June 13, 2002

Good farmers in the more marginal growing areas of the Australia¹s northern grains region ­ Central Queensland for instance ­ readily admit today¹s vastly improved technology sees them harvesting crops in seasons which once would have guaranteed failure.

They¹ve introduced conservation farming measures like controlled traffic and zero tillage, and are getting a much better handle on soil moisture, row spacings and plant populations.

They¹ve liked getting a grain cheque in hard years but would like to be more certain of getting them.

According to Maurie Conway, principal technical officer with Queensland¹s Department of Primary Industries at Emerald, growers are indicating a readiness to forego some of the big cheques that Central Queensland is capable of delivering in good years if they can be sure of some money in the
bad years.

Which is why scientists and farmers from the Central Queensland Sustainable Farming Systems project are collaborating with research staff from Pioneer Seeds to reduce the risk of sorghum production in a highly variable climate.

The sustainable farming systems project is one of three in the northern region supported by growers and the Federal Government through the Grains Research & Development Corporation (GRDC).

"Despite the advances already made, we know sorghum has the potential to be a better crop than it is now in Central Queensland," Mr Conway said.

"Losses from poor stands, rain at harvest, drought, weeds, inadequate nutrition and crop failures all combine to increase the riskiness of the crop and reduce overall profitability.

"We want to reduce this riskiness and ensure there will be a cash flow from sorghum in most years that it is planted. In brief we are trying to develop a lower risk sorghum package for Central Queensland growers."

Mr Conway says work so far has involved:

• getting sorghum populations right and avoiding sparse and patchy stands that can easily reduce yields by 30 per cent;
• determining the best sorghum plant population for Central Queensland¹s seasonal variability;
• having planting configurations that allow uniform flowering and maturity, so that early spray-out and harvest can cut the time a crop stands in the paddock;
• determining the best row space and planting configurations ­ solid, skip-row or wide row ­ for deep soils, shallow soils and soils with subsoil limitations of sodicity or salinity;
• determining the risk associated with various row space and planting configurations in good and dry seasons;
• getting the optimal amount of nitrogen to the crop in the least risky and most cost effective way, and
• integrating all these technologies with current best practice farming systems.

"Characteristically, the highly variable Central Queensland climate has made the work difficult. Dry years challenge our research because shortage of moisture can over-ride the effects of the different crop treatments we are trying," Mr Conway said.