en beplan om deur die wisselbou en ander proewe te beweeg en te gesels oor probleme, suksesse en nuwe moontlikhede. Daar is ook n planter demonstrasie proef tussen n tandplanter en twee skyfplanters. Teken dit solank aan op jullle kalenders. Waar: Tygerhoek Navorsingsplaas, Riviersonderend Wanneer: 11 Junie 2014 Tyd: 09h30 vir 10h00 RSVP: Dr Johann Strauss by johannst@elsenburg.com of teen 6 Junie.

4 P a ge 4 BLWK Simposium en Expo tot 7 Augustus Durbanville Perderesiesbaan Simposium Internasionale Sprekers. Barry Fisher - Building a working conservation cropping system; focusing on soil health A 32-year veteran of NRCS and a native Indianan, is the State Soil Health Specialist for NRCS in that State. He provides agronomic training and assistance to NRCS field staff and represents NRCS in the Conservation Cropping System Initiative (CCSI) and the Midwest Cover Crop Council (MCCC). He strives to advance the technology of successfully integrating notill, cover crops, crop rotations, adaptive nutrient management and precision farming for higher soil health and function. Barry has served as a District Conservationist, Conservation Agronomist for West-Central Indiana, Conservation Tillage Coordinator for NRCS in Indiana and most recently as State Agronomist. He and his wife Michael own and operate a small never-till grain and grazed livestock farm in West- Central Indiana. He has a BS degree in Agronomy. Dr Rick Haney Soil testing in natures image - Using green chemistry to evaluate soil health webinar Grassland, Soil and Water Research Laboratory -M.S. Soil Fertility Ph.D. Soil Chemistry/Microbial Ecology 2001 Dr Kristine Nichols - The Biology of soil health webinar Kris Nichols has been a Soil Microbiologist with the USDA, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory (NGPRL) in Mandan, ND for over seven years. She was raised on a primarily corn-soybean conventional farm in southwestern Minnesota. Kris received Bachelor of Science degrees in Plant Biology and in Genetics and Cell Biology from the University of Minnesota in 1995, a Master s degree in Environmental Microbiology from West Virginia University in 1999, and a Ph.D. in Soil Science from the University of Maryland in Since 1993, she has studied arbuscular Mycorrhizal (AM) fungi a plant-root symbiont. Her most recent work involves the investigation of glomalin a substance produced by AM fungi. Glomalin contributes to nutrient cycling by protecting AM hyphae

5 P a ge 5 transporting nutrients from the soil to the plant and to soil structure and plant health by helping to form and stabilize soil aggregates. Kris has been examining the impacts of management such as crop rotation, tillage practices, organic production, cover crops, and livestock grazing on soil aggregation, water relationships, and glomalin at NGPRL. Nasionale Sprekers. Peter Greeff Die Wes-Kaap Perspektief Biodinamiese Landbou Assosiasie van SA - spreker Johann Strauss Feedback on the 6th World Conference on Conservation Agriculture in Winnipeg Kostes: Sluit middagete en verversings in en daar is spasie vir 300 mense op symposium dag R350/person vir symposium R250/person vir lede van BLWK Sluitingsdatum vir symposium: 30 Julie 2014 Laat slapers: R450/person tot en met die 4de Augustus Op die dag van symposium: R525/person Ingang is verniet by die EXPO Vir bespreking van u plek by die simposium moet die onderstaande stappe gevolg word: Vul besprekingsvorm in Faks of pos na Mev Gerty Mostert (Faks: , epos: gertym@elsenburg.com) Ontvang faktuur vir betaling Stur bewys van betaling terug Verskyn op die simposium lys.

6 P a ge 6 EXPO en praktiese toere 5 tot 7 Augustus 2014 Die expo sal aan verskaffers die geleentheid gee om hulle produkte ten toon te stel en daar is ook ruimte gemaak gedurende die eerste 2 dae in 3 sessies vir organisasies om die hoof kongres marque tent te huur vir produk voortstellings of onthale. Volledige hoë gehalte spyseniering is op die perseel beskikbaar. Daar sal x 20 m en x 10 buite uitstalruimte beskikbaar wees. Daar sal ook binne n marque tent 10 5 x 5 en 20 3 x 3 m stalletjies beskikbaar wees. Meer detail hieroor sal binnekort beskikbaar wees. Daar sal ook by die expo gedurende die eerste 2 dae n skype verbinding met die plaasbesoeke wees vir boere wat dit eerder op die manier wil meemaak. Daar sal ook n fasiliteit wees waar daar toepaslike videos vertoon sal word met n kundige persoon om vrae in die verband te beantwoord. Kosstalletjies en Kontant Ons bied ook die symposium aan in samewerking met die Biodanamic Agricultural Association of South Africa. Praktiese toere 5 Augustus Suid-Kaap ( 3 besoekpunte) 6 Augustus Swartland (3 besoekpunte) Kontakbesonderhede vir inligitng rondom simposium: Dr Johann Strauss (PhD Pr. Nat. Sci) Telefoon: (021) Sel: Fax: (021) johannst@elsenburg.com Kontakbesonderdede vir Expo vir huur van uitstalruimte ens: Willie Pretorius Soil Health Solutions Tel Mobile willie@soilhealthsolutions.com Website:

