Presentation by Mark Branson 2004 Nuffield Scholar Using Precision and Conservation Agriculture to Improve Farm Profits and the Environment.
Sponsored By:
My Family Farm Area: 1000 ha Lower North of South Australia Rainfall: 425mm to 500mm
Crops Grown (80%) - Durum and Bread Wheat - Malting Barley - Canola - Faba Beans - Field Peas
Sheep Clover Pastures (20%) Self Replacing Merino Flock And a Prime Lamb Flock
Undulating Land
My Farming System
Precision Agriculture 6204200 Northing (metres) 6204000 6203800 CANOLA YIELD 2002 6203600 288000 288200 288400 288600 Easting (metres) 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 Canola Yield (t/ha)
No-Till
Controlled Traffic
Autosteer - RTK 2cm Guidance
An association focusing on improving agricultural technologies
Study topic Precision Agriculture High Input Farming Conservation Agriculture No-Till Controlled Traffic
What Did I Learn?
What Did I Learn? 1. Agricultural land is variable
What Did I Learn? 1. Agricultural land is variable 2. Environmental issues caused by agriculture needs addressing.
Pollution of waterways from leaching of nutrients A major problem in Europe and USA
Water Erosion Saskatchewan, Canada
Soil Erosion Redistribution of soil within the landscape by: wind water tillage Rolling terrain with Eroded Landscape A horizon B (AC) horizon C horizon Accumulated Soil Original Surface } A B C
Erosion From Hill Tops - Canada
Tillage Translocation or Tillage Erosion = Soil Degradation!
What Did I Learn? 1. Agricultural land is variable 2. Environmental issues caused by agriculture needs addressing. 3. We need to become farmers of carbon.
Jim Halford s No-Till Trial in Canada 25 years No-Till 4 years No-Till
Jim Halford s No-Till Trial in Canada
Jim Halford s No-Till Trial Nitrogen Rate Yield Protein (kg/ha) LT ST LT ST 0 30 60 90 120 42.6 26.2 13.3 10.9 44.8 32.9 13.7 11 49.1 40.2 14 11.6 51.5 47.9 14.2 12.3 49.8 47.7 14.4 13.1 LT = 22 years no-till ST = 1 year no-till
Intensive Tillage destroys the biological and ecological integrity of the soil system. Before Primary Tillage After Primary Tillage After Secondary Tillage
** Soil Biology Team ** The living soil Earthworms, insects and rodents are the most visible components of the living soil team. They work in tandem either soil microorganisms and fungi to contribute to aeration and nutrient cycling as part of a soil factory team effort.
Many environmental benefits point to carbon! -increased water holding capacity and use efficiency -reduced soil erosion -improved infiltration, less runoff -decreased soil compaction - improved soil tilth and structure C -reduced fertilizer inputs -increased nutrient cycling and storage -increased adsorption of pesticides - increased capacity to handle manure and other wastes
Solution No-Till, Growing High Carbon Crops, and Stubble Retention
What Did I Learn? 1. Agricultural land is variable 2. Environmental issues caused by agriculture needs addressing. 3. We need to become farmers of carbon. 4. We need to remove compaction from our soils
Compaction Decreases yield by 5 to 15% depending on soil type Decreases water infiltration. Decreases nutrient uptake by the roots. Decreases water uptake by the roots. Decreased carbon cycling in the soil Increases soil erosion. Increases the chance for nutrient loss from the land. Increases the chance of waterlogging.
Compaction - Solution Controlled Traffic
What Did I Learn? 1. Agricultural land is variable 2. Environmental issues caused by agriculture needs addressing. 3. We need to become farmers of carbon. 4. We need to remove compaction from our soils. 5. Precision Agriculture is a reality.
Nutrient Budgeting Europe, USA farmers are being forced to do them. Canada and NZ farmers are volunteering to do them Matching supply of nutrients to the Potential Yield Involves working out what is coming out of the soil and topping up with fertilizers.
