Farmers were out in paddocks at the Gippsland Research Farm last week looking at and learning about a host of new ideas and demonstrations.
The focus of the farmer-operated Gippsland Agricultural Group's Spring Field Day was on things that can be controlled - and making more topsoil was one demonstration that created a lot of discussion around the pits.
The demonstration too place on a paddock that had been deep-ripped to a depth of 300-350 millimetres, incorporating the first 100mm of topsoil with the underlying clay.
"Rather than buy another paddock at who knows what per acre," GAgG's drought adoption officer Rick Blackshaw said to a group.
"What would it look like if we invested $1000 an acre in land we already have, and how long does the benefit last?
"Because we need to find a way for our soils to be more robust."
The weather, commodity prices and interest rates took a backseat as attendees chose from 11 topics to learn about, including the Growing More Topsoil and Soil Amelioration sessions run by Mr Blackshaw.
He is leading a five-year project jointly funded by Meat & Livestock Australia to look at the practice of soil amelioration in its capacity to increase water and nutrient-holding capacity and overall soil health.
The Gippsland Drought Node Good and Fibre Gippsland has also invested in the Growing More Topsoil project where the questions include: Can we substantially increase our water-holding capacity in our topsoil, and can we double our topsoils from 150 millimetres to 300mm?
In what was deemed the largest field day to date by GAgG chief executive Trevor Caithness, soil experts, Peter Norwood, of Full Circle Nutrition, and Federation University soil scientist, Bill Grant, were on hand at the sessions.
Both men took on on a plot using their chosen method to achieve a doubling in topsoil.
The Fed Uni method is to balance soil chemistry and structure, incorporating soil compost as the primary focus, while Full Circle Nutrition is aiming to balance trace elements in addition to core macronutrients.
The third plot is run by a farmer group, concentrating on traditional sources of fertility and standard machinery.
Although he would not usually recommend such an extreme activity like deep ripping, Mr Grant openly acknowledged the demonstration was dealing with "very challenging soils".
For Mr Blackshaw, the investment in soils is probably more viable than buying the neighbour's place.
"These amendments are also aimed at increasing water penetration and holding capacity and we'll use the green manure crop we've grown to help that," Rick said.
"A lot of people at the field day wanted to see it grazed, so we listened and will graze it with cattle, then we'll use the manure and remaining trash which should get the biology and fingi going beautifully.
"We'll take another core sample next year and measure the tonnage grown, as well as the soil's capacity and structure in each of the three plots."
Mr Caithness said the field days offered social interaction and communication, as well as ideas about things farmers could control.
"It was most encouraging to observe our members gleaning information from trials to take home and try out in their own business," he said.
"The degree of upskilling that's taking place within our region is excellent."
Many of the demonstrations at the research farm are run in conjunction with industry partners.
Veterinarian consultant Alison Gunn, Herd Solutions, is a co-convenor of the Meat and Livestock Australia joint-funded Growing Perennial Pastures in a Variable Climate project.
The demonstration at the research farm aims to demonstrate four different preparation methods, using six different seed mixes to determine the most persistent and productive perennial pastures for Gippsland.
"The attendance was amazing and there was some good discussion on establishing and managing perennial pastures," Alison said.
"It's a six-year project that also includes six demonstrations on farms across the Wellington and East Gippsland shires."
Agronomist Liz Semmens, Vast Agronomy, said there was a distinct difference in the demonstration plots that had been properly prepared for sowing.
The two led large groups across the paddocks and encouraged questions and discussion.
"It's obvious in this replicated demonstration that proper preparation improves your outcomes," Ms Semmens said.
She said the demonstration was aiming to get perennials in to retain ground cover and keep moisture, so they'll grow for longer and provide year-round feed.
"You also need to know your nutrient base line, it's a good starting point before you begin so you can target species to suit and not fight nature too much," she said.
