Farming Systems: Beyond Production Technologies for Dairy RD&E

The challenge of Research, Development and Extension (R,D&E) is to apply agricultural science to serve the real needs of production systems. The ideal is to have community partnerships involving a variety of stakeholders with equal representation, and a sharing in the design of R, D&E actions. R,D&E policy in Australia is stressing the participation of industry in new projects. The Dairy Research and Development Corporation (DRDC) in Australia, and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation for Dairy (Embrapa Dairy), have developed initiatives to identify priorities for R,D&E design with participation of the industry. However, weaknesses in the methods have been identified. The present study describes the results of a strategy to involve a broader range of stakeholders in the identification of regional dairy industry needs. The findings show that overall communication, finance and marketing as the three major priorities of three study regions, meaning that primary needs for the industry are not in production technologies. This is an apparent contradiction with what some stakeholders considered valuable for dairy farms, which are pasture, genetics and nutrition technologies. The results reflect the large amount of research activity into production technology, and the relative success of R,D&E. However, it is necessary to consider issues beyond production technologies before developing R,D&E projects or presenting technologies.

Delivering Regional Extension in Qld Farming Systems - Central Queensland

The CQ Cotton Regional Extension project has been a key to the delivery of emerging, cutting edge research information and knowledge to the Central Queensland cotton industry. The direct relevance of southern research to cotton production under the conditions experienced in CQ always has been an issue which could be addressed through regional assessment and adaptation. The project links the national research to the region through development and extension, with a strong focus on the major industry production issues including but not limited to disease, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), soils, nutrition and integrated weed management. Susan Mass has supported the implementation of national industry-wide programs particularly the industry Best Management Practices program (myBMP). This project has successfully transitioned to a focus on delivering national outcomes in target lead areas as part of National Development and Delivery Team established by Cotton CRC, CRDC and Cotton Australia, while maintaining a regional extension presence for Central Queensland cotton & grain farming systems. Susan Mass has very effectively merged and integrated strong regional extension support to cotton growers in Central Queensland with delivery of industry extension priorities across the entire industry in the Development and Delivery Team model. Susan is the target lead for disease and farm hygiene. Recognising the challenges of having regionally relevant research in Central Queensland, this project has facilitated locally based research including boll rot, Bt cotton resistance management, and mealybug biology through strong collaborations. This collaborative approach has included linkage to Department of Environment and Resource Managmeent (DERM) groups and myBMP programs resulting in a high uptake in CQ.

Strategic tillage in no-till farming systems in Australia's northern grains-growing regions: I. Drivers and implementation

Development of no-tillage (NT) farming has revolutionized agricultural systems by allowing growers to manage greater areas of land with reduced energy, labour and machinery inputs to control erosion, improve soil health and reduce greenhouse gas emission. However, NT farming systems have resulted in a build-up of herbicide-resistant weeds, an increased incidence of soil- and stubble-borne diseases and enrichment of nutrients and carbon near the soil surface. Consequently, there is an increased interest in the use of an occasional tillage (termed strategic tillage, ST) to address such emerging constraints in otherwise-NT farming systems. Decisions around ST uses will depend upon the specific issues present on the individual field or farm, and profitability and effectiveness of available options for management. This paper explores some of the issues with the implementation of ST in NT farming systems. The impact of contrasting soil properties, the timing of the tillage and the prevailing climate exert a strong influence on the success of ST. Decisions around timing of tillage are very complex and depend on the interactions between soil water content and the purpose for which the ST is intended. The soil needs to be at the right water content before executing any tillage, while the objective of the ST will influence the frequency and type of tillage implement used. The use of ST in long-term NT systems will depend on factors associated with system costs and profitability, soil health and environmental impacts. For many farmers maintaining farm profitability is a priority, so economic considerations are likely to be a primary factor dictating adoption. However, impacts on soil health and environment, especially the risk of erosion and the loss of soil carbon, will also influence a grower's choice to adopt ST, as will the impact on soil moisture reserves in rainfed cropping systems. © 2015 Elsevier B.V.

