Farmers tour New Zealand to compare growing methods for grain in high rain

Nineteen farmers from VicNoTill have just returned from New Zealand after a week long trip to investigate producing grain in a high-rainfall system with reduced inputs, high residue, low disturbance and a soil building system.

The tour group travelled across the South Island, including the Canterbury, Southland and Otago regions, where mostly wheat, barley and oats are grown.

Avenel mixed farmer and VicNoTill committee member Callum Lawson said the group noticed high land prices meant the farmers needed to have a high return per hectare.

Mr Lawson has a cattle fattening operation and multispecies crops.

"The harsh reality that we learnt over there was everyone was on such a small amount of land so they have to make every hectare profitable," he said.

"It was definitely an eye opener and we need to keep in touch with them.

"They have beautiful soils and a lot of potential but not functioning as they could be because of the high input."

He said the trip helped reaffirm his, and other Australian current practices on-farm.

"I wouldn't say our soils are the best in the world but we have some function happening and we don't have the pressure to perform like they do over there," he said.

"The consensus from everyone on the trip was we're a very lucky country to not have that massively high cost of land."

Mr Lawson said there was one New Zealand farmer in particular who had been experimenting with no till for about 20 years.

"You could really tell the difference from his no-till system to the high input systems we'd seen everywhere else," he said.

They visited a dairy farm, which was split into half conventional and half regenerative, having cut all synthetic fertilisers on the synthetic side.

The farm managed 5000 cattle on 2200 hectares.

They also visited lamb fattening operations, a beef fattening operation, a lot of grass seed or clover seed, radish seed and linseed farms, a malthouse, and several grain growers.

Mr Lawson said they all faced restrictions with their farming due to ryegrass.

The trip was prompted by recent on-farm trials which showed farmers were falling short on making the most of available water in regenerative farming systems.

The trip looked to address issues including disease pressure, water-use efficiency, soil waterlogging, growing in cooler-temperature soils and financial sustainability.

VicNoTill collaborated with Growers Leading Change, Foundation of Arable Research, to access New Zealand South Island farmers.

The group hoped to investigate avoiding synthetic inputs to manage disease and achieve higher production, nutrient and water use efficiencies, avoid returning to burning residues, and whether farmers should use strategic tillage.

The week's itinerary included a visit to farmers' properties including Mike Porter, Donna and Graeme Lill, and James Halford, as well as Align Farms, TopSoils and a trial site at BioOils, and a jet boat ride in Rakaia Gorge.