2020 Conference

Webinar Conference 2020

A Systems Approach, Bringing It All Together

Part 1

The first part of our webinar series for the 2020 conference features Paskeville Farmer Grant Pontifex and Agronomist Shane Phillips.

Grant speaks about transitioning to a farming system with less reliance on synthetic inputs using chicken litter as fertiliser, maintaining ground cover and diversifying his rotation.

Shane speaks about using biological seed dressings to enhance crop health in low rainfall environments, glyphosates affect on the rhizosphere and alternative treatment of non wetting sands.

Part 2

In Part 2 of our webinar series we speak to Dr Rick Llewellyn of the CSIRO, Jamestown Farmer Scott Clark and SANTFA R&D Manager Greg Butler.

Rick presents his research about virtual fencing technology and how farmers can utilise it to implement spacial grazing to better utilise their feed base and exclude livestock from vulnerable areas.

Scott shares his conservation farming journey and the challenges he and his family farming enterprise has faced. He now uses zero till disc sowing, controlled traffic and residue retention with a stripper front on his harvester.

Greg updates us on the research that SANTFA is currently undertaking including seed priming, flame retardants and mixed species cover cropping and future opportunities in hydrogen.

Part 3

Victorian producers Tara Hindson and Brendan Williams share their stories in the final of our webinars.

Tara’s family farm is a large, mainly livestock enterprise in the Wimmera. Her focus is improving their soils using compost and other ameliorates to increase pasture and crop yields to ensure sustainable production into the future.

Brendan sheds light on how he set up a corporate farming enterprise on some challenging land and how he’s using the latest technology including controlled traffic, weed sensing herbicide application, pivoting lateral irrigation and harvest weed seed management. He also explains how he’s making hay under a controlled traffic system.