Farmers can now help improve green on green technology

In this episode, we look at management strategies for glyphosate resistant weeds.

We're joined by University of Adelaide researcher Chris Preston, who recently presented on the topic at the GRDC Crop Updates in Dubbo.

We're also joined by Delta Ag agronomist David Strahorn who speaks about the current state of glyphosate resistance in his patch.

NEWS and LINKS
Webinar:
Spot Spray technology – opportunities & challenges incorporating the latest camera/optical spray equipment: Extension agronomists Greg Condon and Peter Newman spoke to representatives from Millers/McIntosh, John Deere, Goldacres and Croplands to understand the latest spot spray technology.

Learn more about WeedSmart by visiting our website. Don't forget you can follow us on Twitter too.

This week on the Regional Update, we are joined by grower and agronomist James Kearines.

James is an agronomist with Elders near Lake Cargelligo in central NSW, where he specialises in broadacre dryland agronomy, mainly dealing with the major crops of wheat, barley, canola, oats and pulses.

His family also manages a number of farms in the area and along with cropping, they also have a few Black Angus cattle.

After a below average year in 2023, James is excited for what 2024 might bring after receiving between 200 and 260 millimetres of summer rain.

Learn more about WeedSmart by visiting our website. Don't forget you can follow us on Twitter too.

In this episode, we delve into the world of spot spray technology.

Rob Price, from South Australia, and Jake Hamilton, from Queensland, use Bilberry and John Deere See and Spray tech respectively.

They explain their motivations for using the tech, and discuss the opportunities and challenges they have faced when incorporating the latest camera/optical spray equipment into their cropping program.

NEWS and LINKS
Webinar:
Spot Spray technology – opportunities & challenges incorporating the latest camera/optical spray equipment: On March 6, Join Weedsmart Extension Agronomists, Peter Newman and Greg Condon as they explore the current spot spray technologies on offer and the opportunities and challenges with incorporating the latest spot (camera/optical) spray equipment.

Millers/McIntosh Tech specialist Scott Jamieson and John Deere’s Anton Kowalenko provide their insights into how farmers/spray contractors can address the challenges and opportunities with utilising this technology.

Learn more about WeedSmart by visiting our website. Don't forget you can follow us on Twitter too.

Welcome back to the WeedSmart Podcast for 2024.

This week on the Regional Update, we are joined by grower and agronomist Matt Elliott.

Matt farms with his family near Nandaly in the Mallee region of Victoria, and is also an agronomist with Dodgshun Medlin.

They crop mainly wheat barley, lentils, and export hay, and run their operation on a "take no prisoners" basis when it comes to weed control.

After a couple of wet years and a decent amount of summer rain, Matt is excited for what 2024 might bring.

Learn more about WeedSmart by visiting our website. Don't forget you can follow us on Twitter too.

In this episode, we wrap up the 2023 season by talking with our WeedSmart Extension Agronomists.

Together, Northern Extension Agronomist Paul McIntosh, Southern Extension Agronomists Greg Condon and Chris Davey, and Western Extension Agronomist Peter Newman take us through the year that was in their various parts of the country.

The talk about the season itself, how harvest has panned out, and of course the weed control tactics that have proved most beneficial in 2023.

NEWS and LINKS
Webinar:
Biological control of grains weeds – development of novel tools and approaches for integration: Discover the pioneering work of CSIRO researchers Dr Ben Gooden and Dr Michelle Rafter on using biocontrol agents to control crop weeds. They will discuss their work conducting exploratory surveys of biocontrol agents and host-testing with pathogens and insects.

Articles
1. Testing optical sprayer technology return on investment: Machinery prices have sky-rocketed in recent years, leaving many growers wondering whether new technologies, like optical spot sprayers, can pay their way. Peter Newman, Planfarm farm business consultant and WeedSmart western extension agronomist, has run some figures for his clients to help them with boomspray purchase decisions, and found that the benefits often outweigh the upfront cost of weed detection technology.