Nutrient Budgeting Phosphorus
Nutrient Budgeting Phosphorus if adequate, place in the soil at replacement rates derived from the previous years yield maps. 6204200 Northing (metres) 6204000 6203800 6203600 CANOLA YIELD 2002 288000 288200 288400 288600 Easting (metres) 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 Canola Yield (t/ha)
Nutrient Budgeting Nitrogen
Nutrient Budgeting Nitrogen Use management zones to determine yield expectations within the paddock, and in season sensors to variable rate according to how the canopy is looking at the time of application. 6204200 Northing (metres) 6204000 6203800 MANAGEMENT CLASSES 6203600 288000 288200 288400 288600 Easting (metres) 1 2 3 Potential Management Classes
Nutrient Budgeting Management Zones areas in the paddock that are different. Australia is a world leader in this work. 6204200 Northing (metres) 6204000 6203800 MANAGEMENT CLASSES 6203600 288000 288200 288400 288600 Easting (metres) 1 2 3 Potential Management Classes
Nutrient Budgeting Nitrogen Budgeting Major problem in working out how much is coming from the soil through mineralization.
Canopy Management Yield gains are real Delay Nitrogen inputs until the crop needs it. We need to learn how to save our water for grain fill, not grow plant structures
This crop is a 10T/Ha + crop from England. Why do we produce more biomass than this for a 4T/ha crop?
Balancing the Supply of Nitrogen to Available Moisture The ideal solution is to post apply N, when you know plant health and moisture availability.
Nutrient Budgeting
Precision Agriculture - Remote Sensing You can see a lot from the sky!
Nitrogen Sensors Satelite EADS Astrium s Farmstar from France
Farmstar Product Concept Satellite Image Remote sensing Technique Leaf Area Index & Chlorophyll Content Agronomic Models Plant Population Biomass Nitrogen Status Recommendations & Information Map Tillers Tillers Density Density Map Map Lodging Lodging Risk Risk Map Map Nitrogen Nitrogen Application Application Map Map A powerful combination of remote sensing and agronomy
2004 Wheat Package in Europe LAI LAI LAI
Nitrogen Sensors Aerial Imagery NVDI,
Nitrogen Sensors Yarra N-Sensor meeting the N demand on every part of the field
Nitrogen Sensors RT200 Variable Rate Application and Mapping System- Wheat Greenseeker
Nitrogen Sensors Crop Circle New Technology - Chl Fluorescence Sensor Crop Circle ACS-310
Other Precision Ag. Sensors On the go ph sensors for liming Verris Australian Centre for Precision Ag. On the go protein sensor for N budgeting. Zeltex AccuHarvest sensor. Electronic Conductivity sensors for measuring root zone soil mapping. Soil texture maps for variable rate sowing. EM38 Verris GEOCARTA
The Economics Zonal Management up to A$50/ha Farmstar UK A$55/ha in GM 1/3 rd reduction in leached Nitrogen Farmstar France A$50/ha to A$100/ha Yarra N-Sensor, UK A 3% increase in GM Yarra N-Sensor, S.A. A 3% increase in Yield
Discussion Australia, are we going to sit on our hands and let the environmental movement dictate terms, or are we going to get on the front foot and adopt new technologies for extra profit and to help the environment?
Recommendations to the grains industry Congratulations Australia, we are world leaders in most aspects of Precision Agriculture. BUT!!! We need more work done on working out the mineralization rate of our soils We need more work done on evaluating and developing algorithms on the new N sensors for the Australian conditions.
Thanks to GRDC Nuffield Australia My wife Nola My Parents Nuffield Scholars Worldwide The 2004 Australian Nuffield Scholars All the people who I visited for giving me the time of my life.
Cheers
Australian Nuffield Farming Scholarships A World Experience Scholarships exclusively for Australian primary producers The mission of the Australian Nuffield Farming Scholars Association is to promote excellence in all aspects of Australian agricultural production, distribution and management through the adoption of local and international best practice and continuous development of a unique network of industry leaders and innovators
Further information Phone: 61 2 6964 6600 Fax: 61 2 6964 1605 Email: enquiries@nuffield.com.au Further details on Nuffield may be downloaded from the Nuffield website: www.nuffield.com.au