FROM dustbowls to surprising drought yields, the past two decades have seen some dramatic changes in the Mallee cropping landscape.
The improvements in farming practices has in-part been led by local research organisation Mallee Sustainable Farming, which this year celebrates 21 years since its inception.
MSF started its journey in 1997, when a group of Mallee farmers from SA, Vic and NSW met in Werrimul, Vic, to discuss the prospect of establishing a conservation farming project.
The Millennium and 1982 droughts had been devastating for Mallee farmers, with major dust storms, soil erosion and harvest being generally a non-event.
The benefits of no-till farming practices were also just starting to find traction, despite some traditional croppers being very dubious about its application in the Mallee and even some believing it had to “blow for it to grow”.
But back then, only state government research stations had the latest research and innovations, which were becoming fewer in number, so the need for local on-farm research was becoming evident.
MSF aimed to fill that gap, with early trials looking into no-till to see if the benefits outweighed the cost of changing machinery.
MSF co-founder Allen Buckley, Waikerie, was one of the early adopters of no-till and hosted the first trial site of MSF.
“Nearly 99 per cent of the farming community didn’t believe no-till could work in the Mallee and they’d tell me all the time,” he said.
“The change in mindset came during the 2002 drought, when there were dust storms and erosion everywhere and I still had a 0.8 tonne a hectare crop.
“That year our field day attendance went from our average of about 80 farmers to 300.
“Farmers could see my crops from the road and wanted to know how I was doing it.
“That was the turning point of no-till farming in SA.”
Today, MSF has multiple trial sites, totalling nearly 50ha, hosted by farmers across the three Mallee states.
Research topics include best management of sandy soils, seeps, pastures and livestock and frost.
Hundreds of farmers also attend MSF field days every year, to learn about region-specific on-farm research, trials and education programs, while also connecting with researchers and advisers from leading organisations.
Mr Buckley credits MSF for getting “researchers out of their institutions and into the paddock, where farmers and researchers can have a meeting of the minds”.
It is this education that has enabled some production across the Mallee this season, despite some areas being in the midst of another drought.
“This year has seen decile 1 rainfall conditions across the Mallee from northern NSW to more southern areas of SA and Vic,” MSF executive chair Daniel Linklater, Trentham Cliffs, Vic, said.
“Comparing this year to the droughts of 1982 and 2002, MSF is proud to have played a significant role in changing the landscape for the better with a reduction in soil erosion and farmers in many cases still able to achieve some crop production.”
To celebrate its first 21 years since establishment, the organisation has launched a commemorative magazine, TwentyOne: The First 21 Years of Mallee Sustainable Farming.
The 94-page publication includes interviews with farmers, researchers and MSF volunteers; historical photos; and highlights of the past 21 years, and sets a course for where the next 21 years may take the MSF and agriculture in the region.
“Even though this is a drought year, this is an important opportunity for us to celebrate how far we’ve come and increase awareness of our work with the aim of benefiting even more farming families,” Mr Linklater said.
“The true heroes of this story are our local farmers, whose open-mindedness to taking risks and trying new things have allowed for the radical changes we have seen. Together we are literally changing the landscape and the face of farming in the Mallee.”
- Details: To obtain a copy of the magazine register at msfp.org.au