Covid was the push I needed to return to the family farm and recommence work with my parents David and Helen; my brother Dean returning shortly after me. We have 6500 acres where we crop two thirds of it with wheat, barley, canola, lupins and vetch as well as running separate merino and crossbred enterprises.
Rainfall has been quite sporadic in these parts but so far, the crops are hanging in there (but we would happily welcome more rain!). Apart from some cutworm pressure earlier on in the season, pest and disease pressure has remained relatively low due to the drier conditions.
Recently I have been focused on our spray applications, creating fallows and machinery maintenance in preparation for harvest. We have recently upgraded our header to increase capacity on farm which I am excited about.
One of my projects on farm has been to implement a soil health program. I have been conducting across farm soil tests, comparing them with historical tests and analysing management practices. My goal is to increase soil organic carbon and increase moisture retention. I am interested to see how changing our operation can positively impact our soil health and therefore increasing our yield potential. We introduced the vetch on farm in response to this program to fix nitrogen and create green manure. I am looking forward to seeing the results over the coming years and creating a more sustainable enterprise.