Business Management & Agronomy
AGRONOMY
Independence, evidence based science and experience underpin our service. Detailed agronomic planning and an in-depth knowledge of what drives farm profit means improved profitability for our clients.
Our services is delivered with a big picture view. Care is taken to understand clients goals to ensure that advice and training are correctly targeted. Select the categories below for further details.
AN AGRONOMY SERVICE FOR YOUR FARM COULD BE AS FOLLOWS:
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Initial inspection – Discuss goals, DSEs and KPIs, inspect soils, crops, pastures and weeds
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Mapping – Paddocks (Ha & arable Ha), roads, weeds, water, etc
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Soil testing: Preparation of lime / fertiliser programs
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Develop annual programs for weed / pest control, cropping, pasture improvement
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Arrange contractors and liaise with farm owner / manager
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Ongoing supervision and reporting on annual program, feed budgeting and grazing management
INDEPENDENCE & INTEGRITY
Soil testing is encouraged to allow nutrient deficiencies to be addressed. For the macro nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur and potassium, nutrient levels should be raised into target ranges through fertiliser application. Other critical imbalances such as a lack of calcium can result in increased acidity or in some situations may show as salinity (high salt levels) or sodicity (high sodium). Plant tissue testing can also be done to verify nutrient levels that are actually in excess or lacking within the plants.
AGRIStrategies offer a wide range of soil, water and plant tissue testing services. Soil test results must guide decisions on products, rates, timing, etc, to get the best results for the least investment. Plant tissue tests can be used to allow fine tuning of fertiliser decisions as they ultimately show what nutrients plants are taking up.
Pasture improvement (Re-sowing):
The re-sowing of degraded perennial grass / clover based pastures us usually very profitable. Best practice involves one or consecutive two crops (Yr 1 & Yr 2), to allow weed seed banks to be depleted before pasture sowing in Yr2 or 3. Pasture re-sowing can easily quadruple carrying capacity and double pasture quality, with the benefits lasting for decades. Success requires good planning and execution and no step should be missed. Pasture establishment failures can be very costly and can cause significant delays in reaching carrying capacity targets.
Often, perennial grass / clover pastures need to be re-sown on a 15 - 20 year cycle on the less productive soils found on most farms on the Tablelands of southern NSW. Some better quality soils such as alluvial or deep basalt soils on can retain pastures for 50 years or more, but these soils are scarce.
Re-sowing pastures on a 15 - 20 year cycle is a big investment but the number of livestock run (DSEs / Ha) is the key profit driver on grazing farms. Some farmers buy more land to be able to carry a greater number of livestock. That means more debt which in many cases reduces the farmer's ability to borrow the funds to improve their present degraded pastures, as re-sowing costs much less than buying land. It makes better sense for those farmers to re-sow their degraded pastures first and stock them appropriately to generate the extra funds needed to purchase that extra land. So, owning more land does not necessarily equate to increased wealth. It is the livestock that the land carries or the crops grown on it that creates wealth over the long term.
Cropping:
Most productive grazing farms can have a certain percentage of the total pasture area under crops annually in preparation for pasture re-sowing. Generally on the NSW Tablelands up to 10 - 15% of a typical grazing farm could be cropped. If planned and managed well those crops can dramatically improve whole farm carrying capacity and profitability. They also reduce drought risks. Dual purpose winter cereals and canola are ideal to fill the winter feed gap. In the best cropping paddocks canola can be grown which can be very profitable if both grazed and harvested for grain.
Forage brassica crops can provide outstanding summer/autumn feed for sheep. Italian ryegrass may be grown for either high quality grazing or fodder conservation. Cleaning problem weeds out of paddocks before sowing perennial grass based pastures is an additional benefit of a well managed cropping phase.
Grazing from these crops can fill feed gaps and dramatically change the farm feedbase (quantity, quality and timing of feed produced). The ability to fatten young stock on crops through autumn, winter and spring can significantly lift whole farm profitability. In seasons when rainfall is limited, financial returns from well managed dual purpose crops on suitable land can be many times what would be possible from grazing of the existing pastures. Returns from hay or grain harvested can make up a large proportion of that extra income. Alternatively, poorly planned and executed cropping programs will generally lose money. Getting it right usually means profitable cropping as well as clean paddocks for re-sowing new pastures, leading to a more profitable farm going forward.
Weed and pest control:
Perennial weeds such as serrated tussock, fireweed, blackberry, Chilean needle grass or African lovegrass can lead to dramatically reduced carrying capacity as well as land values. Many farmers also struggle with annual weeds such as thistles, Paterson’s curse, barley grass and silvergrass. If they can’t be eradicated, such weeds need to be managed so that their impact is minimized. Pests such as slugs, Red Legged Earth Mites ( RLEM) and aphids can decimate crops or pastures if not controlled in a timely manner.
In many cases however the basic principles of weed and pest control are not well understood. A critical success factor in weed & pest control is starting early to prevent large numbers accumulating. Other success factors include ensuring strong pasture competition for the pests and weeds, as well as correct timing of controls. It is important to fertilize pastures adequately and prevent overgrazing to keep them healthy and vigorous, so that they resist infestations of pests and weeds.
Grazing management:
There is an old saying, “Grass grows grass”. Green leaves of plants intercept sunlight allowing energy to be produced to allow the plant to grow. However, plants that have been overgrazed intercept less sunlight as they have reduced leaf area. Continuous grazing allows animals to continually target the most nutritious plants and literally graze them to death. When plants are grazed hard they respond by shedding roots, a survival tactic to reduce energy use; so continually overgrazed plants will develop small root systems and grow fewer leaves. Poor grazing management reduces farm carrying capacity, pasture persistence and financial returns from pasture investment.
Rotational grazing practices can prevent overgrazing by allowing feed to accumulate adequately before grazing. Feed budgeting is the process of measuring feed on offer (FOO) against feed demand from livestock is key to improved livestock and pasture outcomes.
