IT has been acknowledged as one of the game changers of modern day agriculture and WANTFA’s 25th anniversary celebration and annual general meeting last Friday provided the perfect opportunity to reflect on the impact no-till practices have had on cropping programs around the State and across the nation.
Under the gum trees on the picturesque Crawley foreshore, founding member and inaugural president, Darkan farmer Ray Harrington, said while WANTFA had always been about looking forward, this 25th milestone warranted a bit of looking back.
“In doing so I pose two questions,” Mr Harrington said.
“Did our significant changes to cropping systems get adopted and did we achieve anything by making these changes?
“Well in all my travels around this State, I have only seen two people who have not taken it (no-till) up and they are small-time sheep farmers.
“And I estimate in dollar terms it has been worth over a billion dollars to the industry.
“Particularly in a year like this, the worst I’ve seen in my area in 55 years of farming, no-till has been the difference between people surviving or falling over.”
Mr Harrington recalled taking no-till to the Mallee district in Victoria 22 years ago when it “was a sand bowl and on the bones of its back-side”.
“I went back two months ago, my first visit in 15 years, and you would not believe how it looks now with two-tonne lentil crops and three-tonne wheat crops everywhere,” Mr Harrington said.
As part of the 25th anniversary celebrations three stalwarts of no-till cropping were honoured.
Former presidents Geoffrey Marshall, Wes Baker and Toll Temby, who recently retired from farming within six months of each other, were recognised for their outstanding service to WANTFA over many years.
Life member Mr Marshall was on the board for more than 20 years and president from 1994 to 1997, life member Mr Temby was the association’s last president (2008 to 2012) before a constitutional name change to chairman and Mr Baker was its first chairman in (2012 to 2015).
Foundation member Bill Crabtree said the three were inspirational leaders who had farmed through frosts and droughts.
In responding Mr Temby said no-till’s reach was so extensive many farmers were participating in it without probably even realising.
“We made great inroads with no-till and knife points but we know there is so much more beyond this we can explore and research for even further gains,” Mr Temby said.
This was supported by current WANTFA chairman Clint Della Bosca who said controlled traffic farming and weed control were two of the issues on the drawing board.
Mr Crabtree also paid tribute to other no-till early adopters and influential former WANTFA members Lake Grace farmer Steve King (deceased), Gairdner farmer Rick Swarbrick (deceased), Lake King farmer Owen Brownley (deceased) and retired engineer Kevin Bligh.
“These men were sticklers for integrity and their opinions could not be bought by anything but a stubborn truth,” Mr Crabtree said.
“Change doesn’t come without a fight and I don’t think people realise how tough it was to cut through in those early years.
“Proof of the belief Steve King had in no-till from the start, he like Geoffrey Marshall, put his whole farm in in that first year despite being advised to try 50 acres first.”
