IT'S that time of the year when farmers are looking at crops and their thoughts can be black and white.
If you deep ripped you're probably breathing a sigh of relief that you did the job after very good February rains.
If you didn't, there's a high chance you're observing crops with tongues hanging out and yield potential going backwards.
And that hurts.
But if there was a year to show the stark contrasts between rip and non-rip, this is the year.
It's also really showing up the proverbial new kid on the block, the Bednar Terraland chisel plough.
Already owners are using the term 'Terralanding' rather than 'ripping' and there's a good reason.
Unlike a conventional deep ripper, the Terraland digs, delves and mixes.
So, like a ripper, it breaks hardpans, but then it brings up clay and mixes it, usually with lime that has been trying to penetrate into the subsoil for a few years.
Then a vee-ring packer stamps the ground for a smooth finish and an ideal seeding bed.
The result is compelling and photographs quickly tell the story - particularly this year, as crops 'Terralanded' have sent roots rocketing into subsoil moisture while non-'Terralanded' crops have hit hardpans with roots unable to get down to the tantalising moisture.
The chalk-and-cheese scenario is clearly evident in the photographs taken on Marchagee farmer Michael O'Callaghan's property last month.
Mr O'Callaghan farms with his wife Julia and his children and his parents Bevan and Molly.
He also credits his staff Tino (manager), Tyler, Will and Doug as vital to the farm's operations.
Mr O'Callaghan used the Terraland this year, notching up 2500 hectares or about 25 per cent of his cropping program.
He first used the bar three years ago and he has now done about 60pc of his cropping country.
"It could have been a very ordinary season," Mr O'Callaghan said as he looked over a 900ha block of thriving Spartacus barley that had been 'Terralanded' next to a control of an untreated establishment done on the same day.
"Everything else was the same with all the inputs,'' he said.
"We're probably comparing a yield average of three tonnes (per hectare) where we Terralanded to between 400 and 700 kilograms where we didn't, but we might get higher protein out of it."
Mr O'Callaghan's growing season rainfall totalled 150 millimetres with a bonus 108mm in February which is now being accessed by crop plants unhindered by hardpans.
His preparation for cropping this year included a late summer knockdown before he started his Terraland program in mid-May, which included the 900ha block which has never been ripped before.
"We ripped to about 500mm with 75mm points and wide delving plates so we brought up clay with moisture," he said.
"I think that was one of the reasons for the quick germinations, plus with the mixing effect we activated more limesand, with a history of about six tonnes a hectare being spread since 2016."
Mr O'Callaghan regards the Terraland as the ideal soil preparation tool that will help him build up his mostly pear tree yellow sandplain soils with reasonable yellow sand underneath.
"What we're experiencing these days is you've got to be on top of the whole package from the agronomy to the marketing and it's still a learning curve because the goal posts have changed to a large extent," he said.
"Our reality these days are shorter winters and we don't see the traditional rain fronts from May to August.
"We're the new Binnu down here and we're in a drying trend.
"It's almost like a five week winter these days and so you've got to increase your water-use efficiency.
"What I'm doing now with the Terraland is to give myself a chance of getting a result because it's more than deep ripping, which I've done before with success.
"But while I got results, the process was different because with just ripping, you're not mixing the topsoil.
"I think what I'm doing now is less expensive than spading and if I tried mould boarding I would get too much clay at the surface and risk crusting at its worst and exposure to wind damage.
"With the Terraland I can rip, delve, mix and pack and have an ideal seed bed with the knowledge that I'm leaving the crop with no excuses.
"And in a year such as this one, comparing where I Terralanded and where I didn't, is chalk and cheese.
"You only have to dig around in the crop that's struggling to see roots are not getting down to access subsoil moisture and in many cases the plant roots are only inches away from it."
Bednar national distributor Grant Borgward said the goal of Terraland owners was to increase soil structure and enhance moisture-holding capacity in the topsoil to create a bigger bucket.
"The technology of the Terraland is designed to help the farmer bring the subsoil, which is richer in potassium and clay particles, more to the surface while ripping deep into the profile to break through hardpans," Mr Borgward said.
"The shape of the Terraland tyne, matched with the delving blades, do a great job of bringing up the soil from below with a higher clay content which increases the soil's nutrient-holding capacity and increases potassium content of the topsoil.
"It also reduces non-wetting sand as it is diluted with clay resulting from the mixing action of the Terraland.
"The Terraland leaves the soil enriched with extra nutrients mixed well throughout the profile and firms and evenly mixes the topsoil.
"With the range of blade widths from 40mm to 125mm and also the option of delving blades, you can simply tool the machine up or down in blade size depending on the amount of mixing that needs to be achieved in each paddock.
"The result, apart from oxygenating the subsoil, is that you bring nutrients up from below, mix and activate the soil to release tied-up nutrients, reduce water-logging and pack the surface to reduce moisture loss and stop erosion."
Mr Borgward said the residual benefit of using the Terraland would vary and anecdotal evidence showed yield benefits for four or five years.
"But each time you use the Terraland you're coming from a higher base than before which means you're continually improving your soils and hopefully making them more fertile," he said.