7 P a ge 7 Simposium besprekingsvorm Voorletters en Van: Instansie of person aan wie faktuur uitgemaak moet word: Kontak Besonderhede: Tel: Sel: Faks: Epos: Instruksies: Vir bespreking van u plek by die simposium moet die onderstaande stappe gevolg word: Vul besprekingsvorm in Faks of pos na Mev Gerty Mostert (Faks: , epos: gertym@elsenburg.com) Ontvang faktuur vir betaling Stur bewys van betaling terug Verskyn op die simposium lys.

8 P a ge 8 Making Better Fertiliser Decisions for Cropping Systems in Australia: an overview Snippet from article by Simon D. Speirs et al In , Australian grain crops were planted across 24 Mha (Fig. 1; production area for major crop species shown in Table 1), a 12% increase in crop production area compared with statistics (ABARES 2012). During 2011, Australia used 1099 kt of fertiliser nitrogen (N), 384 kt of phosphorus (P), and 149 kt of potassium (K) across all agricultural industries (ABARES 2012). This represented a 26% decrease in total P and K consumption, and a 6% increase in N consumption since There is evidence that the change in P and K fertiliser usage is mainly related to reduced application of superphosphate to pastures and a reduction in the area of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) where K fertiliser is used (C. Dowling, pers. comm.). However, in grain production systems there has also been a reduction in P use of ~15% (C. Walker, pers. comm.). This is expected to relate to often-sufficient soil P reserves (e.g. NLWRA 2001; Weaver and Wong 2011). No data were reported in ABARES (2012) for sulfur (S), which has traditionally been supplied to grain crops as a coconstituent of fertiliser P (superphosphate 8.8% P, 11% S) or N (ammonium sulfate 21%N, 24%S), or through gypsum (calcium sulfate 18% S) applications. Despite the importance of nutrients supplied through fertiliser, soil testing is a tool used in less than half of the fertiliser decisions made for grain production in Australia. Approximately soil samples are analysed for agricultural production and research annually by the eight largest commercial soil testing laboratories, representing >95% of all analyses conducted in Australia. Edwards et al. (2012) found that two-thirds of a surveyed group of 1300 grain producers (there are ~ grain-producing farms in Australia; ABS 2012) would routinely use soil testing. Of those routinely using soil testing, half to three-quarters undertook soil testing in a given field at least once every 3 years as per current recommendations (e.g. Weaver and Wong 2011), and half of the reported crop area managed by survey participants was informed by soil testing. This variable use of soil testing as part of fertiliser decisions broadly reflects the individual decision frameworks used by grain growers and their advisors. It also reflects different levels of confidence and competence among some members of these groups. This is specifically attributed to: (i) a limited understanding of nutrient requirements and contributory soil processes including soil sampling; (ii) poor producer and advisor confidence in the ability of analytical methods to adequately predict plant nutrient requirements; (iii) belief that analytical results vary between laboratories; and (iv) a view that collecting soil samples is time-consuming, expensive, and unprofitable. Irrespective of reasoning, choosing not to soil test on a regular or semi-regular basis (e.g. sampling for analysis once every 3 years) ignores an important and relatively inexpensive source of information that

9 P a ge 9 Fig. 1. The indicative region used for grain production in Australia. State boundaries are shown for New South Wales (NSW), Victoria (Vic.), Tasmania (Tas.), South Australia (SA), Queensland (Qld), Western Australia (WA) and Northern Territory (NT). Table 1. Production area for major grain crop species (ABARES 2012) Crop type Crop area ('000 ha) Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Barley (Hordeum vulgare) Canola (Brassica napus L.) Oats (Avena sativa) 895 Lupins (Lupinus angustifolius L.) 691 Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) 632 Chickpeas (Cicer arietinum) 327 Field peas (Pisum sativum) 249 The quality of soil test information depends on the application of an accurate soil testing procedure and use of a sound interpretation process (Fig. 2). Much of this process is driven by grain producers and advisors, who collect soil samples, interpret soil test results, and make fertiliser decisions for farm systems. Two challenges are outside the domain of the grain producer and/or advisor: laboratory analysis and proficiency, and the soil test crop response calibration data used to aid soil test interpretation.

