Elders agronomist Pat Conlan shares his insights into the preparation for seeding season currently underway in the Victorian Mallee and Wimmera regions.
Minimal rainfall since January in the Victorian Mallee has allowed farmers to catch up on the many other jobs to be done prior to seeding. Paddocks are being repaired with ameliorants applied, seed being graded and treated, machinery undergoing maintenance as well as grain and fertiliser to be transported just to name a few.
Farm plans were finalised in February, with all seed, starter fertiliser and pre-emergent chemicals delivered to farms.
For agronomists, this is a great time to catch up on training and industry updates Several member of the Elders agronomy team recently attended several industry updates such as the GRDC Grains Research Update in Bendigo and Birchip Cropping Group’s trials review day, along with training courses such as Precision Agriculture, soil and nutrition and a spray application workshop. It is also a great opportunity to catch up with industry representatives to review products used last season and discuss new chemistries in the pipeline.
Soil testing commenced in mid-March, with paddocks being zoned and sampling locations set. The Elders agronomy team will be in the field for the next fortnight, getting paddocks sampled, which allows more accurate and efficient top-dressing decisions during the season. Fortunately this season many inputs, in particular glyphosate and urea, continue to head in a downward trend compared to recent seasons.
Whilst the rain has ceased of late, there is still subsoil moisture at depth, giving growers confidence heading into season 2023. Ideally, an early break would be fantastic, allowing the crop to be sown into warmth and moisture. It would also enable a thorough germination of weeds which would be knocked down prior to sowing, reducing the competition weeds place on the crop for moisture and nutrients early in the season.
Rice crops are nearing maturity with some crops being drained this week. Once a rice crop has reached maturity the water is taken off paddocks to allow the crop to ripen and the paddock to dry down enough for machinery to be able to traffic and harvest. The challenge is not to drain a paddock too early and risk haying off a crop, but not draining too late when the weather will be too cold for the paddock to dry out. Farmers that can harvest rice crops early enough may be able to sow a crop into the rice stubble pending harvest date.
Article originally published in the North West Farmer newspaper.