A leading Canadian agronomist says she has warned her clients in the Canadian prairies of the perils of overly simplistic crop rotations and says similar problems could arise in Australia.
Speaking at last month's Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) update in Bendigo Sheri Strydhorst, based in Alberta, said simple rotations, either wheat and canola or wheat and lentils, depending on rainfall, dominated western Canada.
She said the ease of adoption over large acreages and generally good profits meant many farmers saw it as an easier way to farm than utilising a more diverse rotation, despite research showing the benefits of more sophisticated rotations.
"I think it is a similar story here in Australia, there's research showing the advantages of a diverse rotation but there are a lot of hectares to get over and the logistical ease of a simple rotation can win out, especially when the profits are still reasonable," she said.
"The problems are that we are noting with the two year rotations there are more issues with soil borne disease and lower nitrogen use efficiency."
"Survey have showed 62pc of farmers in western Canada believe they need to diversify their rotation but given the profitability of the current rotation it is challenging to get more diversification."
Ms Strydhorst said she was working with growers to develop the kinds of rotation most robust against the range of abiotic and biotic factors that can limit yield and profitability.
"People might not want to go wholly into the different rotations, but we start small and that can demonstrate the advantages of improved sustainability, less reliance on imported nutrition and better yield stability."
Gregor Heard
Gregor Heard is ACM's national grains industry reporter, based in Horsham, Victoria. He has a wealth of knowledge surrounding the cropping sector through his 15 years in the role. Prior to that he was with the Fairfax network as a reporter with Stock & Land. Some of the major issues he has reported on during his time with the company include the deregulation of the export wheat market, the introduction of genetically modified crops and the fight to protect growers better from grain trader insolvencies. Still involved with the family farm he is passionate about rural Australia and its people and hopes to use his role to act as an advocate for those involved in the grain sector.
Gregor Heard is ACM's national grains industry reporter, based in Horsham, Victoria. He has a wealth of knowledge surrounding the cropping sector through his 15 years in the role. Prior to that he was with the Fairfax network as a reporter with Stock & Land. Some of the major issues he has reported on during his time with the company include the deregulation of the export wheat market, the introduction of genetically modified crops and the fight to protect growers better from grain trader insolvencies. Still involved with the family farm he is passionate about rural Australia and its people and hopes to use his role to act as an advocate for those involved in the grain sector.
