Despite only receiving 145mm of rain for the year to date and between 30mm and 45mm of in-crop rain. Terry and Jenny Blanch have been able to successfully germinate and grow wheat, barley and canola crops on their farms in the Tamworth area this year. Terry and Jenny have been utilising their native soil biology by applying TM Agricultural applications to their paddocks since 2015. In that time they have been able to reduce their inputs while producing cereal crops with heavier test weight, less screenings and an oil content above 45 in the canola. In March of this year Terry applied chook manure to some of the paddocks which combined with 40kg of starter fertiliser, TM Germination on the seed, two TM Agricultural applications post and pre sowing and a Best Foliar Fertiliser.

When examining the crops, the dense root system of the cereal plants showed full exploration inter-row as a mass right across the furrow and down throughout the soil profile enabling better access to moisture and nutrients for the crop. Because of the dense, deep vigorous roots system the crops have a lower susceptibility to drought stress and recover quicker when small rain events occur.

Barley Crop Roots

Barley Crop

Refractometer readings showed the Brix levels in all of the crops ranged from 14 to 17. a Brix level of 12 or higher indicates a high nutrient density in the crop. High Brix is an indication that the plant has been grown in a healthy soil, with sufficient nutrients and water. A healthier plant is not as likely to be attacked by insects or disease.

Regardless of 2019 being another challenging year with extremely low rainfall. Terry and Jenny are still on track to produce grain & canola this year that will be high in mineral density and low in chemical residues due to their ability to activate and repopulate their native soil biology from the TM applications. The active soil microbiology is also enabling the chook manure to be efficiently broken down and made readily available to the crop.

Terry & Jenny in Barley Crop

Canola Crop