FAR presents results after a trying season for many

“It has, without a doubt, been a very trying harvest for many, but that aside, with the wetter than usual summer, we are seeing some excellent yields”, says Nick Pyke, FAR CEO.

“Amidst the showers and the sunshine, many cropping farmers sat anxiously, waiting for that small window of opportunity to harvest their crops, and when it came, they were out in full force burning the midnight oil.

“Unfortunately though, the higher than normal moisture levels this season resulted in higher levels of disease, which in turn have meant more fungicide applications. The harvest has also brought in other expenses such as higher power costs due to increased grain drying, higher than normal LPG and diesel costs, and man power costs required to move dried seed back into the silos.

“The late harvest has also caused delays for many growers in getting autumn sown crops in the ground.”

From 11 April, FAR will be delivering a number of Results Round Up meetings to present the latest trial results relevant to those cropping regions. FAR will recap on the weather and its influence on harvest potential and harvest itself, and local growers will give their feedback on the season that was 2011/2012.

We are fortunate to have secured guest speakers Abie Horrocks(Plant & Food Research) and Andrew Christian and Alicia Garden (ProductionWise, Australia).

Abie Horrocks is a soil scientist at Plant & Food Research. She has been working on developing sustainable integrated pest management systems for arable crops for the past five years. Abie received the FAR Researcher of the Year Award in 2006 for providing arable cropping farmers with practical solutions for slug control through her work on using integrated pest management for controlling slugs. Abie will be present at the Methven and Timaru meetings and will discuss autumn pest control with a focus on aphids and slugs. She will discuss how to interpret the aphid suction trap results, how to control slugs and the results of the 2011 IPM survey.

Andrew Christian and Alicia Garden of ProductionWise, Australia will be present at the Ashburton and Timaru meetings to discuss how we can manage our crop production more efficiently.

ProductionWise is an integrated on-line crop management tool that provides Australian farmers the ability to map, record, monitor and assess productivity using simple unique decision support tools. Andrew and Alicia will tell us how predictive intelligence, and the ability for producers to forward plan their overall farm business management is crucial in reducing risk and instability in the farm business. ProductionWise enables users the ability to access a spatial interface for simple paddock and grain storage mapping. A comprehensive diary with drop down lists of currently available cultivar, herbicides, fertilisers and grain storage options for example enable users to enter farm operations and associated inputs efficiently and effectively. Users can record stored grain volumes, grain contracts and sales within the grain diary to determine seasonal volumes against grain sales and contracts.

Other topics will include:

Which wheat cultivars benefit most from early sowing?
Rob Craigie addresses the latest CPT results and discusses new 2012 development trials aimed at pushing the boundaries.
Latest developments in perennial ryegrass agronomy
Richard Chynoweth reveals the 2011 results on new fungicide performance and the effectiveness of delayed nitrogen.
Break crop agronomy
Nick Pyke, Tracey Wylie and Jen Linton cover 2011 results on break crops. Topics include growing oilseed rape, protein manipulation in faba beans and pea agronomy.
Cultural methods of grass weed control
Nick Poole and Richard Chynoweth address ‘what are the options for grass weed control this autumn?’

Following each meeting, there will be refreshments plus the opportunity to view the FAR website and ask questions/provide feedback on the new interface.