IT REALLY doesn't matter how much you embrace changing technology.
The important point is whether that technology is delivering a return on investment.
And when the return on investment question was posed to Wongan Hills farm manager Brad West about the farm's purchase of two six metre Bednar Terraland chisel ploughs in 2019, the answer was short.
"Our cost of using the two bars was $120 a hectare," Mr West said.
"We recouped that cost in a year.
"This year I would conservatively estimate the yield gain from where we ripped with the Terraland will be between 500 and 700 kilograms a hectare versus the unripped crops, both grown on predominantly sandy gravels and deep sands and patches of medium clay."
The reason for buying the two Terralands was based on a mouldboard plough trial several years ago, primarily aimed at bringing up clay and eliminating non-wetting top soils.
"It didn't work because while we got the clay up it sealed the topsoil," Mr West said.
"With the Terraland we get a good even mix and an even finish to sow into and non-wetting is not an issue with the clay mixed in."
Interestingly, Mr West, who works for local farmer Robert Sewell, said the farm's plan was to "go CTF" (controlled traffic farming).
"We're halfway through and we're Terralanding before we set up the tram lines," he said.
"We're probably looking at five years before we need to go back and renovate from soil settling but that's OK because we can also renovate the tramlines at the same time."
In 2019, Mr West Terralanded 800 hectares and this year he increased the program to 3500ha.
What excites him most about using the Terraland, apart from crop yield increases, is the soil building.
"What we're seeing is that mixing the soil is critical to aerating it and giving it a chance to start building structure with the roots going deeper into the subsoil," he said.
"We know that rain leaches silt and clay out of the topsoil every time it rains, so if we can stop that we'll obviously create a bigger bucket to hold moisture in the topsoil.
"Basically what we're doing is renovating and building up the soil while we're making money doing it.
"It's not enough now to just seed, fertilise and spray.
"We're not seeing the number of traditional fronts and that makes it hard to get a decent return in a climate where the winters seem to be getting shorter.
"It's becoming more common to hear these days that we're one rain short of a top crop."
According to Bednar national distributor Grant Borgward, who also farms at Morawa with his brother Clint, the Terraland is part of an agronomic package to incrementally improve soil structure and therefore water-holding capacity.
"It's not going to happen overnight, but every time you use the Terraland you're coming from a better base to improve the soil," Mr Borgward said.
"When farming started in WA, everything had to do with natural soil fertility.
"Over the years our cropping practices have caused a severe decline in fertility with poorer soil structure.
"If we can get the soil back to a more natural fertility state, it stands to reason we'll get more consistent returns on our costs of production in a range of variable seasons.
"And Terraland owners already are gaining extra profit from year one while improving soils for more sustainable profit."
Mr West said based on increased yields he was achieving on Terraland-ripped country, he could envisage a potential lift in farm yield average from 2.4 tonnes a hectare to 3.2t/ha once a full ripping program was achieved.
In 2018, Mr Sewell bought a Bednar Swifterdisc primarily to manage thick cereal stubbles, improve efficacy of pre-emergent chemicals and achieve good mixing of ameliorants, mainly lime, in the top 120 millimetres of the soil.
"The job it does is really good and because it mixes in all the stubbles about 95 per cent of the weeds are plainly exposed to be hit by chemical," Mr Sewell said.
"You also don't get any movement of the soil because the packers leave a corrugated pattern which not only encourages water harvesting, it slows the wind.
"You get a bit of dust lifting but the soil stays intact."
The Swifterdisc has also been used to incorporate potash and lime and some urea.
The plan is to use the Swifterdisc over lupins and canola (after smashing canola stubbles with a Stubble Cruncher) for seedbed preparation and access cereal paddocks on an as-needed basis.
According to Mr Borgward, the Swifterdisc XE12400 is designed with a working width of 12.4 metres (which can match controlled traffic systems) and is a three-row unit with leading counter-facing discs on the front two rows followed by a V-ring roller.
"The action of the Swifterdisc also makes it a valuable tool for straight incorporation of clay or gypsum," Mr Borgward said.
The cultivation effect also provides pathways for plant roots to access moisture, while the V-ring roller knocks down soil clods, provides a level seed bed, incorporating smaller residues and locks in moisture by firming the surface.
The latter effect is important to prevent any capillary action of subsoil moisture being evaporated before seeding.
The resultant hill-valley pattern of the roller dramatically reduces wind and water erosion while able to harvest any moisture from rain or heavy dews.