A manual for improving fish production in Northern Zambia through integrated farming systems

This manual was written as part of the Integrated Research in Development for Improved Livelihoods Programme in Northern Province, Zambia (IRDLP) and is primarily intended for extension agents to use with smallholder farmers engaged in semi-intensive fish farming in Northern Zambia. The IRDLP is an Irish Aid-funded project implemented by WorldFish, Harvest Plus and the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). The goal of the IRDLP is to help improve the livelihoods, health status, and food and nutrition security of resource-poor households in the Mbala and Luwingu districts in Northern Zambia, especially women and vulnerable groups. This is achieved through generating and providing evidence-based information, scientific technologies and livelihood solutions to trigger community and farmer innovations for positive change. This manual provides information on how smallholder fish farmers can improve fish production in Northern Zambia, particularly in the Luwingu and Mbala districts, through integrated farming practices.

Grower group case study on new farming practices in the Herbert region, Australia

Growers working together have proven to be a successful method for improving the utilization of farm resources and accelerating the adoption of the Sugar Yield Decline Joint Venture principles (SYDJV). The Pinnacle Precision Farming Group was formed in 2004 with the aim to bring together the ideas, knowledge and resources of growers in the Herbert region. Along with their common interest in controlled traffic, minimal tillage and crop rotations, the grower group utilize a farm machinery contractor to provide some of their major farming operations. This paper provides an insight into the changes made by the Pinnacle Precision Farming Group and their journey to adopt the new farming system practices. This paper also details the changes made by the group machinery contractor and a comparison of the old and new farming systems used by a group member. A focus point of the document is the impact of the new farming system on the economic, social and environmental components of the farming business. Analysis of the new farming system with a legume crop rotation revealed an increase in the farm gross margin by AU$22 024 and, in addition, a reduction in tractor operation time by 38% across the whole farm. This represents a return on marginal capital of 14.68 times the original capital outlay required by the group member. Using the new farming system without a legume crop will still improve the group members whole of farm gross margin by AU$6 839 and reduce tractor operation time by 43% across the whole farm. The Pinnacle Precision Farming group recognize the need to continually improve their farming businesses and believe that the new farming system principles are critical for the long term viability of the industry. [U$1 = AU$1.19].

Developing sustainable banana production systems: a case study from tropical Australia

The north Queensland banana industry is under pressure from government and community expectations to exhibit good environmental stewardship. The industry is situated on the high-rainfall north Queensland coast adjacent to 2 natural icons, the Great Barrier Reef to the east and World Heritage-listed rain forest areas to the west. The main environmental concern is agricultural industry pollutants harming the Great Barrier Reef. In addition to environmental issues the banana industry also suffers financial pressure from declining margins and production loss from tropical cyclones. As part of a broader government strategy to reduce land-based pollutants affecting the Great Barrier Reef, the formation of a pilot banana producers group to address these environmental and economic pressures was facilitated. Using an integrated farming systems approach, we worked collaboratively with these producers to conduct an environmental risk assessment of their businesses and then to develop best management practices (BMP) to address environmental concerns. We also sought input from technical experts to provide increased rigour for the environmental risk assessment and BMP development. The producers' commercial experience ensured new ideas for improved sustainable practices were constantly assessed through their profit-driven 'filter' thus ensuring economic sustainability was also considered. Relying heavily on the producers' knowledge and experience meant the agreed sustainable practices were practical, relevant and financially feasible for the average-sized banana business in the region. Expert input and review also ensured that practices were technically sound. The pilot group producers then implemented and adapted selected key practices on their farms. High priority practices addressed by the producers group included optimizing nitrogen fertilizer management to reduce runoff water nitrification, developing practical ground cover management to reduce soil erosion and improving integrated pest management systems to reduce pesticide use. To facilitate wider banana industry understanding and adoption of the BMP's developed by the pilot group, we conducted field days at the farms of the pilot group members. Information generated by the pilot group has had wider application to Australian horticulture and the process has been subsequently used with the north Queensland sugar industry. Our experiences have shown that integrated farming systems methodologies are useful in addressing complex issues like environmental and economic sustainability. We have also found that individual horticulture businesses need on-going technical support for change to more sustainable practices. One-off interventions have little impact, as farm improvement is usually an on-going incremental process. A key lesson from this project has been the need to develop practical, farm scale economic tools to clarify and demonstrate the financial impact of alternative management practices. Demonstrating continued profitability is critical to encourage widespread industry adoption of environmentally sustainable practices

