Project Updates
Green Hydrogen for SA Grain Growers
The implications of Green Hydrogen for SA Grain Growers is a project delivered by the South Australian No Till Farmers Association with support from the South Australian Grains Industry Trust.
Fact Sheets for Green Hydrogen & Low Emissions Fertiliser
Interest in Intercropping
A summary of intercrop monitoring 2021
Dr Penny Roberts SARDO Clare Agronomy
Key Points:
- The paddock monitoring point data indicates intercropping did not impact on grain production per ha compared to monoculture.
- The intercropping demonstrations were all successfully sown, managed, and harvested with the farmers current machinery.
- Preliminary soil monitoring established an initial benchmark for both soil pathogens and beneficials. To understand the systems benefits of intercropping further sampling and ongoing work is required.
[Read full report….SANTFA_IntercroppingReport_2021]
Limiting insecticide disruption to on farm ecosystem services
Prepared by Dr Michael Nash on behalf of the South Australian No Till Farming Association
Why do we need less disruptive insecticides?
Central to Integrated Pest Management (IPM), as practised in Australian broadacre farming, is monitoring that underpins biological, cultural and chemical control of invertebrate communities.
These communities comprise of beneficial species that provide services such as pollination, increasing soil porosity and pest control (natural enemies). However, some invertebrates threaten crop production, which are referred to as pests. [read full report…2023 Limiting Insecticide Disruption]
Developing a Water-Jet System for Wide Row Grains
G. Butler, SA No-Till Farmers Association
Garry Ronnfeldt farms near Dalby, Queensland and he is a serial innovator that believes water-jet technology has a real future as a sustainable farming tool.
‘When I first saw the water-jet being used as a coulter, I believed it was going to be fantastic tool for maximising residue retention to enhance our soils”, Garry explained.
To further assess the application, the SA No-Till Farmers Association’s demo water-jet unit was used on the farm at Dalby to cut residues with a variety of nozzles sizes and at different groundspeeds. [read more..Full Report]
The future adoption of water-jet technology in sustainable farming systems.
G. Butler, SA No-Till Farmers Association
In this project, the ADOPT tool was applied to ultra-high-pressure water-jet applications in sugarcane, cotton and grains.
Activity Report: Controlling Tree Weeds with Ultra-High-Pressure Herbicide Injection
G. Butler. R&D Manager, SA No-Till Farmers Association.
Aim: This activity investigates whether the stem injection of herbicide under Ultra-High-Pressure (UHP) ca be used to control invasive tree weeds without damaging native plants in close proximity.
Supporting early-stage adoption of ultra-high-pressure water-jet technology is a project delivered by the SA No-Till Farmers Association with funding support from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.
Project: Supressing Ember Attack
Retaining stubble is one of the most important components of a sustainable farming system however, stubble is also a fire risk in southern Australia over the summer.
The aim of this project was to gauge the impact that pre-emptive flame-retardants with residue efficacy display against ember attack on retained crop stubble.
This project was delivered by SANTFA with funding support from the Australian Government National Landcare Program.
To read the full article click here
There was a clear difference in the intensity and transmission rate of the fire follow in the ember attack that correlated strongly to the applied rate of flame retardants.
Image below: The difference in the fire transmission rate between the best performing treatments and the Nil treatments was easy to see. (Nil top, Best below).
click on the red arrow to view you tube video length 2:38 minutes
Project: Landcare AquaTill
Sustainable soil management for Australian cotton growers by scaling up new Water Jet technology.
A project delivered by SANTFA and funded by the Australian Governments National Landcare Program.
This video demonstrates how the water-jet technology to terminate cotton ratoon at the end of the season, now known as AquaTill Jetacide, can be scaled up for farm adoption.
Click to view or download update
video length 0:4:12 Click here to download high res version of 3.5GB