10 P a ge 10 In Australia, soil and plant inter-laboratory proficiency programs are conducted by the Australasian Soil and Plant Analysis Council (ASPAC), who provide certification to laboratories for specified analytical methods. The use of an ASPAC-certified laboratory for specific methods is aimed at providing grain growers and their advisors with greater assurance about the reliability of analytical results. Guidelines for soil test interpretation for N, P, K, and S are provided by Peverill et al. (1999); they collated a record of the available soil test criteria for different crops and pastures in Soil Analysis: an interpretation manual. While an important resource, it does not allow distillation based on specific criteria and can be difficult to apply in the field. Since this publication, the ability to manage large datasets has progressed substantially. The first national collaborative effort to collate historical fertiliser trials was undertaken in a project named Making Better Fertiliser Decisions for Grazed Pastures in Australia (Gourley et al. 2007). This was followed with an investment by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) into two projects: Feasibility Study to a National Approach to the Collation of Fertiliser Response Trials ( ), and Making Better Fertiliser Decisions in WA Cropping Systems ( ). Both projects addressed the macronutrients N, P, K, and S as the major nutrients for Australian grain producers. Following the feasibility study, a collaborative national team of researchers and fertiliser industry representatives was engaged by the GRDC to undertake the project Making Better Fertiliser Decisions for Cropping Systems in Australia (BFDC). The combined datasets from BFDC and Making Better Fertiliser Decisions in WA Cropping Systems are reported in this overview paper. Objectives The two objectives of the BFDC project were to review current fertiliser response trials for the interpretation of N, P, K, and S soil tests, and to provide the grains industry with increased certainty and confidence by establishing a benchmark database for N, P, K, and S soil test interpretations. These objectives were met by: (i) collating all available and statistically valid N, P, K, and S crop response data for cereals, oilseeds, and pulses into a single BFDC National Database; (ii) developing a live online tool (the BFDC Interrogator) to provide fertiliser companies, agribusiness, consultants, and researchers with the capacity to derive critical soil test criteria; and (iii) delivery of a training package aimed at ensuring that users of the BFDC Interrogator possessed the knowledge and skills to develop and use critical soil test criteria. Collating historical soil test crop response experiments Soil test crop response calibration experiments have been conducted for N, P, K, and S fertiliser use, predominantly in wheat, by the grains and fertiliser industries since the late 1950s. There has also been substantial evolution of Australian farming systems during the last 30 years (e.g. increasing intensity of cropping, a reduced reliance on legume-based pastures, increased use of minimum or no-tillage, and the introduction of variablerate technology),

11 P a ge 11 and the relevance of historic data has been questioned. To address these challenges all available data needed to be collated to a single repository. Within these challenges, there has also been increasing recognition that (i) discrete datasets (and individual experiment reports) from experiments conducted years ago are difficult to access or no longer available (e.g. Taylor et al. 1974, 1978), (ii) the retirement of pivotal soil and plant nutrition scientists is leading to a loss of substantial knowledge and experience, and (iii) data storage and agricultural communication methods are changing through increased focus towards online approaches. In the current BFDC study, all soil test crop response data that could be unearthed were collated to the BFDC National Database (Watmuff et al. 2013). Calibration relationships The BFDC Interrogator (Watmuff et al. 2013), an interactive ( live ) online tool, was developed to enable researchers and advisors in the grains and fertiliser industries to derive soil test crop response calibration relationships based on experiments held in the BFDC National Database. Using the BFDC Interrogator, calibration criteria can be obtained for a specified nutrient (N, P, K, or S), based on selected data filters (e.g. crop type, grain yield, region, soil type, soil test method, and soil sampling depth), by establishing the relationship between percentage relative yield [%RY = (Y0/Ymax)100)] and soil test value for the selected nutrient of interest.

