sustainable farming Archives

MALDI-ID CEO receives 40Under40 award

15/03/2019

Our CEO Dr De Meyer has received the prestigious WA Business News award for transforming her academic research into MALDI-ID in just three years. She was also named as one of the 40under40 winners.

It is such a reward for all the hard work we have put into making the research available to our Australian farmers. “It empowers farmers to make their farming more sustainable and efficient, and this is what I’m most proud of,” Dr De Meyer said in an interview with Murdoch University.

We also like to take the opportunity to thank Murdoch University for its ongoing support.

The profiles of the 40Under40 can be explored here.

Lupin Harvest at maturity can help reduce grain losses

12/10/2018

Western Australian growers are being urged to harvest lupin crops as soon as they ripen to avoid grain losses from seed shedding and pod drop.

Pod drop, seed shedding, shattering of mature grain and potential for reduced seed germination (if there is rainfall after the crop matures) are key issues to be considered at this time of year in regards to lupin harvest.

By harvesting the crop when it’s ripe it can help to lower the risks of yield losses and lower grain quality stemming from these problems.

Trials completed in WA’s northern grainbelt in 2017, with GRDC investment, found that by delaying harvest weeks after crop maturity lowered average lupin yields by six per cent.

If the gap stretched out to six weeks after crop maturity, average yields were 15 per cent less than the crops harvested at maturity.

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) research officer Martin Harries led this research and said the extent of yield loss if the harvest was delayed was similar for all six lupin varieties tested, including the latest released lines.

The results from research

He said, “Many WA growers are adding lupins back into their rotations and to help with decision making, we need to generate more information about the effects of delaying harvest on yield losses and potential grain damage, especially if there is rainfall after the crop has matured.”

Harries continues to add, “The best harvesting window for lupin across WA’s grainbelt is typically within three weeks of crop maturity and as soon as grain moisture content reaches 14pc, which is the maximum allowable moisture level to meet CH Group receival standards. Delaying harvest can cause seed and pods to drop and/or lead to brittle grain that is susceptible to cracking and splitting.”

Six lupin varieties at three harvest times, ranging from crop maturity to six weeks after maturity, were investigated last year by DPIRD at Eradu, near Geraldton.

Overall, average yields of the newer varieties across all harvest times were up to 0.5 tonnes per hectare (26pc) higher than the 2.5t/ha average yield across all varieties and harvest times.

A two-week delay in harvest after crop maturity resulted in an average of 0.04t/ha (6pc yield loss across all varieties).

Delaying harvest by six weeks after the crop ripened caused a greater drop of 0.3t/ha (15pc in average yields).

Mr Harries explained, “All varieties had average yield losses between 12 and 15pc if the harvest was delayed after the crop ripened, compared to if they had been harvested at maturity.”

Source: Farm Weekly

Strong mung bean season thanks to demand from China and Vietnam

23/08/2018

A strong mung bean season in Australia has paved the way for crops to get close to average yields.

Thanks to strong demand from China and Vietnam, mung bean prices have avoided the India-inspired slump that hit the rest of the pulse market.

Mark Schmidt, Australian Mungbean Association president, said there would be an estimated total production between 80, 90,000 tonnes now that harvest has finished.

This is above the five-year average to 2016 of 76,000 tonnes.

Mark Schmidt says:

“The production could have been higher given the better opening rain, but it has not been a bad season for mung bean growers.”

“Most growers have had better than average quality and the price went up towards the end of the season which is a good thing both for this crop.”

Mr Schmidt said the prices for legumes have increased even with India taking less than 5 percent of total exports this year. Typically, India accounts for between 30-50 percent of Australia’s mungbean exports.

“We have been lucky there have been production shortfalls in places like Vietnam and China and they are looking for imports.”

Image source: mungbean.org.au/

Strong demand in China and Vietnam

Much different to other pulse crops, where India and other destinations command the market, Mr Schmidt said there was a high East Asian demand for mungbeans which were used to make products including cellophane noodles, treasured in Chinese and Vietnamese cooking.

Demand from Vietnam and China has helped push the prices for top quality, processing mungbeans to around $1250 a tonne, while manufacturing grade beans are currently selling for around $1050/t.

“Prices have risen around $150/t since the crop was planted,” Mr Schmidt said.

According to Wayne Newton, AgForce grains section president, growers were reporting a higher percentage than usual of top quality beans thanks to a drier season.

“It’s good that we have the chance to access high-value markets and yields, generally between two to three tonnes a hectare, were not too bad in the end either.”