2. Measuring the value of weed control expenses: Weed control is expensive, and it is often hard to measure the return on your investment. WeedSmart’s southern extension agronomist, Chris Davey, is determined to show that his advice to growers will put money back in their pockets through improved crop yield and fewer weeds to control in future seasons.

Learn more about WeedSmart by visiting our website. Don't forget you can follow us on Twitter too.

This week on the Regional Update, we are joined by grower Katrina (Treen) Swift.

Treen farms with her family near Parkes, NSW, where they grow summer and winter crops in incredibly variable conditions.

They have 13 different crops in their toolbox, including but not limited to, sorghum, mungbeans, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, lupins, vetch, canola, wheat, barley, and ancient grains.

The idea is that gives them options for weed and insect management by not being set in a very short and strict rotations.

Learn more about WeedSmart by visiting our website. Don't forget you can follow us on Twitter too.

In this episode, we talk about crop rotations with two researchers from CSIRO.

CSIRO senior experimental scientist, Tony Swan, discusses the importance of diverse crop rotations, the benefits of a double break, and how well-planned crop rotations can help nitrogen management.
 
CSIRO farming systems scientist, Lindsay Bell, talks about rotations from a northern perspective, covering the importance of weed control during fallow, how soil water is a driver of decisions, and including legumes in crop diversification.
 
NEWS and LINKS

Upcoming webinar: Biological control of grains weeds – development of novel tools and approaches for integration
Discover the pioneering work of CSIRO researchers Dr Ben Gooden and Dr Michelle Rafter on using biocontrol agents to control crop weeds. They will discuss their work conducting exploratory surveys of biocontrol agents and host-testing with pathogens and insects.

Articles
1. Investment in holistic weed management pays off: An independent evaluation noted that WeedSmart has found a ‘real sweet spot to take a holistic approach to problems and develop viable solutions without bias’. Growers commented that WeedSmart has helped them be more aware of potential risks with farm management, crop rotations and chemical use, and keeping weed management front of mind when making all decisions.

2. By-pass mode can extend impact mill life: High rainfall region growers Stewart and Jessica Wallace (Esperance, WA) swapped their chaff carts for a weed seed impact mill to avoid burning the chaff heaps and retain all the crop residues on the paddock while driving down the weed seed bank.

CSIRO Links
1. Break crops and rotations for wheat: This review quantifies the yield increase, based on >900 comparisons of wheat growing after a break crop with wheat after wheat.

2. Herbicide-resistant annual ryegrass: Diverse systems and strategies to cost-effectively manage herbicide-resistant annual ryegrass in no-till wheat-based cropping sequences in south-eastern Australia.

Learn more about WeedSmart by visiting our website. Don't forget you can follow us on Twitter too.

This week on the Regional Update, we are joined by grower and Nutrien agronomist Dan Skerman. 

Dan farms with his family near Dalby, Qld, on 2000 ha. They grow cotton, sorghum and mungbean in summer and wheat, barley and chickpeas in winter.

He gives us an update on how the season played out for him, considering the region went from one of the wettest 18-month periods on record to some of the driest three months of summer. Dan says they got 350 mm of rain in last year's winter growing season, versus only 20 mm this year.

Dan talks about his summer/winter rotation and the weed control practices he deploys on the farm.

Learn more about WeedSmart by visiting our website. Don't forget you can follow us on Twitter too.

In this episode, we talk about harvest preparedness. We hear from two of WeedSmart’s extension agronomists.

WeedSmart southern extension agronomist, Chris Davey, discusses the different ways growers can get the crop dry enough to successfully put it through a harvester without any blockages, such as windrowing, desiccation and crop topping.

WeedSmart western extension agronomist, Peter Newman, talks about optimum harvester set-up to ensure weed seeds go into the chaff cart, chaff deck or weed seed impact mill.

