Don’t miss stubble management and persistent pasture field day
See and hear the latest information on stubble management and new annual legume pasture varieties at a field day to be held at Pleasant Hills on Tuesday 1 September.
The field day is being hosted by the Eastern Riverina Landcare Network.
It focuses on the how and why of stubble retention and the need for a robust annual legume base in persistent pastures - both being key to our local farming systems in maintaining groundcover and managing the variability of our climate.
The field day starts with a hands on look at Peter and Alison Campbells property Avondale where a stubble retention site is progressing well.
The site forms part of a long-term conservation farming initiative supported by Murrumbidgee Catchment Management Authority and highlights ways of improving water use efficiency under stubble retention.
At the field day, Tony Pratt of Industry & Investment NSW (formerly NSW DPI), will present results from a Woolworths project funded through Murrumbidgee Landcare Incorporated.
He will also present details of progress of stubble management sites at other locations in the Murrumbidgee slopes area, which may help answer queries on the benefits of discs versus tynes, methods of trash handling, and the cost or benefit of grazing stubbles.
Nigel Phillips, Industry & Investment Technical Specialist Pastures, will showcase newly selected annual legumes coming from a national Pastures Australia program that point toward persistent and potentially cost-effective methods of retaining the legume component in cropping rotations.
"The demonstration site at Avondale is one of several sown in southern NSW during the past two seasons and already there are interesting results that point to options for maintaining the legume component in pastures under difficult conditions," Mr Phillips said.
The field day commences at Avondale at 9 am, with sign posts directing traffic to Scotts Lane. Inspection of the field sites will be followed by a free lunch and presentation of trial results from 2008 at the Pleasant Hills Hotel.
For catering purposes please contact either Tony Pratt on 0458 279578 or David Stein on 6929 3555 by Thursday 27 August.
Further reading
Media contact: Sarah Chester on (02) 6036 2110 or 0417 207 669 or Helen Burns on (02) 6938 1947