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Cereal Crops

20 Aug 2019
By Best Australia Cereal Crops, Cropping

Good Crops Despite Minimal Rain

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 Ag 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. READ MORE

22 Mar 2019
By Best Australia Animals, Cereal Crops, Pastures

Farmer and Sheep Grazier TM Ag Results

A farmer and sheep grazier who’s farm is located at Dowerin, in the Central Wheatbelt Region of Western Australia, has been using TM Agricultural (TM Ag) for the past three years and in that time has noticed improvements in his wool and grain quality and the crop’s resilience, which was tested with a dry finish and severe frosts that affected the whole WA Wheatbelt in 2018.

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26 Feb 2019
By Best Australia Animals, Cereal Crops, Cropping, Pastures

Back To Back TM Crops Despite Drought

Spitfire wheat crop

Rodney Job, owner of ‘Condamine’ Tooraweenah was one of the very few farmers to harvest a crop in 2018. The crop yielded 1.1t/ha and despite only receiving between 60 and 75mm of in-crop rain. The Spitfire wheat crop was 13.8% Protein, 1.4% Screenings and 82.4% test weight. The paddock was sprayed with TM Agricultural back in March 2018 then dry sown at the end of April. A storm on 30th June that produced 30mm of rain across the paddock germinated the crop in July. Rodney also applied 1kg/ha of Best Foliar Fertiliser to the crop along with the second TM application in September. READ MORE

14 Dec 2018
By Best Australia Cereal Crops, Cropping

Barley Proves the Best Option for Terry in a Tough Season

A biostimulant has proven to be the “silent achiever’’ for Terry who harvested one of the few barley crops in drought stricken northern NSW. At harvest in November, Terry Blanch was thrilled to find his162ha barley crop yielding an average of 1.5 tonnes/ha off the header. With screenings of less than 1%, test weight of 67 hectolitres and 11.5% protein. The result was achieved on just 37mm of in-crop rainfall. Since switching to a minimum till and biological system, Mr Blanch has reduced fertilizer rates by 30% and no longer uses fungicides. Yields, test weights, protein and oil content have all increased while screenings are down.

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15 May 2018
By Best Australia Cereal Crops, Cropping

Suntop Wheat – Pitsworth QLD 4356

Darling Downs: September 2016

This enterprise is observing the first crop cycle involving TM Agricultural. The farm is blessed with deep, high quality black soil and has been farmed by the Riter family for three generations. TM has been trialled on Suntop Wheat this season. Rainfall has been of concern but just adequate to this stage of the crop. In the treated paddock, a boom width strip has been left untreated to enable crop comparison to be made. Some examination showed potential benefits of TM, even at this early stage.

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01 Aug 2017
By Best Australia Cereal Crops, Cropping

Paddock 5 Year Comparison

Both paddocks were planted with durum wheat in the first week of June. Both grew chickpea crops in the previous year and wheat the year before that. The non-TM treated area received 100kg/ha Urea pre-seeding. The TM Agricultural treated area received its first TM application 8 weeks prior to planting and the wheat seed was treated with TM Germination. Since seeding both areas have received 35mls rain. Soil and plants from both areas were examined by Dr Maarten Stapper and Agronomist Keiran Knight.

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10 Sep 2016
By Best Australia Cereal Crops, Cropping

Finding the Best Solution for Waterlogged Crops

In a year when waterlogging has taken a toll on winter crops. A biological soil stimulant has helped cereal and pulse crops in the Wimmera avoid falling victim. Senior agronomist Jamie Ball, of Elders St Arnaud. Has worked with regional growers to biologically treat chickpeas, lentils, wheat, barley and oats with TM Agricultural. Organically certified, TM Ag uses plant extracts to stimulate indigenous soil microbes and is produced by Best Environmental Technologies. Mr Ball said the St Arnaud district had recorded 340mm to late September. With local crops affected by flooding and water logging. He said the local crops treated with TM Ag had come through the wet season well, were more robust and handled the conditions better.

