Day 52 - Some photos

AustraliaNo-tillNuffield
Written By

Screen Shot 2014-11-19 at 10.45.31More soil pits today. This is the latest Aussie tech in action. They are very proudThis region, the Mallee, is renowned for its marginal arable soils. They are predominantly a fine dusty sand, but this is one of the better ones because it contains a bit of clay (15%). This field yielded about 2.2t/ha of wheat, and can get up to 4t/ha in a very good yearA simple pH testing solution shows that the surface of the soil is significantly more acidic than what lies beneathThis is an old root channel left over from before the bush had been cleared for agriculture. The hole has remained as a passage for water to run down, which has in turn bleached the sand. You can also see the salt that has been washed down with itAnother farm no-tilling with a tined drill. You can see the deep gullies which the seed is placed in to - this acts as a structure to collect more water during "rainfall events"They have just started using ag-bags to store grain in the field. Getting it out again is "a young mans' game"15km/h seems a ludicrously fast speed to combine at, especially with a 13.7m header. I sat on the machine for 2 hours, and we cut about 35ha.[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBsuwuukwz0&feature=youtu.be[/embed]

Previous

Day 53 - UWA Trials & Microbes
Next

Day 51 - SOM testing, glyphosate & pH