This project is being managed by Murrumbidgee Landcare Inc. with funding from the Woolworths Sustainable Farms Drought Program, in partnership with Industry & Investment NSW (formerly Department of Primary Industries). The aim is to compare a range of stubble management practices for their benefits in conserving soil moisture, providing a protective soil cover and improving crop productivity.
The aims are:
- To compare different farming systems using different seeding and tillage methods
- To evaluate the effects of stubble grazing (mixed farming) on soil and crop parameters
- To investigate the effects of stubble retention and management on soil parameters.
Demonstration sites were set up in 2008 on four case study farms across four Landcare districts in the South West Slopes cropping region.
Click on a map location to be taken to its site page
A range of typical farming systems were selected:
- Harden - 5 paddocks 16 treatments
- Henty - 3 paddocks, 9 treatments
- Junee Reefs - 4 paddocks, 19 treatments
- Mirrool Creek - 4 paddocks,13 treatments
Farming systems include No Till and Minimum Till, Livestock/Cropping and Cropping only.
Seeding Systems include Tine Seeders, Disc Seeders and Modified Combines.
In each paddock, a range of different Stubble Treatments have compared typical farm practice with other treatments that each Landcare group
selected.
These included:
- High and low cut at harvest
- Mulching
- Incorporated with nutrients/stubble breakdown products
- Burnt and unburnt stubble
- Stubble baled,and
- Grazed and Ungrazed
All management decisions were made by the farmer.
Measurements included:
- Stubble load (in and out of the header trail)
- Soil moisture (60 cm core)
- Stubble height and ground cover
- Bulk density of soil at trial site
- Soil nutrient testing at different depths (15, 30, 45 & 60 cm)
- Plant Counts
Monitoring these paddock demonstrations gives an indication of the best stubble management practices that can be adapted to the different areas and
to the farming systems used. Information from this project will allow farmers to fine-tune their cropping systems to make better use of their stubbles.
Outcomes to Date:
- Farmer engagement regarding stubble retention and stubble management practices
- Farmer engagement regarding different Farming Systems and how stubble management works with each System
- Farmer engagement regarding different seeding systems and their limitations with stubble retention
For more information regarding these trials, please contact Tony Pratt at NSW DPI Cootamundra on 02 69 424957.
In 2010, the Stubble Trials will be expanded to 5 sites.
