Soil preservation with Nigel and Peter Baird
[00:00:00]
Tanja Morgan: Hello, and welcome to the MSF farm talk podcast. For this episode, we visit the new south Wales Mallee region where consultant Chris McDonough catches up with cousins Nigel Baird and Peter Baird in a paddock badly drifted in the 2018 and 2019 drought.
They're talking about the GRDC funded project, practical tactics to improve ground cover and ensure soil preservation following successive low rainfall seasons. The Bairds is a remarkable story of recovery. Following extended period of drought, which in itself is bad enough. But as a result, thousands of kangaroos descended from station country to take away any remaining ground cover. And this caused devastating wind erosion.
Since then Nigel and Peter had been working really hard to get the paddock back to where it was brought to the drought. And their success now just goes to show what can be done with a bit of hard work and determination. [00:01:00] So we hope you enjoy this episode. Take a listen.
Chris McDonough: Here we are in north of Wentworth. We are in some Mallee cropping country amongst some station country on the property of Nigel Baird's here, and with cousin Peter Baird as well. And perhaps you just tell us a bit about your farming system out here.
Nigel Baird: Yep. Yep. So we're about 65 Ks northwest of Wentworth.
And we're predominantly Merino grazing with a bit of opportunistic cropping. And that's our main things with a little bit of a goat enterprise on the side, just feral goats. And yeah dealing with drought issues and trying to keep things going. A broad overview, but that's it.
Chris McDonough: So what sort of rainfall, annual rainfall do you a tribute to here?
Nigel Baird: Historically we're that sort of eight, 200 mill, eight to nine inches a year. But and growing season that's varies so much. But generally we used to be typically winter rainfall, but dunno what's what at the moment.
Chris McDonough: So [00:02:00] extremely variable and it's obviously a lot of risk in the, particularly the cropping enterprise. So what sort of in ground like this, what sort of cropping sequence would you normally try to work to?
Nigel Baird: Previously, yeah cereals and cereals. And we had been When it used to rain trying to throw the pulse mainly peas into our rotations. But yeah weather restraints and stuff have yeah, put us all in the loop, but generally that's what we'll be aiming to do is Two or three cereals with a pulse crop in between.
Chris McDonough: Peter, do you do a bit of agronomy for a few farmers through the area?
What did you see happen from a reasonable year in 16 and then here, there year in 17, but then we hit some real drought stuff. What actually happened to this land through the New South Wales Mallee here.
Peter Baird: Obviously the drought was the major catalyst for the problem s that evolved based on no rains, no growth of anything but vermin moving from the north.
Was probably second to that, causing the biggest issues. Bar none, I'd say. So there was probably grazing issues [00:03:00] evolved. The landholders may have, would now think twice on, but whether they had done that or not, the vermin Yeah, basically pulverized all residual stubble material when crops weren't sown cause it was too droughty and no rainfall early on. So the
Chris McDonough: kangaroos came from the north, hit the river or the two rivers and then banked up back to here and,
Peter Baird: They basically just, they get funneled
Chris McDonough: down from north and it's the worst you've ever seen, basically for
Nigel Baird: Oh, ever. Historically nobody has seen kangaroos in the numbers that we did in 2017, 18, 19, and even yeah, 20.
Chris McDonough: Peter, how would you describe the soil types here and which ones are the most vulnerable to potential erosion?
Peter Baird: Where it was standing right now is premium red sandy loan. Okay. Yes. In that respect. So productivity wise, which historically in a sand dune swale type scenario would be where people might be most concerned for erosion, but it's actually in this environment, it's some of the lower elevate d or less elevated soil types where it's rubbely [00:04:00] calcareous soil types that yeah, are very prone to erosion and it's mainly cause there's less growth, so less residual cover, but that residual cover when it's dry or green as well, but particularly dry livestock will graze more intensely cause it's actually sweeter. And vermin are the same. So it's becomes basically double-edged sword that Yeah, it doesn't grow as much, but it also gets eaten out more rapidly.
Chris McDonough: And that Marley stuff. Yeah, with a bit of hoof on it as well just fines up and goes like bull dust
Peter Baird: Yep. And just drive over at once and it's powder.
Nigel Baird: It's powder.
Chris McDonough: You also got some fairly sandy rises as well. And so what actually happened as you got into say, 2019? In terms of just the whole paddock and the surface and stuff like that?
Nigel Baird: I dunno whether it actually got proven or not, but 2019 seemed darn windy.
And and yes, the dry areas exacerbated the. The whole wind thing because every time we had a little, seemed like a little breeze. We had a dust storm. Yeah. Yeah, it pretty much wrecked [00:05:00] this paddock. Yeah. It was not a functionable paddock.
Chris McDonough: It was completely lumpy.
