Download New Horizons – The next agricultural revolution

New Horizons – The next agricultural revolution
David Davenport1, Amanda Schapel2, Nigel Wilhelm3, Paul Dalby4, Brett Bartel5, Jack Desbiolles6,
Tim Herrmann7
1
Primary Industries and Regions SA - Rural Solutions SA, Pt Lincoln, SA [email protected]
2
Primary Industries and Regions SA - Rural Solutions SA, Lenswood, SA, [email protected]
3
2 Primary Industries and Regions SA - SARDI, Plant Research Centre, Waite, SA, 5064, [email protected]
4
In Fusion Consulting, PO Box 765 Stirling, 5152, [email protected]
5
Primary Industries and Regions SA - Rural Solutions SA, Adelaide, SA, 5000, [email protected]
6
University of South Australia, Barbara Hardy Institute, Mawson Lakes, SA, 5095, [email protected]
7
Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, Waite, SA, 5064, [email protected]
Broad-acre agriculture is an important contributor to South Australia’s gross domestic product. However,
about 40% of the area under broad acre agriculture in this state has soil issues limiting agricultural
production. These issues include low fertility of sandy soils (2.8 million ha) and poorly structured, sodic
clay sub-soils (1.7 million ha) that are hostile to plant growth. There is evidence that these soils could be
significantly more productive through the application of new advances in technology and soil management.
Recent work has shown that placing clay, nutrients, organic matter and amendments deep in the soil profile
can remove some of these constraints. Three replicated sites were established on sand over clay soils in the
South East, Mallee and Eyre Peninsula regions of South Australia to evaluate ‘best practice’ for the sandy
soils. The sites will be monitored over a number of years assessing soil, water and crop characteristics to
determine the appropriate treatment for the soil type and region. The adoption of these new practices would
represent a new revolution in farm management, from managing the top ten centimetres to managing the
top fifty centimetres of soil. This will lead to increased fertility, long term storage of carbon, reduced soil
erosion risk, improved water use efficiency and hence a large increase in productivity and profitability for
our farmers.