Maintaining Profitable Farming Systems with Retained Stubble

A renewed interest in stubble retention farming systems has occurred in the Western Region. This interest is due to stubble retention showing an increase in soil water retention and availability, both in crop and summer fallow, to potentially provide an earlier sowing opportunity in varying climatic conditions.

Popular seeding systems involving knife points and tynes are well known to have stubble flow issues with increased stubble loads, while disc seeding systems can handle the increase and perform optimally. While disc seeders have the ability to handle higher stubble loads, there are agronomic issues that need to be overcome; for example, pre-emergent herbicide efficacy is reduced due to the limited soil throw from the discs.

From 2014-2018, GRDC invested in a focussed initiative in the Southern Region to take a farming systems approach to maintaining profitable farming businesses with retained stubble, referred to as the ‘Stubble Initiative’. These groups of projects targeted the key aspects of stubble management that were identified by growers and advisors, to limit the profitability of the farming systems.

This proposal focusses on identifying and extending key messages from The Stubble Initiative into the Western Region. This is to be achieved by developing a communications strategy, including case studies of growers already utilising the system in the western region, to extend the findings and identifying where a high stubble retention farming system would be economically beneficial and increase productivity. The overall outcome to provide best management practice guidelines that can be extended to growers through various media, including a management guide, videos and field days.