Mr Schmidt said most of this year’s mungbeans had been sold.

“There is not a lot in surplus which is a good sign for pricing for next season.”

Read our recent post on ‘Optimising Mungbean Yields’ project which is set to better predict what determines mungbean yield in Australia.

Climate change: Planning for future farming

16/08/2018

Climate change is causing everyone to plan ahead for the future.

Experimenting with new ideas is important so we can better understand what will work in the future.

For decades farmers have been dealing with heat waves, flooding, droughts and extreme colds. We can only expect these issues to continue into the future.

Paul Blackwell, retired from CSIRO and DAFWA, has a few suggestions and guidelines that may work for farmers in a Controlled Traffic Farming (CFA) framework.

Heat Stress

Low rainfall crops can be diminished by approximately one-third for every degree above 35 degrees per day of flowering.

The following strategies may help reduce heat stress:

By orientating the rows and tramlines north-south or NW-SE you can allow more of the afternoon’s sun between the rows and not on the crop.
Burying topsoil and appropriate organic matter in the subsoil can help cool the heads of flowering crops and pastures by encouraging root density in the subsoil.

Cold Stress (radiation frost)

It may be possible to increase canopy temperature on cold nights (following sunny afternoons) if sunlight can heat the soil between rows and be released to warm the crop later at night. Guidelines of north-south to NW-SE orientations, wide rows and stubble apply.

Extreme Dry (after summer rain)

Verified by good soil modelling and experimental investigations by The University of Western Australia, Paul Blackwell explains the importance of moisture;

“Keep the subsoil moisture in better with a less compact profile to wick away the moisture and protective stubble to minimise evaporation. Do early sowing between or next to rows to help conserve that benefit. Also, employ dry ridges of non-wetting sand between rows to further lower summer evaporation rates by using smart furrow sowing.”

Extreme Wet

Apply safe surface drainage with peak stubble levels,
Use slow overland flow along tramlines
Furrows with less than 3 percent slope
Create drive-through drains in complex slope systems for safer water disposal.

These ideas have been backed by farmers and consultants in the southern WA Wheatbelt.

Some of these ideas are being tried at Anthill Farm, Dartmoor.

Image source: farmweekly.com.au

Source: Farm Weekly

Feature image source: abc.net.au

Pulse crops on the rise in 2018

11/07/2018

The current money on offer for profitable pulse crops, such as lentils and chickpeas, is on par with average levels according to data.

In the past nine months alone, there have been substantial drops in price for pulse crops, as much as hundreds of dollars per tonne.

Although it’s not all bad, some pulses used in stockfeed are on the rise.

Lupins and faba beans have shown an increase in price due to increased domestic demand.

Faba beans are also gaining popularity in the pet food industry because of their high protein. It is suggested that over time, the long-term prospects for faba beans may further improve.

Results found in a report by Pulse Australia and the Grains Industry Market Access Forum predict that crops used for human consumption are expected to rise significantly. The report also suggests that stock feed crops will have prices better than usual.

A stockpile of lentils?

Not all crops are expected to have increased profit. Unfortunately, lentils are expected to fare the worst.

Because of the significant amount of lentils around the world, farmers should prepare for lower than normal prices, in the decile two to three range, for the upcoming season.

Australia is reported to still be holding lentil stocks from the 2016 and 2017 season.

Below: Port Adelaide Decile pricing shows low decile 1 – 2

Image Source: Pulse Australia – Global Pulse State of Play

Good news for Chickpeas?

Chickpeas are expected to have a decile pricing between 5 – 6, which is a decent price considering it is predicted that large amounts of chickpeas from the 2017/season have not been sold.

There were approximately 200,000 tonnes of unsold chickpeas from the previous season.

Below: Brisbane Chick Pea Decile pricing shows to be in the middle decile 5 – 6

Image Source: Pulse Australia – Global Pulse State of Play

Improved Pulse Plantings

Pulse Australia Chief Executive, Nick Goddard said he predicted pulse plantings in Australia to improve this year thanks to pricing and agronomic factors;

“It is very dry in many cropping areas which will impact plantings, while farmers are also looking to their rotations and giving pulses a bit of a spell after a pretty solid push over the past couple of years when prices were good”.

He continues;

“It may have been time pulses came back in terms of percentage they made up of traditional plantings, traditionally they have made up 7pc of the plant, but over the past two years that figure was around 15pc, due to the chickpea boom. This year, I’d expect that would be back at around 5-7pc.”