Improving management of summer weeds in dryland cropping systems with Cotton

In 2001 a scoping study (phase I) was commissioned to determine and prioritise the weed issues of cropping systems with dryland cotton. The main findings were that the weed flora was diverse, cropping systems complex, and weeds had a major financial and economical impact. Phase II 'Best weed management strategies for dryland cropping systems with cotton' focused on improved management of the key weeds, bladder ketmia, sowthistle, fleabane, barnyard grass and liverseed grass.In Phase III 'Improving management of summer weeds in dryland cropping systems with cotton', more information on the seed-bank dynamics of key weeds was gained in six pot and field studies. The studies found that these characteristics differed between species, and even climate in the case of bladder ketmia. Species such as sowthistle, fleabane and barnyard grass emerged predominately from the surface soil. Sweet summer grass was also in this category but also had a significant proportion emerging from 5 cm depth. Bladder ketmia in central Queensland emerged mainly from the top 2 cm, whereas in southern Queensland it emerged mainly from 5 cm. Liverseed grass had its highest emergence from 5 cm below the surface. In all cases the persistence of seed increased with increasing soil depth. Fleabane was also found to be sensitive to soil type with no seedlings emerging in the self-mulching black vertisol soil. A strategic tillage trial showed that burial of fleabane seed, using a disc or chisel plough, to a depth of greater than 2 cm can significantly reduce subsequent fleabane emergence. In contrast, tillage increased barnyard grass emergence and tended to decrease persistence. This research showed that weed management plans can not be blanketed across all weed species, rather they need to be targeted for each main weed species.This project has also resulted in an increased knowledge of how to manage fleabane from the eight experiments; one in wheat, two in sorghum, one in cotton and three in fallow on double knock. For summer crops, the best option is to apply a highly effective fallow treatment prior to sowing the crops. For winter crops, the strategy is the integration of competitive crops, residual herbicide followed by a knockdown to control survivors. This project explored further the usefulness of the double knock tactic for weed control and preventing seed set. Two field and one pot experiments have shown that this tactic was highly effective for fleabane control. Paraquat products provided good control when followed by glyphosate. When 2, 4-D was added in a tank mix with glyphosate and followed by paraquat products, 99-100% control was achieved in all cases. The ideal follow-up times for paraquat products after glyphosate were 5-7 days. The preferred follow-up times for 2, 4-D after glyphosate were on the same day and one day later. The pot trial, which compared a population from a cropping field with previous glyphosate exposure and a population from a non-cropping area with no previous glyphosate herbicide exposure, showed that the pervious herbicide exposure affected the response of fleabane to herbicidal control measures. The web-based brochure on managing fleabane has been updated.Knowledge on management of summer grasses and safe use of residual herbicides was derived from eight field and pot experiments. Residual grass and broadleaf weed control was excellent with atrazine pre-plant and at-planting treatments, provided rain was received within a short interval after application. Highly effective fallow treatments (cultivation and double knock), not only gave excellent grass control in the fallow, also gave very good control in the following cotton. In the five re-cropping experiments, there were no adverse impacts on cotton from atrazine, metolachlor, metsulfuron and chlorsulfuron residues following use in previous sorghum, wheat and fallows. However, imazapic residues did reduce cotton growth.The development of strategies to reduce the heavy reliance on glyphosate in our cropping systems, and therefore minimise the risk of glyphosate resistance development, was a key factor in the research undertaken. This work included identifying suitable tactics for summer grass control, such as double knock with glyphosate followed by paraquat and tillage. Research on fleabane also concentrated on minimising emergence through tillage, and applying the double knock tactic. Our studies have shown that these strategies can be used to prevent seed set with the goal of driving down the seed bank. Utilisation of the strategies will also reduce the reliance on glyphosate, and therefore reduce the risk of glyphosate resistance developing in our cropping systems.Information from this research, including ecological and management data were collected from an additional eight paddock monitoring sites, was also incorporated into the Weeds CRC seed bank model "Weed Seed Wizard", which will be able to predict the impact of different management options on weed populations in cotton and grain farming systems. Extensive communication activities were undertaken throughout this project to ensure adoption of the new strategies for improved weed management and reduced risk for glyphosate resistance.