“They are certainly retaining their colour, vigour and growth rate. Versus untreated crops which, if they recover, take some time to improve.’’ Mr Ball said. “This differential in growth usually translates directly into yield. “We haven’t lost any treated crop to waterlogging but untreated crops have been lost. “It’s early days but we are pretty impressed.’’ Mr Ball has collected paddock data on TM Ag in both dry and wet seasons. Across a range of soil types including alluvial, heavy clays and loams.READ MORE

10 Feb 2016
By Best Australia Animals, Cereal Crops, Cropping, Pastures

Soil Health Results in Increased Profits

Reduced screenings, improved grain weight along with soil moisture retention and reduced input costs has ticked all the boxes for Riverina mixed farmer Charlie Webb. Mr Webb, of Urana, has always been one for thinking outside the square and questioning the how and why of his surroundings. His aim is to achieve a healthy, balanced soil to conserve every millimetre of rainfall to lift productivity and profitability.

Mr Webb has used organic soil activation product TM Agricultural produced by Best Environmental Technologies across his cropping country for the past four years. He has noted reduced soil compaction, improved root development and increased soil biology. Soil moisture retention and better soil structure are high on his priority list. Year round ground cover is used to prevent soil erosion and maximize water infiltration. A decade ago Mr Webb was applying lime and gypsum to the red soils. At higher than the recommended rate to lift soil pH to grow dryland lucerne with a limited response. “Everyone has told us for years the soil pH is the issue, but we really need to balance the soil microbes to achieve soil health.’’ he said.
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15 Dec 2014
By Best Australia Cereal Crops, Cropping

Triticale Crop Pushes Yield on Minimal Inputs

Eastern Riverina grain grower Robert Trethowan got a pleasant surprise when he put the header into his triticale crop this week. The first paddock of a 142ha crop of Bogong triticale averaged 6.86 tonnes/ha. and peaked at 8.3 tonnes/ha on his Morven property, Morveena. The triticale had a test weight of 77.7kg/hectolitre, compared to the minimum industry standard of 65kg/hectolitre. “Going into harvest I thought the crop would yield around 5t/ha so it has been very surprising,’’ Mr Trethowan said.

This was achieved on a low input program using TM Agricultural, an organic registered bio-stimulant product produced by Best Environmental Technologies, and in a dry spring. Robert and his wife Gayle sold their property at Urana to downsize. And bought Morveena at Morven NSW in early 2014. The sandy loam soils at Morveena had been sown to both a clover based pasture and a cereal crop in 2013. The cereal crop had been frosted and cut for hay.

“I applied a pre-sowing spray of 250mls/ha of TM Ag in a tank mix with 1.5 litres/ha of Roundup in mid May for ryegrass and wild oat control.’’ Mr Trethowan said. “We direct drilled the triticale at 80kg/ha with 80kg/ha DAP into soil moisture with a John Deere 1590 single disc combine on an 18.75cm row spacing.’’ A second application of TM was applied as an in-crop spray with a herbicide for ryegrass, wild oats and broadleaf weeds. The crop was top dressed with 80kg/ha of urea in late August.

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22 Apr 2014
By Best Australia Animals, Cereal Crops, Cropping

Healthy soil lifts protein and profit for Rohan

Riverina grower Rohan King has bumped his Durum wheat into a higher payment grade and improved soil biology simply by using a soil activator. Mr King, of Darlington Point, increased protein in the wheat crop by 1.5 per cent last year after trialling the organically certified TM Agricultural. The irrigated crop tested at 13.5 per cent protein and yielded an average of 8t/ha, compared to the district average of 6.5t/ha. Although the market for Durum is relatively small, Mr King prefers to grow it for its stripe rust resistance. He now plans to ramp up the applications of TM Ag, which uses plant extracts to stimulate indigenous soil microbes, from 40 to 300ha. Rohan, his wife Nerissa, children Madelyn and Paige, and parents Jeff and Margaret, farm the 800ha property, “Warangesda”, fronting the Murrumbidgee River. Set in a 350mm rainfall zone, the property ranges from alluvial to sandy loam soils.

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