WORDS SUPPLIED BY HEATHER CHALMERS, FAR, IMAGES BY OWEN GIBSON, FAR
Land there is being used for something a bit different from the usual small plot arable research trials that the site is known for.
Instead, it is being utilised for a longer-term project which aims to replicate an arable farming system, with a view to the future.
Known as Future Farming Systems, the project is comparing best practice conventional arable farming side-by-side with alternative future- focused techniques.
It is the first project of its type to be run by FAR and an opportunity for growers to evaluate practices such as direct drilling into a green crop and alternative crop protection.
The trial is behind the hedge at Chertsey, with the 2.1 hectare site split into two areas, both 36m wide and 200m long with an irrigator run through the centre.
The management of the two blocks is being decided by an advisory group of Canterbury growers, with technical support from FAR staff and agronomists.
FAR researcher Owen Gibson says that the seven-year project will be a demonstration site and conversation starter for growers, showcasing some exciting new techniques and technologies as it progresses. Being long-term, it is able to encompass a full arable rotation.
“In arable farming systems crops are not grown in isolation, but are part of a wider rotation which often includes livestock. A crop and how it is managed can have an impact on a following crop and this project will evaluate this.
“I would like to see how new technology can help farmers grow crops more efficiently with less inputs, while maintaining yield. We would like to see how far some current technology can help address issues such as herbicide resistance already seen on many New Zealand arable farms.”
Improved soil health is an important key outcome on both blocks as well as gross margin, Owen says.
“It may take a few years for the differences to come through which is why it is a long-term project.”
However, some interesting variances between the two systems have already shown up.
From mid to at least late October, average soil moisture readings on the future-focused block were about 10 per cent (5mm) higher than on the conventional block, showing one of the advantages of a cover crop.
The project started earlier this year, with the whole area sown in greenfeed oats in April to catch any residual nitrogen over winter. While this was followed by process peas as a summer crop on both blocks, the management of each has been quite different.
The conventional system was strip grazed by R1 beef cattle for seven days then terminated with glyphosate on 31 August. The area was then ploughed, disced, and drilled with process peas on 4 September for nearby Talleys.
In the future farm system, the oats were left in situ; heavy rolled then planted (also in peas) with a Cross Slot no tillage drill.
Both blocks received starter fertiliser, however the future system also received 200 g/ha of Trichostart™, a seed treatment with selected strains of endophytic Trichoderma to protect the crop at planting.
The conventional system received a pre-emerge herbicide, but the future system went without, instead relying on the oat crop residue to reduce weed pressure. A decision on whether herbicide will be used at all on the future-focused block depended on the amount and type of weeds present by early November.
The process peas are expected to be harvested in mid to late December.
As process peas are a short-term crop, a restorative cover crop may be used before an autumn or spring-sown wheat, with the advisory group still considering different options.
Technical support is coming from agronomist Roger Lasham and Tim Brooker of Yara for fertiliser and nutrition as well as FAR’s technology manager Chris Smith.
Both systems will be documented, with all plans and operations recorded and compared throughout each season.
Financial costs (costs of production and gross margins), environmental effects, impact on soil structure and crop development will be assessed as part of the project and FAR will record all operations and inputs in ProductionWise®.
Before the project started the block was grid soil sampled and soil moisture probes have been installed.
The project will use technology such as N Sensor for nutrient management, while satellite imagery will be used for biomass readings of crops. Variable rate spraying, individual nozzle control and variable rate seeding may also be used as part of the project.
While the technology will be used on both sides for data collection, it will only be used for decision making on the future farming side.
Chris Smith says that while some technology is out of reach for many small businesses, there is still the need to test technology that may come available over time to show if it works or can increase profitability.