12 P a ge 12 Uptake by the grains and fertiliser industries The BFDC Interrogator was established to permit analysis of the soil test crop response trial data used for determining the best N, P, K, and S soil test interpretations to underpin fertiliser recommendations in Australia. The primary target audience for these products was key people in agribusiness and the fertiliser industry (particularly those companies with a DSS for deriving nutrient recommendations) as well as the research community. The BFDC Interrogator was not built as a DSS for grain producers per se. BFDC National Database a legacy The BFDC National Database represents a legacy that other agricultural fields could choose to replicate: many of the researchers who conducted much of the soil test crop response experimental work in Australia are now retired; many of the trial data, particularly for states other than Western Australia, were obtained between 1960 and 1990; few organisations, particularly government agencies, have maintained inventories of their soil test crop response experiments; and there is demand for greater accountability among those applying fertiliser nutrients (i.e. market accreditation programs and current government policies). Establishing the BFDC National Database of soil test crop response experiments is a major development for crop nutrition in Australia, particularly when coupled with the online BFDC Interrogator interface. Fertcare, the fertiliser industry s stewardship program, recognises the database as the national baseline standard to underpin soil test interpretation as part of the fertiliser recommendations made by agricultural advisors to Australian grain farmers.

13 P a ge 13 Using Conservation Agriculture to improve water use efficiency in wheat crops on the Branson farm in South Australia Branson M The 1200 ha Branson farm is located between Stockport and Giles Corner in the lower north of South Australia. Annual rainfall is 475mm which predominantly falls in the winter months; growing season rainfall (GSR) is 350mm which falls from April to October. As such, the farm is in the high rainfall zone for cropping in South Australia. The Bransons have been early adopters of new technology throughout the generations. The farm was an early adopter of superphosphate, the ley farming system, which included the growing of pasture legumes, and improved weed control with herbicides. When the present owner/manager and author took over the farm in 1990, grain legumes were introduced into the rotation and minimum tillage was adopted. In 1997, yield monitoring was introduced, and following the purchase of new sowing equipment, all crops have been sown with No-Till since In 2004 with the purchase of very accurate GPS equipment (RTK 2cm), Controlled Traffic (CT) was introduced to the farm with all major farm machinery being driven using autosteer technology. In 2005, the author won and completed a Nuffield Scholarship where he studied overseas for 18 weeks looking at Conservation and Precision Agriculture. In 2006 a handheld Greenseeker was purchased and used with Nitrogen Rich strips (Raun et al., 2002) to fine-tune Nitrogen (N) applications. Also in 2006, a full Precision Agriculture (PA) fertilising program was developed with all Phosphorus (P) based fertilisers being Variable Rate (VR) applied. In 2010, a set of CropSpec sensors were purchased which have enabled the introduction of VR N application. The Branson farm is now one of the leading farms in Australia in the adoption of new cropping technologies into the farming system. The author believes that improving soil health and structure holds the key to improving water use efficiency (WUE) which leads to improved farm profits and benefits the farm environment. He has designed his farming system by using worlds best farming practice to achieve this. This paper discusses the achievements made to date on the Branson farm in increasing the WUE of wheat crops through the adoption of new cropping technologies. Two periods are of particular interest in this paper. The first, from 1990 to 2001, was the period in which the farming system changed to include growing grain legumes and the introduction of N based fertilisers. The second, from 2002 to 2010, was the period in which new cropping

14 P a ge 14 technologies, including No-Till, CT and PA techniques, were introduced to the farming system. Materials and Methods From numerous benchmarking exercises, wheat yield has been identified as a key driver of farm profitability on the Branson farm. A way of mapping wheat yield gains over time is to use the actual yields achieved divided by the French and Schultz potential yield calculation (French and Schultz, 1984). The result reflects the percentage of potential wheat yield obtained given the actual growing season rainfall, the key driver to wheat yield in rainfed cropping systems. The French and Schultz potential yield calculation determines attainable wheat grain yield per unit of water use (i.e. 20kg grain/ha/mm). The calculation requires the GSR minus soil water evaporation (assumed by the model to be 110mm) to be multiplied by 20kg/ha. Here, GSR was calculated from the actual April to October rainfall plus half the rainfall in the months of March and November, and the value obtained by dividing the actual yield by the potential yield referred to as 'percent potential yield'. Five year rolling average yields and percent potential yields were calculated and trend lines fitted to the data using simple linear regression in MS Excel. Results and Discussion Percent potential yield on the Branson farm increased from 64% in 1990 to 91% in Over the same period, potential yield decreased from 5.1 to 4.85 t/ha due to a decline in GSR. The improvement in percent potential yield can therefore be attributed to improved WUE associated with changes to the farming system. Of note is the fact that the gains in WUE achieved on the Branson farm greatly exceed the small increase achieved in the district as a whole, which on average sits at 50 to 60% percent potential yield (Stephens, et al., 2011). No-Till has been adopted by the leading farmers in the district who are experiencing gains, but CT, PA and other new technologies are mostly not adopted. Over the years from 1990 to 2001, the farm rotation changed to include the cereal break crops of field peas and faba beans, and the oilseed crop of canola with the aim of reducing cereal root diseases such as CCN, Rhizoctonia, and Haydie. During the same period, N based fertilisers were introduced to improve crop nutrition, and stubble retention was enforced. Most of the leading farmers in the district adopted these farming system changes, some faster than others. Analysis of this period shows that the percent potential yield trend line from smoothed 5 year averages increased from 66% ( ) to 81% ( ). This is equivalent to a 1.1% annual increase in WUE. In the period from 2002 to the present, No-Till, application of additional animal manures, growing more high carbon crops and the continuation of stubble retention has led to an improvement in the soil structure. In addition, more effective nutrient cycling, especially of N, seems to be occurring with less N needing to be applied for the same outputs.

