This document summarizes a presentation by Bill Crabtree on the adoption of no-till farming in Australia. Some key points from the presentation include: no-till farming started being adopted in Australia in the 1980s due to concerns about soil erosion. No-till farming improved soil structure and stability. It increased water use efficiency and made farm management more efficient. No-till also made weed control and precision farming easier. The document discusses the benefits of no-till farming such as improved soil biology and increased soil nitrogen over time. Proper agronomic practices and herbicide management are also discussed as important for successful no-till adoption.

1. Why 95% No-Till Adoption?
Presented in UK in March 2014
Bill Crabtree: Consultant, Morawa farmer,
“No-Till Bill”, 29 years no-till work, author,
conservationist, Int Ag tour leader (B.Ag.Sci., M.Sci.)
Twitter @NoTillBill
www.no-till.com.au

5. Be encouraged to join Vic no-till, RR sends apologies

6. Our family farm in 1982

13. Least tillage improves structure most
(Ag Dept - Merredin)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986
Agreggatestability(%)
Zero
Direct
Reduced
Multiple

14. Mud usually sticks to the boot after rain
- not anymore after 3 years of no-till

16. Jim Halford’s 20 years of no-
tilled soil
60 years of tillage
3% OM 5% OM 6% OM

18. Soil biology

23. 6 years with 85% wheat [2008-13] & 12% canola
Exported 6.8 t/ha Wheat equivalents at 12% protein
198 kgN/ha
120 kg
126 kg
N Budget:
Applied 110 kgN/ha
Removed 6.8t = 138 kgN/ha
Unexplained = 28 kgN/ha
Increased soil N of 100 kgN
(from 50 to 150 kgN/ha)
So 28 + 100 = 128 kgN/ha
So 128/7 yrs = 18 kgN/ha/yr
= 39 kg urea/ha/yr
= $21/ha/yr at $550/t
Times 2,800ha $60,060/yr
So far OC unchanged at 0.6%
2011 test

29. Adoption started due to erosion
• No-Till stopped erosion & softened soils
• Darwin said “Earthworm is nature’s plough”
• Water use efficiency improved
• Farm management became efficient
• Precision was more possible
• Weed control was easier
• It was an exciting revolution
• It still is exciting – 20 years later!

30. Typical row width for wheat
25 cm
Trifluralin bandInter-rowFurrow
Weed seeds
Original
surface

32. Atrazine
Metribuzin Simazine
Herbicides applied IAS [Immediately After Sowing]

33. MetribuzinAtrazine Diuron +
Simazine
Herbicides applied IBS [Immediately Before Sowing]

37. Bill Crabtree – no-till adoption
in Australia

38. Bill Crabtree – no-till adoption
in Australia

39. Bill Crabtree – no-till adoption
in Australia
25 cm
row spacing
Wet top 1 cm of soil Wet soil in furrow -
away from evaporation
Rain drop on dry
cut-away soil
Canola is seen in furrows
at Meckering 12 hr after 4
mm of rain on dry topsoil.
Original
soil
surface
Furrow Furrow

40. MoistureMoisture often comes up from below
with no-till slots only
Wet subsoil from summer or autumn rain
dry soil dry soil

41. Finishing rainfall in furrow

42. No-Till brings out the best in soils
• The longer we no-till the better!
– it’s like a good marriage!
• A deep richness and confidence develops
• Soils become softer, absorbing & more resilient
• Intense rain events are captured & converted
• Timing improves, controlled traffic is logical
• Dry sowing becomes possible/desirable
• Biological activity is enhanced
• Drought and floods are mitigated

44. Sow Harvest

47. Strive for good agronomy
• Excellent weed control & adequate pest control
• Right nutrition – Liebergs law of the minimum
• Most appropriate varietal choice
• Strong disease control
• A good start in life (placement/protection)
• Excellent timing, assisted by the right;
– staff, machinery, maintenance, preparation, scale,
controlled traffic, flexibility
• Ever improving soil quality

50. 2 dry-late start

57. Avoid herbicide complacency!
• Must be smart with herbicides
• Use robust rates & rotate
• Keep weeds off balance (timing, tools, new tech)
• The best herbicide is a crop – it works 24/7
• Dry sowing gives a jump start & diversity
• Use good hygiene (clean seed, edges, timing)
• Attack bad areas aggressively
• 3 modes of action = resistance killer
• EU & USA problems, while Canada is all good!

58. Main weed control tools in WA
1. chaff carts
2. windrow burning
3. canola in the rotation
4. hybrid canola vigour
5. use of Sakura and Boxer Gold
6. high rates of trifluralin
7. addition of triallate in the mixes
8. crop topping

59. Main weed control tools cont.
9. swathing
10. delayed sowing of the dirtiest paddocks
11. fallowing in the dry areas
12. weed seeker technology
13. double knock of glyp then SpraySeed
14. dry sowing
15. high seeding rates, split rows
16. Harrington Seed Destructor

68. Strong 2011 wheat crop – noticed poor areas though (acidity)

80. South American GM soya & no-tillage!
– can canola compete

83. GM canola in 2011

84. Do we need GM crop protection technologies
to remain competitive?
Use of GM corn in USA has
been associated with
sustained increases in
yield compared to that in
non-GM Europe
Tony Fischer

85. Greenpeace
cofounder
Dr Patrick Moore
“The campaign of
fear being waged
against GM is based
largely on fantasy
and a complete lack
of respect for science
and logic.”
@EcoSenseNow

88. “We have recently advanced our
knowledge of genetics to a point where
we can manipulate life in a manner
never intended by nature. We must
proceed with the utmost caution in the
application of this new technology”
Luther Burbank,
noted US geneticist,

89. “We have recently advanced our
knowledge of genetics to a point where
we can manipulate life in a manner
never intended by nature. We must
proceed with the utmost caution in the
application of this new technology”
Luther Burbank,
noted US geneticist, 1909

90. ChromosomeChromosome
NucleusNucleus
DNADNA
GeneGene
CellCell
The biology behind GMOs

93. Teosinte Maize
lide courtesy of Wayne Parrott, University of Georgialide courtesy of Wayne Parrott, University of Georgia

94. Slide courtesy of Wayne Parrott, University of GeorgiaSlide courtesy of Wayne Parrott, University of Georgia

95. Slide courtesy of Wayne Parrott, University of GeorgiaSlide courtesy of Wayne Parrott, University of Georgia

96. Wild
cabbage
Kale, 500 BC
Cabbage, 100 AD
Kohlrabi
Germany, 100 AD
Cauliflower
1400's Broccoli
Italy, 1500's
Brussel sprouts
Belgium, 1700's
Slide courtesy Wayne Parrott, University of Georgia, 2005Slide courtesy Wayne Parrott, University of Georgia, 2005

97. Institute of RadiationInstitute of Radiation
BreedingBreeding
Ibaraki-ken, JAPANIbaraki-ken, JAPAN
http://www.irb.affrc.gohttp://www.irb.affrc.go
.jp/.jp/
100m100m
radiusradius
89 TBq89 TBq
Co-60Co-60
source atsource at
the centerthe center
ShieldingShielding
dike 8mdike 8m
highhigh
Gamma FieldGamma Field
for radiationfor radiation
breedingbreeding

98. Golden rice
2,000,000 people die each year from Vitamin A deficiency
500,000 kids develop blindness per year caused by Vit A deficiency
Insertion of provitamin A synthesis genes into rice
Golden rice will be
distributed free
Currently still awaiting
approval for release

100. Thanks for the invite