A cropping enterprise was a handy adjunct to producing prime lamb and wool, according to Nullawil mixed farmer, Denis Ryan.
“If you get an early break, there’s no problem – we have to sow our feed, that’s all there is to it, you can allocate a paddock to grazing and – hopefully – that will get you through the year.”
Each paddock was generally grazed three times, before being locked up. “The sheep are very handy - they are very profitable, there is no doubt about that,” Mr Ryan said. “I’ve been budgeting, the last two or three years, on 120 per cent, with that – and the wool – you can nearly budget on $150 clear, which is not bad money.” He said he had reintroduced Merinos as a dual purpose sheep, after initially running cross breeds. “Merinos are tougher, better and you can still get your lambs – years ago, if you got 80 per cent out of a Merino, you would be skiting, but most are getting 100pc out of them. If you are doing it properly you can get 130pc, I am getting between 115-120pc.”
The cropping side of the enterprise involved wheat, barley, vetch, field peas and sometimes canola.“You have to have subsoil moisture (for canola) - you can’t even think about if you don’t have subsoil moisture,” Mr Ryan said. He switched to no-till in 2011, following a wrist operation several years earlier, which restricted his ability to drive a tractor. The GPS system was “a great invention” and Mr Ryan said he was one of early adopters.“I got it fitted to my tractor, so I could drive it with one hand.”
The system was not very sophisticated, but it worked.“I have an old chisel plough, which has been converted with Jenke tines – there’s nothing fancy about it, but it works. You have to get it through the straw and into the ground.”
“No till controls the weeds with the use of chemicals all the way through, you dry sow now, put vetch in, and then start sowing barley – rain or not. I have lighter country, no till is made for lighter country, it makes a lot of difference in very sandy, loose soil. We will always get a crop off, it might only be a two bag crop, but it’s a two bag crop and that’s better than down the road, where they get nothing.” Mr Ryan said he on a third break system, although one of the problems he was running into was residue, due to low rainfall.
“You can’t got back with conventional the next year but I am hoping I won’t have to use chemicals, there will be enough residue from last year, to control things.”
Mr Ryan said he generally budgeted on planting 60-70 kg of wheat and 50kg of barley per hectare – adding around 40kg/ha of MAP.
“Rainfall works, that’s what grows your crop - it makes a lot of difference.” He was currently sowing, and said he usually planted conventional Mace wheat, Clearfield, Scope and Hindmarsh barley.
“Last year, the barley went a bit of 1.8-1.9/ha, the wheat was 1.2-3/ha, which was below average; I sold it on harvest and the price was quite good.
“I don’t store much, its just in case – I’ve got enough seed for the next year. It’s good insurance and you have stock feed.”