15 P a ge 15 Both these gains are consistent with results obtained overseas (Reicosky, 2005; Lafond et al., 2008) in which improvements in soil structure and nutrient cycling have been attributed to extra carbon being added to the soil using the above farming practices; CT has decreased soil compaction (Webb et al., 2004). Overall, the improvement in soil structure from the above farming system changes has led to more water and nutrients being available to the crop to grow and produce grain. Thus percent potential wheat yields have increased at a rate of 2% per year for the period to and now sit at 91%. This is equivalent to an annual increase in WUE of 0.9% following the adoption of new cropping technologies in the farming system if the gains in the first period are maintained, but could be more if they had slowed. It is concluded that the adoption of Conservation Agriculture and PA has led to increased wheat yields on the Branson farm well in excess of the district average. It has also led to an improvement in farm profits and the farming environment.

16 P a ge 16 FOTO beeld van dekgewas is Riversdal proef geplant met skyfplanter Desember 2013 Na plant Aril 2014

17 Na-opkoms Mei 2014 P a ge 17

18 P a ge 18 BLWK/CAWC Webtuiste Die webtuiste is so opgestel dat enige iemand wat registreer (geen koste verbonde) foto s en videos kan oplaai en selfs vrae kan vra oor probleme wat hulle ondervind en dat antwoorde gegee kan word deur medeprodusente en kundiges. Daar sal ook n databank van die vrae gehou word as daar in die toekoms weer so n vraag opduik. Ons beplan ook om deur die loop van die jaar videos te maak en beskikbaar te stel, waar kundiges oor spesifieke onderwerpe gesels. Ek wil almal uitnooi om deel te raak van n lewendige webtuiste wat spesifiek gebou is om ons bewaringslandbougemeenskap in die Wes-Kaap te ondersteun. Toekomstige nuusbriewe sal ook op die webtuiste beskikbaar wees. Van volgende jaar af sal die nuusbrief slegs kort grepe uit artikels bevat en datums deurgee van groen en bruintoere. Die volledige artikels sal op die webtuiste beskikbaar wees. Die webadres is as volg: Sien julle almal aanlyn.

19 P a ge 19 INLIGTING TEN OPSIGTE VAN DIE BEWARINGSLANDBOUVERENIGING SE LEDEGELD Ons ledetal het aansienlik gegroei gedurende die jaar en het ons die 50 merk verbygesteek. Ons sal in die komende jaar fakture uitstuur aan huidige lede en andere vir die hernuwing van ledegeld of nuwe lidmaatskap. Ledegeld beloop R200 per plaas, met n maksimum van 2 lede wat toegelaat word, vir elke 2 bykomende lidmaatskappe sal n verdere R200 betaalbaar wees. Hierdie reëling geld ook ten opsigte van ander instansies soos chemiese agente ens. Aangeheg is die kontak besonderhede van ons finansiële mense. Indien iemand wil aansluit kan hulle net n e-pos stuur aan Gerty Mostert en dan sal sy vir julle n faktuur stuur. Die ledegeld gaan vir die instandhouding van die webtuiste. Asook vir verversings gedurende bruin en groentoere gedurende die seisoen. Kontakbesonderhede: BLWK/CAWC Gerty Mostert (gertym@elsenburg.com) Verskaf asb in die e-pos die naam van die plaas of instansie en die person aan wie faktuur uitgemaak moet word.