Change in Rotation

[malleefarmer]

I tend to work on KISS principle a bit. But have livestock which complicates things or makes it easier??

Sow a crop called vetch you may call it tares thats one break crop keep weeds out of it best you can and graze other legume is lupins on sand and canola as a standing crop. My three sown break crops. Other medic/clover pastures.

But swing australia wide is more diverse rotations lentils beans peas lupins canola mustard chickies and supposedly world leader in breeding of lentils for dry climates. New chems coming online and old chems being relooked at so medium to high rainfall areas of aust cropping looks great.

Dreir areas like mine diversify with stock added.

Every farm is different as is farmers attitude to risk enthusiasm soil type frost risk etc etc

[GDR]

I want to simplify my rotation. I am tired of working on the ground scraping lentils out of the gumbo and tired of bunching and burning flax straw. Tired of peas that usually lay down at harvest time. Tired of fighting weeds in these non competitive crops.

I want to go to a cereal (durum) - cereal (HRS or Barley) - Canola rotation and be done with it all.

Comments?

I understand how you feel but we have the opposite problem here, not enough crop options, I just love travelling around and seeing what some places can grow. We just dont have the heat, light or season to grow anything interesting. Mostly cps/bly/canola rotation here. Some wet or frost prone land is really only good for barley and hay rotation.

On varieties we will see but trying Sirish barley this year, supposed to stand well when pushed to the max. Know one guy who has fertilized it for a target yield of 165bpa, stood at 140ish last year he said????

[Braveheart]

I want to simplify my rotation. I am tired of working on the ground scraping lentils out of the gumbo and tired of bunching and burning flax straw. Tired of peas that usually lay down at harvest time. Tired of fighting weeds in these non competitive crops.

I want to go to a cereal (durum) - cereal (HRS or Barley) - Canola rotation and be done with it all.

Comments?

Lots of success here with wheat/canola wheat/canola . . . It literally has built farms. It’s not just for “coasters”. It has been “dazzling”!

Spring wheat is the go to wheat. Winter wheat used to work for some but spring wheat at 85 bu/ac vs winter wheat at 65 quashed that.

If barley is your choice for cereal Synergy or Connect have straight cut we’ll for us.

[farmaholic]

Someone told me the only rotation they want is to rotate out of the Industry...lol

[furrowtickler]

Jazz ...

[furrowtickler]

Non GMO ... huge market , in North America. Don’t have to worry about that fudging puttz of our PM screwing the market just yet cause Trump could care less about our Peter Pan .
He has fudged every other market for western Canadian production

[Hopalong]

No such thing as a perfect rotation, have to keep up with changes in demand for different crops and production, also input costs as well as own farm ability to compete.
Local area has seen switch out of grass alfalfa mostly for beef production to straight grain growing, with simple canola-cereal rotation most common.
Not seeing many new fences or newly seeded forage fields.

[bigzee]

I like the “keep it simple” rotation. Crops that supposedly pay decent have to, the inputs are so high, which in turn has more risk than reward IMO.
I know a lot of farms that grew durum on durum for years and made the farms they have today doing that.
Growing pulses are extremely good for the land, but very damaging to equipment, which today is priced out of control.
Not sure what they answer is?

[furrowtickler]

This was far more damaging in mid October than the nice dry peas we did in August last year .
But ya most times you’re right bigzee

[farmaholic]

BigZee....

Things have changed a bit recently. Disease is a major concern and durum on durum on durum would be a recipe for a wreck if all three sides of the disease triangle are present with that kind of a rotation. Disease pressure wasn't too much of a real problem years ago.

Even the tight canola rotations are stoopid. Clubroot isn't an absolute death sentence but for anyone farming long term why would you want to tempt fate? ....then complain about seed costs that have the latest and greatest "resistance".....ahem...I mean "tolerance".

I would like more pulses in our rotation but root rots are wreaking havoc.

I would like soybeans but they have issues here.

I HATE growing flax but it is a very good break from other plant hosts that are affected by the same pathogens.

Continuous cropping has been a good thing but it has come with it's own set of new challenges. What works in one area doesn't necessarily work in another.

More sprayer time isn't a goal of mine, so if I can help mitigate some issues with a decent rotation...why not?

No one made money summerfallowing or chem fallowing. So even if the margins are a bit tight on some crops in the diverse rotation, I still think it's better than a tight rotation or idle land. Haven't even considered a forage in rotation, there are fewer and fewer livestock guys around and even fewer dairy farms of which there was once many in this area, even the cattlemen here have resorted to growing annual crops for livestock forage ....seems they yeild more tonnes.

[Sheepwheat]

No such thing as a perfect rotation, have to keep up with changes in demand for different crops and production, also input costs as well as own farm ability to compete.
Local area has seen switch out of grass alfalfa mostly for beef production to straight grain growing, with simple canola-cereal rotation most common.
Not seeing many new fences or newly seeded forage fields.

Very true on making due with different crops, for one’s own situation. Some of us though like trying new things, wheat and canola is fine, but boring. Fine if boring pays the bills, but I am one of those who love studying and trying things others don’t try.

Like your area, fences are generally coming down, cows get sold as new generation takes over. Barley canola oats is the order of the day around here. Bit of wheat.

Makes me wonder personally as I am the only one building fences and planting land down to forages. Kinda nervous. 😂

[woodland]

Very true on making due with different crops, for one’s own situation. Some of us though like trying new things, wheat and canola is fine, but boring. Fine if boring pays the bills, but I am one of those who love studying and trying things others don’t try.

Like your area, fences are generally coming down, cows get sold as new generation takes over. Barley canola oats is the order of the day around here. Bit of wheat.

Makes me wonder personally as I am the only one building fences and planting land down to forages. Kinda nervous. 😂

Sounds like our neck of the woods too. More fences disappear than are built around here too. We’re bucking the trend too and some days I question it as well. At least yearling prices bounced back in the last couple weeks.
Put up a mile last fall and 3/4 mile this year.