Nigel Baird: And lumpy. You couldn't put a header over it.
It was shocking, disappointing almost heartbreaking sort of thing.
Chris McDonough: And then you got a bit of a crop on 20 and then 2021 was still that. You couldn't even say that cuz it was Yep. No sub was No early break or no break rain. So you just had to pull out and left it.
Left it to what it was. Yep. And hoped that it hot held, but it still got quite lumpy, so Yeah.
Nigel Baird: Yeah. Our plans were 2020 was, we had a little bit of rain and we needed to get some form of cover back through all these areas here. And it actually grew, it died and it grew back and we actually tried to harvest it and that's when we said, this is not a functionable paddock as it is. Yeah. And so going forward before we try to do it, we need to do something. To make it a functionable paddock.
Chris McDonough: So when you look here, I'm just really excit ed. What we're seeing now is a really good crop cover over the whole paddock, which is fantastic. We've got some vision of, [00:06:00] when it was completely bare and just making that choice to be actually put leveling equipment over it and you went over.
You can explain that in a second, but, just making those decisions to say yes, I'm gonna commit. Once you commit to fixing it, you gotta go in boots and all, don't you? So can you just describe that process of when you did actually said this is the year to do it. Why did you decide that, that was okay?
And then how did you go about it?
Nigel Baird: Yep. I'll try to keep this one short because it's in, that's in there's so many factors, decisions. The simple way I describe it is you've got a hundred thousand dollars. Might as well go put it on the blackjack table. Really, flip a coin.
Chris McDonough: But you did have some...
Peter Baird: ...early opening rain.
Chris McDonough: Yeah. summer rains didn't you?
Nigel Baird: Going away from that we'd had 2021 as. We had a bit of cover from self-signed from 2020 but we got the good rain or some summer rains and been fallowed 2021. We'd started to build up a profile of moisture. And [00:07:00] yeah, going on that we went right oh, we've got half a profile of moisture If we get summer rains and then a good opening break early April. That, that was the trigger point. Fill that profile up, full profile. Let's go and let's do it. Things aligned, the moon's aligned, and that's what what happened. We made the decision and it's semi paid off so far.
Chris McDonough: So Peter, you're involved with some of that mechanical work.
What sort of what were you doing with what machinery to bring it back and how many times?
Peter Baird: I think the first rain was on the, 15th or thereabouts of April. And I think within three days we'd Yeah, hooked on with a chisel plow to basically open up the paddock as such full cultivation with the chain.
Chris McDonough: And that was just not the worst areas, cuz everything was lump wasn't whole.
Peter Baird: So the whole paddock was done with that.
Chris McDonough: And we're talking what, 500 hectare paddock, aren't we?
Nigel Baird: Correct.
Peter Baird: And then there was one pass with the cultivator and then two to three, depending on parts of the paddock, or two to four, depending on parts of the paddock with [00:08:00] a beam, a 50 foot beam. A great big lump of h iron. Yep. And then a cultivation pass to finish.
Nigel Baird: To finish prior to sowing then literally turning around and sowing it.
Chris McDonough: Pretty well as soon as possible.
Nigel Baird: Absolutely. Yep.
Chris McDonough: Minimize that exposure to the bare risk after you worked it. And then your seeding operation, what did you do fertilizer, seed wise, crop choice.
Nigel Baird: Obviously this paddock here had an amount of fertilizer all over it, but certainly these hills here, which are, we know they're N deficient and more prone to leaching and stuff, had a little bit higher rate through the hills.
Chris McDonough: What sort of levels we talking?
Nigel Baird: Up to 60 kilos
Peter Baird: Double sown areas had a hundred, but yeah 60 kilos MAP urea 2215 type of blend. And any of the real rubbishy Marley flats, calcareous soils had nothing.
Nigel Baird: Zero. Yep.
Chris McDonough: So they're fairly fertile to start with,
Peter Baird: if it rains, they grow like stinking. If it doesn't rain, doesn't matter what you put on them.
So Yep yep.
Chris McDonough: And the variety.
Nigel Baird: So obviously with a lot of soil disturbance, we were concerned with [00:09:00] grass weeds. Or potential grass weeds. So we've gone a clearfield variety grenade. It's cause that's what I had in the bin. No other reasons, but just to have that up our sleeve if there ended up being a grass weed problem and. I'm not saying there's none, but it's actually fairly clean.
Chris McDonough: So you've chosen not to use the Clearfield spray at this stage
Nigel Baird: For this year, the cost versus benefit didn't seem worth it for this year, but we've still got up our sleeve for next year.
Chris McDonough: And sometimes in dry years it's gonna affect what you can do the next year. Keep your options open. Yeah, really excited just seeing this cover and, we're seeing what it was like. And certainly just looking at the soil profile here, there's still really good moisture down in the slightly clay sub soil there.