Due to the improving value of wheat and barley, Nick Goddard says it is a good time to lower pulse plantings a little.

RHIZO-ID Kit information

02/07/2018

What you need to know about RHIZO-ID Kits

For the analysis of one paddock up to 100 hectares, you will require one RHIZO-ID kit for each legume plant species.

For paddocks larger than 100 hectares, we strongly recommend using an additional RHIZO-ID kit for better accuracy. Every kit contains four sample bags, for four individual locations in the paddock.

Previous research has shown that four locations per paddock provide a good overview of the rhizobia situation in that paddock.

We are able to analyse the following rhizobia groups: Group AM/AL (Medic), Group C (Clover), Group FE (Pea, Faba-bean, Vetch, Lentil), Group GS (Lupin spp., Serradella spp.) and Group N (Chickpea).
If your legume host/rhizobia group is not on this list, contact us to discuss the different options.

For more information, watch our short video on the sampling process. We explain how to collect your legumes, and how to use your legume kit.

Order your RHIZO-ID kit online. We proudly ship worldwide.

Instructional video for sampling your legumes for analysis

02/07/2018

Have you recently ordered a RHIZO-ID kit? Or, perhaps you want to order a RHIZO-ID kit but want to learn more about the sampling process.

Either way, be sure to check out this short informative video that explains the simple steps to follow.

Click HERE to order your RHIZO-ID kit.

A brief summary of the sampling process:

Dig out 5-10 plants per location in the paddock – wash and dry
Sort plants according to species and cut off roots
Place in kit bags
Record sample numbers and paddock GPS location as instructed
Return to MALDI-ID

How RHIZO-ID can increase crop yield or pasture performance

02/07/2018

Knowing if your legumes contain the correct rhizobia, and if the rhizobia is working the way it should be to increase crop yield or pasture performance is vital.

What do you need to know about legumes?

Legume roots produce a natural fertilizer.

The nodules that form on the roots of legumes contain rhizobia bacteria.

For the rhizobia bacteria to take nitrogen from the air and produce ammonia (fertilizer) it is important to know if the correct rhizobia is in your legumes.

Did you know?

The Australian agriculture industry uses 5.3 million tons of fertilizer each year! Legume roots are a sustainable farming fertilizer.

A successful farmer does two things very well:

First, they reduce their environmental impact as much as possible.

Second, they find cost-effective farming methods which transcends into increased yields.

So, how exactly do we help farmers achieve these two things?

With the power of science and our easy to use RHIZO-ID kits, we can identify what type of rhizobia is in your legume root nodules to improve production.

What do you need to do?

All you need to do is order a RHIZO-ID kit from our website or through our distributors.

1 kit is sufficient for the analysis of one legume species.

Each kit contains four sample bags.

Simply send in roots from four different locations in a 100-hectare paddock and we will begin the analysis.

It really is that easy.

We are trusted leaders in the farming industry:

Our kits are sold through leading farming organisations such as;

ALOSCA Technologies, CSBP, Elders, and Landmark.

What’s our method?

Traditional ways to identify root nodules include growing the bacteria. This method can be time-consuming, labour intensive and expensive for farmers.

Here’s the deal:

We have combined an innovative method which incorporates both previous methods to save time and money for farmers, whilst being environmentally friendly.

Our scientific-led research team use a mass spectrometer machine and genetic sequencing of protein markers to detect and identify the different strains and their unique fingerprints.

We generate a fingerprint of root nodules and then we compare that fingerprint with the database that we have comprised of the current rhizobia inoculants.

This means that there will be less fertilizer needed because nitrogen from the legume is put into the ground and it’s available for (wheat or barley) crop after the legume component.

We ship world wide.

MALDI-ID wins 2018 Science and Innovation Award

20/03/2018

MALDI-ID has won a 2018 Science and Innovation Award from the Australian Government.

The grant worth $22,000 was sponsored by the Grain Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) and will help to expand our root nodule identification tool RHIZO-ID to include grain legumes.

This will allow for quick and accurate feedback to producers regarding the type of rhizobia in the legume root nodules.

During the official ceremony, Dr De Meyer had the honour of personally receiving the award from Daryl Quinlivan, secretary of the Department of Agriculture and Water resources in Canberra on March the 6th 2018.

In the picture from left to right: Robyn Cleland, Daryl Quinlivan, Dr De Meyer, Bondwen Maclean, Richard Heath