Snapshot
Grower: Trevor Syme
Location: Waddipark, Bolgart WA
Farm size: 4000 hectares (ha)
Enterprise: 100 per cent no-till cropping
Growing season rainfall: 300mm
Total annual rainfall: 400mm
Soil types: Deep white non wetting sands (many ameliorated to overcome non wetting and acidity), loamy clays forest gravels, gravelly sand over clay
2020 cropping program: 3600 ha, wheat, warley, canola, lupin
Seeding equipment: Custom built 12.5m Gessner Bar with Equalizer disc coulters and row units, tyne seeder with both single and dual boots on 38.1mcmrow spacing.
For Trevor, even though 100 per cent establishment is the aim, he’s happy with 70–80 per cent as long as minimum plant numbers are met for optimal yield. What’s more important to him is an even distribution along the row to maximise weed competition.
“The aim is to get the plant numbers required for maximising yield while minimising the impact on weeds,” Trevor says.
He admits it’s hard to put a dollar value on good establishment, but it sets growers up for the season.
“You can’t control what comes after seeding, but with good crop establishment, you can then manage accordingly, knowing the money you invest will be rewarded,” Trevor says.
Early establishment is also important in Trevor’s environment.
“Canola is a good example where you can double your yield by getting the crop germinated early,” Trevor says.
Trevor now seeds by date, not necessarily with a starting date but with the goal of finishing seeding by May 30 so not to compromise the growing season and potential yield.
Key strategies
Trevor’s key strategies to reliably achieve good crop establishment are firstly to have a weed free summer so that large weeds aren’t present to interfere with seeding. Secondly, to control weeds and retain stubble to retain as much moisture over summer and autumn as possible.
Thirdly, being ready to seed on time to take advantage of available soil moisture. Fourthly, pay attention to detail, always check for moisture depth and seed bed conditions (Trevor is constantly jumping out of his tractor to check). Lastly, ensure timely seeder set up to make sure all is working properly.
Some of the steps Trevor uses to maximise crop establishment include:
- Keeping fertiliser away from seed, minimising nitrogen when seeding canola (Flexi N too hot).
- Retain good seed. He puts his seed over gravity table to ensure good size.
- Strategic use of a wetting agent. He doesn’t use wetting agents when dry sowing but does when there is sub soil moisture to draw in moisture to the seed to minimise fatal germination.
- Chase moisture when moisture is available at reasonable depth – season dependant. If it’s totally dry, keep seed at optimal depth.
Challenges
Trevor’s greatest challenges to good crop establishment are:
- Non wetting soils (Trevor ameliorates his non wetting soils to remove this constraint)
- moisture availability at seeding (lack of May rainfall an issue past 10–20 years)
- soil structure where clods result in poor seed soil contact.
Stubble is not an issue for Trevor, even in paddocks where he has retained residue for over 20 years. He is a controlled traffic farmer, inter-row sowing seeds on relatively wide row spacings and he ensures that residue is chopped and spread evenly at harvest.
At this stage Trevor doesn’t use variable rate technology to sow crops (depth rate etc) but he is looking into it.
“It’s very important to have a seeder that can seed at varying depths and is easy to adjust like my seeder bar does,” Trevor says.
Non wetters success
Trevor used non wetters for the first time in 2020.
“They were excellent on everything [Sacoa Se14, $14 per hectare]. I will be using the product in 2021 on lupin and canola, even on good soils (unless wet).
"It’s like turning a 5mm rain event into a 10mm rain event,” he says.
Trevor places the wetter behind the seed tube in front of the press wheel to get the product as close to the seed as possible.
“Otherwise you are drawing water away from seed,” he says.
Trevor also uses soil amelioration to overcome non-wetting and undertakes claying where there is no clay at reasonable depth, delving when clay is deep and spading when clay is near the surface.
Seeder bar
Trevor has a Gessner Bar with Equalizer disc coulters and row units he had built in 2017, designed to suit his soil types and farming system. He uses a tyne, both single and dual – but rarely uses dual as he finds it disturbs more soil and creates more weeds. He can side band when needed where there is plenty of moisture as it presses seeds into the side of the wall. When dry seeding, Trevor furrow sows.
The seeder bar operates on 38.1cmrow spacing with 33 rows in one year and as he inter-row sows, Trevor uses 32 rows every other year.
“If I’m not moisture seeking, I sow wheat at 3cm, barley at 3cm, canola at 1 cm and lupin at 4cm at 11 km/hr,” Trevor says.
Row unit set up showing independent ground following tynes, opener, leading coulter and press wheels.
Chemicals
Trevor uses a mix of Sakura, Trifluralin, Simazine, Atrazine and Propyzamide at label rates for the appropriate crops.
As he is on relatively wide row spacings, he has not seen any crop damage from soil throw.
He also maximises stubble retention so rarely has herbicide wash-off issues.
Trevor chose the Equaliser as it has an independent tyne, unlike DBS, that is better suited to rocks in the paddock.
It’s also suitable for all soil types on farm so no set up changes are needed mid paddock unlike when he had a disc seeder.
When it comes to crop establishment success, Trevor feels it’s not all about the seeder.
“Once the seeder is set up, I believe it’s the whole farming system, including soil amelioration, stubble retention andno till that makes crop establishment easier,” he says.
Trevor hasn’t made any changes to his machine over the past four years but he is putting air breaks (diffusers) on the seeder to reduce seed bouncing.
He can now adjust air flow based on seed size which results in more seed being placed where it should be.
Air cart
Trevor uses atow-behind Boss Engineering air cart that has two liquid and one granular sealed section. He uses a roller metering system which offers excellent distribution for all seed types fine and coarse and has a metering system for every line.
Trevor has four primary dividers, eight secondary manifolds which equals the 32 rows. The terminal lines are 32cm and will be fitting air diffusers to the seeder in 2021 at a cost of $3500.
“Money well spent,” Trevor says. Trevor has a John Deere gen 4 seed star 3000 in the cab.
“The blocked row sensors are a must and the row-to-row distribution is excellent,” Trevor says. Even though Trevor hasn’t measured this, it’s been observed by neighbours how even his runs are.
“The system is excellent for low and high seeding rates with no damage observed,” he says.
Monitoring seed depth
When it comes to the seeding operation, Trevor monitors seed depth all the time. Trevor overseas the seeding rather than driving the tractor but he is constantly checking on things. He pays special attention to canola and seed depth, as changesvary depending on seasonal conditions.
On soil types that have recently been ameliorated, Trevor sows shallower due to furrow fill and so the seeder doesn’t dig in on the softer soil. He will also drive slower for these paddocks.
Trevor can change seed depth in five minutes with his seeder, so timing is not a huge issue when he needs to adjust anything, which is another reason he has chosen the Equaliser.
“I place fertiliser below seed for crop safety with the mechanics of the seeder guaranteeing separation. I haven’t needed to adjust press wheel pressure so far,” he says.
Pests
Trevor does have a slug issue on his high rainfall block, which he baits every year in canola and lupins with excellent results.
Top tips
Trevor’s top tips to improve crop establishment:
- Get farming system right – no-till system.
- Have a plan to work towards that system
- Attention to detail with correct timing is critical
- Bigger is not always best.
More information: Trevor Syme, 0407 999 536, waddiparkfarming@gmail.com