SIX Liebe Group growers set off on a 1300 kilometre adventure from Dalwallinu to Yuna in late August, thanks to support from the Northern Agricultural Catchments Council (NACC).
The first morning of the three day bus trip kicked off with a visit to Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development research scientist Wayne Parker's soil re- engineering sites at Carnamah.
The site had heavy clay soil where clay particles typically clogged the soil pores, reducing the rate of water infiltration and drainage.
Due to the lack to drainage, the crops were experiencing transient salinity.
The aim of the proof-of-concept project is to re-engineer the soil by digging out soil pits, then mixing the soil with compost, biochar and wheat chaff before placing the soil back.
This is the first year of the trial so it will be exciting to see the results in 2024.
Mr Parker's second trial is investigating the use of gravel mulch.
It was quite a striking concept which has already seen doubling in plant biomass compared to full and half stubble and burnt sites.
The group continued its journey to Three Springs where it visited CSBP nitrogen trials with stubble management practices and comparing different nitrogen inhibitors and inputs.
The stubble heights did not seem to have an effect on nitrogen use efficiency.
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Next, they visited Mingenew Irwin Group's lupin nitrogen trial with project officer Courtney Humphrey where the lupins looked fantastic and were knee-high.
Australian Grain Technologies also presented on its wheat trial comparing different sowing depths and herbicide applications where generally, deeply sowed seeds had fewer plants.
The group pushed on to its hotel in Geraldton and enjoyed a lovely evening with some fresh seafood.
The second day was the Yuna Spring Field Day where the group was kindly hosted by the Yuna Farm Improvement Group.
An early morning start saw more than 70 participants join the long carpool of cars, utes and buses through the local countryside visiting crop research trials.
Focus areas included both canola and wheat variety trials, herbicide trials, fallow and stubble management and nitrogen capture.
The Elders herbicide trial highlighted the price tag of different spray mixtures.
The plots had a lot less radish and perennial rye grasses at $57 per hectare compared to the $31/ha ones but interestingly, the $92/ha plots looked rather similar to cheaper options.
Elders agronomist Nick Eyres gave a quick talk on nitrogen capture after vetch and legumes and the many possibilities of soil nitrogen pool management.
With the current fertiliser prices, this might be the year to take advantage of existing nitrogen pools.
There were lots of discussions about different varieties, crop management tricks, and the potential policies that might be coming into place, restricting greenhouse emissions by growers.
The day finished with a lovely sundowner.
On the last day, they visited Spring Park Farms, near Tenindewa where they were optimising green-on-green spraying.
They get 93 per cent efficiency in lupin fields, targeting radish and with the precise nozzle calibration, they can save up to 89pc of chemicals.
Last but not least, the tour visited herbicide with disc seeding and safflower trials with Jack Sawyer from Crop Circle Consulting.
If the conditions are right, safflowers can have higher returns than canola and wheat in Australia.
They have a lot of genetic diversity and perhaps a bright future so keep an eye out for these thistle-looking plants!
A huge thanks to all of the researchers, industry and growers for hosting the group along the way.
