EverCrop aims to develop improved farming systems for the crop-livestock zone incorporating perennials. It addresses constraints to adopting perennials and develops tools to evaluate their role. Experiments are conducted across rainfall zones to determine the productivity and tradeoffs of incorporating perennials into low rainfall cropping systems. Research includes modelling fodder shrub growth, measuring saltbush and Rhagodia preisii performance across landscapes, and evaluating summer-growing grasses to fill feed gaps in the Victorian Mallee.

2. EverCrop Aims
To develop improved farming systems for the
crop-livestock zone i
li t k incorporating perennials f
ti i l for
increased profit and NRM benefits
Address constraints to adoption of perennials
Develop tools to assist in evaluating and
developing the role of perennials in crop
crop-
livestock systems: EverCrop Decide
2

3. The EverCrop Project
EC Decide Robertson, Lawes, Moore et al
WA: Medium NSW: U o
S Uniform
rainfall zone Rainfall Zone
Ferris, Ward, D Dear, Li, Hayes, P
olling et al eoples et al
SA-Vic: Low-rainfall zone
Whitbread, Llewellyn, Davoren, H
arris et al
3

4. Agronomy
go o y Farmer Local
research Adaptation
Adoptability
Groups
evaluation
Modelling
research On-farm
adaptive
R&D
Better understood and
more adoptable FS
changes
4

5. Mixed farmers with low-yield, high-risk cropping
soils seeking viable perennial option…
Alan Buckley, Waikerie
“No-till and stubble retention has meant that I can manage my
sand and get good reliable yields from it”
“I’m now concentrating cropping inputs on my reliable cropping
zones and grazing the marginal zones
I’m looking for possibilities for the land I don’t want to crop that
will provide forage value and cover?”
cover?
Has tried saltbush – wants a better option for lamb enterprise
5

6. Forage shrub plantings:
where and how much in the SA Mallee
Saltbush plantings
Roger
Lawes
Nat
Raisbeck-
Brown
Rick
Llewellyn
90cm aerial imagery (Oct 2008) + Terrain analysis
Groundtruthed Dec 2009 (66 sites): + 5% – 5% error
Murray Mallee LAP Region
6

7. Forage shrub plantings: Murray Mallee
124 farm blocks with forage shrubs (almost entirely
saltbush)
41% of farm blocks with saltbush had only 1 patch
11% had 3 patches
On farm blocks with some saltbush:
Median 13ha per farm block (ave 2.7% of farm block)
Totals to 3070 ha forage shrub
(3413 ha of saltbush subsidised by MM LAP over past
decade)
75% planted on ‘dune’
7

8. EverCrop
Low Rainfall
Mallee
Waikerie MSF Site
Forage shrub production b soil t
F h b d ti by il type +Perennial
Enrich site (Davoren, SAMDBNRM)
Grass options MMLAP
Pasture cropping options
Werrimull Vic Site: new shrubs Vs annual
options by soil type (Harris)
Research into existing forage shrub stands
Spatial
S ti l approach – potential land class areas
h t ti l l d l
Mallee MIDAS
8

9. Analysis of the p
y potential value of perennials in Mallee mixed-farming systems
p g y
Spatial and soil-specific potential Whole-farm analyses
Determinants of perennial profitability and
-Effective land management units and production potential use
potential (Whitbread, Jones, Llewellyn et al) Mallee MIDAS
Options for Cropping Options for Marginal Land
Land
Fodder shrub
Simulating fodder
Reducing Production production
shrub performance
establishment potential of pasture potential by soil
over soils and
costs of perennial options and climate
seasons
p
pasture legumes
g - Pasture growth curve -Toposequence
- Lucerne establishment modelling experiment (Whitbread)
trials (Vic DPI) (Whitbread, Harris) -Existing stand analysis
-Species mixtures (Emms;
Species
SARDI)
-Waikerie Enrich site
EverCrop (Davoren)
Activities - Millewa Landcare fodder
Perennial grass
shrub trial
options
New low rainfall (Whitbread New fodder shrub species
Partner
legumes (CRC) Mallee WUE Project BCG) Saline Grazing
project
(GRDC) development- Enrich (CRC) Systems projects
Activities
(CRC)

10. “In the Mallee, can perennial, annual or mixed forage options incorporated
into the farming system, particularly in the marginal parts of the
landscape, improve overall resilience and p
p , p profitability?”
y
10

12. Atriplex semibaccata
(Creeping Saltbush)

13. What are the options/productivity/tradeoffs for incorporating perennials into
low
lo rainfall cropping systems
s stems
Poor performing areas that remain in the cropping program
•Managed as the rest of the paddock with lower inputs (Precision Agriculture)
•Planted as an annual system but managed/utilised separately from the paddock (e g In season
system, (e.g.
grazing and potentially growing grain in good seasons)
•Planted to low growing perennials (grazed or ungrazed)
Areas where land use changes
•Alley systems (fodder-shrub cropping) on wide rows with opportunity pastures/cereals
•New multi-spp forage shrub systems
•New pasture based systems (including no-kill, pasture cropping)