But yeah, right through, and it's, you're starting to dry out the profile bit, but there's still plenty to keep this through. You had a eight week period of no rain after sowing.
Nigel Baird: 11 weeks.
Chris McDonough: 11 weeks.
Nigel Baird: From the end of May until last week was our last Friday week was our first real measurable rain. Yeah, it was about 11 weeks.
Chris McDonough: So we're [00:10:00] all looking for the La Nina Spring. How much do you rely on weather forecasting in your decision making?
Nigel Baird: Don't believe it. Yeah. Look I think it gives an indication, very hard to make a hundred percent decisions on stuff. Anything outside of two to three days. I don't think it's...
Chris McDonough: ...and the regional forecast a bit like our other farmer friend is half an hour away in 2021, he had enough rain to sow and grow a reasonable crop last year where you missed out, whether you probably had the same forecast,
Nigel Baird: We were promised a wet winter and technically speaking, they've got six days left to make our wet winter because we wouldn't have even had barely 10 mil for the winter period,
Peter Baird: Be decile one.
Chris McDonough: But we're looking at the spring, we are reasonably hopeful that we are gonna get something half reasonable, aren't we?
Nigel Baird: It'll be nice to think yeah, another 25 to 50 mm of rain over this will make the header worthwhile getting out, it'll be f antastic.
Chris McDonough: You've got enough moisture to carry it through for a bit of that, so that's [00:11:00] good. I guess what I'm excited about is you get gonna end up with a stubble cover here that's gonna protect the whole paddock. So how are you gonna manage that? And particularly with the stock in your system, maybe even the kangaroo threat, how are you going to make sure that you um maintain this stubble coming into coming years.
Nigel Baird: So if you're reading along through the notes it pret ty much should be underlined. I am not going to graze this paddock this year. Yes. Circled, highlighted. So the plan is not to touch this paddock, so harvest and then keep everything out. We've done the expensive part by doing all the land work getting it functionable again. So it's not worth the risk.
Chris McDonough: So you got plenty of station country for this sheep. You also got some confinement feeding Yep. As well. Yep. You got plenty of reserve on hand or did that get all used up so out or what?
Nigel Baird: I've haven't got much reserve. I'm relying on this year's potential harvest to. Start building up some reserves again. But this paddock, this 500 hectare [00:12:00] is no grazing this year. We still have other cropping paddocks, which are a lot more stable that if need be we can probably potentially graze after harvest. And probably will.
Chris McDonough: Just a light graze to pick up grain
Nigel Baird: Pick up grain and bits and pieces.
Chris McDonough: So just another quick question about when you get back to say this will be, what will this be next year?
Nigel Baird: It'll be another Clearfield variety. Most likely it'll be the new Commodus barley. Yep. We've got a portion of that growing to the north of us here to try to hopefully bulk up to sow enough Yeah. For this paddock next year.
Chris McDonough: So the year that you come back with a pulse crop in here, what pulse would it be?
Nigel Baird: Field peas
Chris McDonough: And when you are deciding whetheryou go with field peas, like what are the decisions about summer rainfall stored moisture, lateness of break that decide whether you put that pea crop in or not?
Nigel Baird: Probably a better one for Peter to answer, he's the agronomist.
Chris McDonough: He's the agronomist
Peter Baird: IF you have a full profile of moisture and you've got chickpeas on hand's, probably this is the soil quality of this paddock you [00:13:00] would probably grow chickpeas, but it's a lot of money tied up in chickpeas to keep 'em on hand.
Chris McDonough: And you wouldn't go too late with them?
Peter Baird: No.
Chris McDonough: Inoculum in the soil and all that sort of stuff.
Peter Baird: Yep. Correct.
Chris McDonough: So what's your pullout date for them?
Peter Baird: Oh, pullout date for those is probably the end of the first week in. Yep. Whereas Field Peas you probably wouldn't sow until the 12th or 15th of May. So a lot more flexibility. Not relying on a spring for field peas really as such. Cause a lot of their work done by the end of September or basically nearly everything work wise. So field peas are, there's pros and cons with everything. Field peas are the most resilient in this environment to provide yield.
Yes, they're frost prone, but we as a rule are nowhere near as frost prone as south of Murray and going further south into Victoria and SA.. So field peas are the most reliable. They've got issues with drift risk post harvest, cause of the fact there's not much left as a residue. Yep. But there are management techniques that can help overcome that.
