AN investment in a machine to prepare their land is helping the Reade family increase their cropping operation at their Curramulka farm.
Late last year Gavin Reade, who farms with wife Emma and parents David and Pam, upgraded to a K-Line 12-metre Speedtiller after having used the 9m version for the past three years.
Gavin said they had traditionally split the operation with about half cropping, half livestock – predominantly Merino ewes and first-cross lamb production.
But, with this machine, they are expecting to increase their cropping component to about 60 per cent of the operation.
Gavin said the Reade family were moving towards a three-year rotation comprising wheat, barley and a pasture crop to get the most out of the land.
He said they had been focusing on treating pastures as a crop and had been getting the benefits with their higher protein wheat and barley results, as well as the reduced need for inputs.
“We find we can get high protein wheats following a good medic pasture, without adding much urea to it,” he said.
“Low risk farming is what we’re trying to do.”
He said they had even had barley protein up to 15pc, while the high protein stubbles were of benefit when grazing sheep.
He is hopeful that by grazing crops they would be able to maintain sheep numbers, even with the increased cropping area.
“Nothing much has changed with our rotation in the past 20 years – we think what we’re doing is sustainable and I think we will leave our paddocks in good condition for future generations,” he said.
Gavin said a major focus has been in making the most of organic matter each year, which is where the Speedtiller comes into play.
“It is cutting up the trash – the medic vine and cereal stubbles – and mulching that organic matter back into the soils,” he said.
He found this particularly useful at the start of last year following such a heavy 2016-17 harvest.
“There was good quality trash and if we couldn’t go through it, we would have had to burn it, but we wanted to maintain it,” he said.
“It’s amazing how much it breaks down.
“This year, it’s not as bad, but the load is still there in some paddocks.”
Gavin said because they also ran sheep on their cropping paddocks, the Speedtiller was useful for breaking up and levelling out ground near sheep camps and sheep tracks.
“With direct drilling after sheep, we had been going deeper and deeper to cover seed where sheep had been but this way we still maintain good quality trash and a more even seeding depth,” he said.
“It’s a one-pass machine and then it’s ready to go.”
MACHINE ASSISTS IN PEST CONTROL
AN “unexpected bonus” the Reade family, Curramulka, has found in using their Speedtiller last season was the benefits it had in controlling snail and mice numbers.
Gavin Reade said the machine helped by breaking up where mice had been and burying snails.
He said that had resulted in a reduction of both pests.
“We still run out in hot weather with a cable and are still baiting for snails and we still put mice bait out,” he said. “It’s not a complete answer but everything helps.”
Late last year the Reades made the decision to upgrade their old K-Line Speedtiller to the “better” 12-metre model to help cater for their soils.
Gavin Reade said the Speedtiller had a full cut depth of 60 millimetres, but with some of their soils they had not wanted to go quite that deep.
The new model takes the pressure off the rollers at the back, allowing them to cut to 30mm-40mm.
“It’s a better design for what we want to do in our area,” he said.
When it came time to upgrade the model, he said he had inquiry on the old machine from all states except WA and Tas and eventually sold it to a Vic farmer.
He believes there will be more opportunity for machines such as this.
“There was a lot of inquiry from continual croppers to help with wheel track renovations,” he said.
“And with chemical resistance, this is another action people can use.”