NEWS and LINKS

Webinar recording: The economics of weeds — what they cost and the benefits of managing them effectively
We don’t often take the time to calculate what yield reduction weeds are actually responsible for, or what a well-planned rotation for weed management can make a farming business. In our latest webinar, we discussed the economic benefits of implementing an integrated weed management approach on your farm.

Upcoming webinar: Biological control of grains weeds – development of novel tools and approaches for integration
Discover the pioneering work of CSIRO researchers Dr Ben Gooden and Dr Michelle Rafter on using biocontrol agents to control crop weeds. They will discuss their work conducting exploratory surveys of biocontrol agents and host-testing with pathogens and insects.

Articles
1.    Windrowing barley plus HWSC in the high rainfall zone: Tim Williams (Conmurra, SA) uses the barley phase to really drive down their weed seed bank. Tim says they windrow the barley as early as possible, cutting it low to the ground. This minimises weed seed shedding, particularly in ryegrass, so they can capture the seed and process it through the impact mills at harvest.

2.    Never miss an opportunity to tackle weeds: Lance Turner says herbicide resistance, particularly glyphosate resistance, was going to take them out of cropping if they didn’t start using harvest weed seed control. Twenty-five years on and the Turners still have the newer chemistries ‘up their sleeve’.

3.    Mills impact the weed seed bank: Bruce McLean farms at Bool Lagoon in South Australia’s high rainfall zone. He says that the limited harvest hours in the region were a major deterrent when it came to implementing harvest weed seed control, but they have found that the impact mill doesn’t slow them down too much, and they have the option to bypass it if necessary.

4.    Can I take an integrated approach to summer fallow management? Glenn Shepherd, agronomist and director of IMAG Consulting in Dubbo, NSW, says growers have opportunities to take an integrated approach to fallow management using the WeedSmart Big 6 as a checklist. Read Glenn's summer fallow management tips.

Learn more about WeedSmart by visiting our website. Don't forget you can follow us on Twitter too.

In this podcast, we’re talking about hybrid canola and how it might benefit your farming system.  

We’ll hear from AHRI Agronomy Lead, Mike Ashworth, who has done research in this space, as well as Wagga Wagga grower, Michael Molloy, who grows Clearfield canola. 

NEWS and LINKS

WeedSmart Week presentation recordings

WeedSmart Week Dubbo was a fantastic opportunity to learn first-hand how Western Plains growers control weeds whilst optimising yields and profits. If you were not able to join us in person, you can watch the recordings of the forum presentations on our website.

Articles

Our content writer Cindy Benjamin has written some excellent articles this month.

1.    Keep clear of paraquat-resistant fleabane: The lack of new broad-spectrum knockdown herbicide options means that growers need to be working hard on other management tools where the double-knock is losing efficacy. Agronomist Barry Haskins gives his top tips to control fleabane.

2.    Tackle weeds and herbicide resistance with the Big 6: Nutrien agronomists from across the country shared their tips to help control crop weeds.

3.    Can annual ryegrass be beaten in the Northern region? Annual ryegrass is a relatively new weed in the North. With its capacity to produce large amounts of seed and readily evolve herbicide resistance, growers and agronomists should avoid widespread infestation. Garry Onus, senior agronomist with Nutrien Ag Solutions, in Moree, NSW, gives his top tips to control annual ryegrass in northern farming systems in-crop and in the fallow.

4.    Does ambient temperature affect herbicide performance? Applying herbicides outside the optimal temperature range is likely to contribute to a spray failure, even in susceptible populations. For example, twice as much clethodim is required to kill ryegrass if the product is applied after 3 days of frost. And glyphosate efficacy is much better at 20°C than at 30°C. Associate Professor Chris Preston (The University of Adelaide) explains how ambient temperature affects herbicide performance.

Learn more about WeedSmart by visiting our website. Don't forget you can follow us on Twitter too.