14. Determining the performance of saltbush and other potential new shrub
systems
s stems for the land t pes of the lo rainfall Mallee region
types low
Modelling the growth of fodder shrubs
Empirical – relationships between rainfall, soil type, landscape position and growth rate/water use
(Hobbs et al. 2009 Florasearch – contain examples of such data), but developing the predictive capacity
for performance across landtype and interaction/competition with other spp/crops not possible.
Mechanistic – develops an understanding of the process of plant growth, therefore the factors
(water, nutrients, radiation, temperature) that determine growth rate/water use under optimal conditions
(develops the relationships) and then modifies them for the real world stresses
(water/nutrient/light/temp)
Our approach is to use existing APSIM model capability and develop a generic fodder shrub model for
modelling saltbush and other spp - apply to more diverse questions/scenarios
• location in the landscape x growth rate
• analyse the potential for wide row alley systems, competition between spp.
• comparisons with the fodder options
• potential for C sequestration, water use
• derive the simpler empirical models of growth rate x rainfall x soil type

15. Example o modelling to a field sca e quest o
a p e of ode g e d scale question
Block Edge Competition Protected Open Paddock
Zone Zone
Wind Speed
0 5 10 15 20
Distance (tree heights)
• Tradeoffs between a tree plantation bordering cropping land
• Benefits of trees on wind speed, reduced drainage,
• In a semi arid environment competition for water
semi-arid environment,

16. Determining the performance of saltbush and other potential new shrub
systems
s stems for the land t pes of the lo rainfall Mallee region
types low
Experiment 1: Saltbush model development of growth rate from planting to 1 year old using
destructive techniques….model regrowth
q g
Aim: Collect parameter datasets for building the APSIM-saltbush model by measuring a saltbush
growth rate experiment and measuring non-destructively height, width, (stem diameter) and edible
drymatter (Adelaide technique) and destructively stem/leaf mass, root mass, LAI.
Method: An irrigated trial containing de cock and eyres g
g g y green was established June 2009. It is has
been measured 4 Nov, 22 Dec, 18Feb.

17. Determining the performance of saltbush and other potential new shrub
systems
s stems for the land t pes of the lo rainfall Mallee region
types low
Experiment 2:
Aim: Measure the performance (g
p (growth rate, water use) of saltbush and Rhagodia p
, ) g preisii across a
dune-swale landscape
Method: An landscape trial containing Saltbush (de cock) and Rhagodia preisii was established
May-June 2009 on 4 m rows. It is has been measured 4 Nov, 22 Dec, 18Feb. (DM-Adelaide
y , , (
technique, height, width). Other established saltbush plantations on various landtypes are also
being measured for biomass annually

19. The potential of summer-growing grasses to
fill feed gaps in t e Victorian Mallee
eed the cto a a ee
Work initiated by BCG under “Perennial Profit in the Mallee Wimmera”
Perennial Wimmera
NLP & Mallee CMA /Evercrop
• Species Audit by Pengelly et al. 2006
• Sowing date:10 November 2006
• 6 grasses and 1 legume
Panicum maximum cvv. Gatton and Petrie
cvv
Panicum coloratum cvv. Bambatsi and ATF714
Digitaria milanjiana cv. Strickland
Bothriochloa bladhii ssp. Glabra (Swann)
Desmanthus virgatus cv. Marc
CSIRO.

20. Plant numbers
a t u be s
2
Table 4. Establishment (pl/m ) counts made in March 2008, April 2009 and Feb 2010 for all
varieties (M
i ti (Mean of sowing rates).
f i t )
2008 establishment (plants/m2)
Gatton Petrie Bambatsi ATF-714 Strickland Marc LSD
2008 23.5
23 5 14.0
14 0 15.0
15 0 8.1
81 19.1
19 1 12.5
12 5 8.6
86
2009 4.7 4.1 6.5 10.6 2.5 1.9 2.7
2010 5.9 4 5.8 10.9 2.3 1.8 -
CSIRO.

21. April 2009
p 009
CSIRO.

22. Dry matter production- measured
y atte p oduct o easu ed
Figure 1. Biomass measured at June 2007, March 2008, 2009, Jan 2010
CSIRO.

23. 80
Dry matter production- simulated
y atte p oduct o s u ated
day
60
Daily growth rate (kg DM/ha/d
Mean
40 25 percentile
r
median
75 percentile
20
0
Figure J J A S O N D J F M A M
1a

24. Co c us o s t op ca s
Conclusions-tropicals
• The potential for filling critical “autumn” feedgaps was the
motivation behind this work.
• Simulation has shown that September to December is the period
of most rapid growth and provided that pasture quality can be
and,
maintained, there is potential for this feed to carry over for use
later in summer
• Wh
Where annual medics or other legumes can b grown i thi
l di th l be in this
pasture system there may be benefits arising from improved
nitrogen cycling, feed quality and ground cover
CSIRO.

25. Future Work (new phase…)
Species evaluation-larger scale, grazed
• Testing the most promising subtropical spp. (Panicum coloratum
cvv. Bambatsi and ATF714) under larger and grazed commercial
p
plantings
g
• Sown or self regenerating pastures -some summer growing
grasses native to the Mallee (Austrodanthonia spp. Speargrass
Stipa spp, Windmill grass Chloris truncata and purple p
p pp, g p p plume
grass, Dichelachne spp.)
• Other Spp identified by Enrich (e.g. Cullen, A. semibaccata)
Testing and demonstrating new systems
• Field testing of novel systems such as pasture-cropping
• Fodder shrub mixes and/or inter-row options for wide plantings
• Feed year planning and animal enterprises of new systems
Data for future analysis
• Basic growth rate/seed regeneration data for medics, lucerne
g g ,

26. Time