So it's either gonna be in this area, I think. Will be chickpeas or field peas. Those who grow [00:14:00] chickpeas are basically gonna have to pick years when they grow 'em based o n sub soil moisture is my take. Just because
they're very risky based on the input costs and all the other associated issues that come with them for our environment. So field peas, in my opinion, are still probably gonna be the main crop choice of a pulse for our area. Cause we can't grow lupins just because of soil characteristics unfortunately. Yep. Faba beans, are failure beans gets too warm, too quick. Vetch as the grazing variety of a legume is the only option but that's no guarantee cuz they've gotta be an early to get value. So if we don't get an early break, they're out. Yep. And lentils, yeah, you can ask Nigel about them he grew them one year..
Nigel Baird: Yep. I've got words to describe them off camera
Chris McDonough: what I hear you saying is so in the legum or the pulse part of the rotation, obviously if you've got good subsoil moisture, you've got your 25 mills in April or so or even through to mid-May, if with peas then you can keep going with the peas. But if you haven't had that [00:15:00] with your chickpeas, you're pulling out those, if you haven't had subsoil moisture, then you're really relying on a really good early break, to move forward with that.
You're not gonna sew those dry. So if you haven't had subsoil moisture and if you haven't had a good early break, then you will probably pull out. If you pull out, what do you do? Do you still sow cereal or just leave it fallow?
Nigel Baird: Going forward and obviously we have spoke roughly about those probably two indicators of summer rains or subs soil moisture before April, and then a good opening rain of a decent amount. If we don't have those two I'm thinking about changing rather than saying we have to plant put the tractor back in the shed and leaving it as a fellow and chemical fellow, still maintain our weeds.
And just chemical fellow. Our input costs for what we normally get and the moisture we normally get it's not adding up. And I think we're, yeah, just we're trashing our soils, trying to, in our rainfall environment we're just trashing our soils with trying to [00:16:00] continuously crop.
Chris McDonough: And I guess the other indicator would be if you're, when we're talking about mutliple, drought years, is that stubble cover coming outta the spring from before? If you've got really strong stubble, if you haven't got much stubble, then that might swing you towards pulling out quicker.
Nigel Baird: Yeah. Pre predominantly still rainfall based and sub soil moisture based.
Chris McDonough: But the idea is that hopefully you can now get the stage with this paddock. We'll be maintaining that 50% cover through spring every year so that, yeah. So that's good. Alright then. Now what you've known, what you've learnt are you confident that if you similar conditions again, even though it's quite a rare combination of things coming together that you'll be in much better place. Obviously kangaroos stuff is outta your control but do you, how do you think you'll fair going into a similar situation in the future, knowing what you know now?
Nigel Baird: I'd like to think fair good. Yeah. Otherwise we haven't learned anything, have we? Grazing had an impact. Lack of rain was the [00:17:00] main driver. But I think with your information that we've passed on other case studies, we can see it's a heck load of work to try to recover a paddock that's been destroyed. Going forward really monitoring if we ever graze in here 50% at least, and, really just trying to leave as much organic material standing or on top for as long as we can because two benefits, it stops the soil blown away but we need to conserve every drop of moisture cropping out here as we can. And this is the proof. 11 weeks without from when this was sown. Yeah. And it's got to this stage, so yeah. Fantastic. It's, it is fantastic result from where it was.
Chris McDonough: Yeah, and sometimes you have to go through a bit of pain to get to the gain.
What you did to smooth this paddock out was hard and risky but worthwhile. Peter's final comment, can we have sustainable cropping through this region or not?
Peter Baird: Yep, we can. And I think Nigel's probably hit the nail in the head that it's only a small pocket in this [00:18:00] region or the, SA Vic, new South Wales, Mallee.
But I, I think it is basically gonna become a n opportunity cropping scenario based on sub soil moisture. So I think if you're coming into March, April and you've got basically dry profile, unless it's cats and dogs raining event in April, you're probably not gonna current farm because Nigel said, the cost to do it and the inputs, and then if you're only getting a. 0.6 to 0.8 ton grain yield at
the end. You're only doing it for practice, so what's the point? You might as well build up profile. Yes, there's some input costs to do a fallow, but it nearly guarantees a bit like this crop. Yes. April was nice but it hasn't been much fun since April, rainfall wise.
And there's definitely yield potential of, upwards to one and a half ton if there's a couple of inches of rain in the next six weeks.
Chris McDonough: It comes down to, yeah, being flexible having those benchmarks in place and being prepared to act on those and some of those things we've pulled together in a bit of a case study of the farms in this region.
So that's something that can be accessed through [00:19:00] MSF. Fantastic job well done and all the best for this season.
Nigel Baird: Yep. Thank you.
Peter Baird: Yep, for sure.
Tanja Morgan: What a great summary, thanks to Nigel Baird and Peter Baird for openly sharing their experiences. More info on this story and others is available at the GRDC website, also follow MSF to see more on how this paddock ended up performing in the 2022 season.