Despite our increasingly dry and challenging conditions, and pressure from overseas imports, our Aussie farmers are beating the odds and reaping the rewards of a food and fibre cropping revolution. In a recent article published by ABC Rural, Australian farmers are rising above climate odds and more than doubling their cropping yields despite historically low rainfalls.
So how are they doing this?
Science, adaptability, innovation and the right equipment.
Much of our old farming practices have been adapted from European methods, where climate and conditions are profoundly different to what we experience in Australia. One such farmer who exemplifies adaptability and innovation was interviewed in the ABC article and found that after years of watching his topsoil blown away by dust storms, he needed to adapt his methods or risk losing his crops. Instead of ploughing the soil in a traditional way, he used a method which left the soil as undisturbed as possible. This enabled moisture to be retained resulting in denser topsoil which didn't get blown away and therefore led to far higher cropping yields.
Similarly, another farmer outlined the positive impact that weed killer has had on the ability to produce higher yields of crops in Australia. Weeds can be catastrophically damaging to crops not only because they can take over and kill the plants themselves, but they also suck valuable minerals and resources from the soil that crops need to optimize. By utilizing weed control effectively, farmers are able to ensure as much moisture as possible is retained in the soil. This is crucial to the success of crops in dry climates such as Australia.
Another organisation changing Aussie farming techniques for the better is Farming Revolution. The vision and mission of Farming Revolution revolves around regeneratively farming whereby the land is farmed and rested according to the climate. It’s an innovative approach to farming that amalgamates ancient farming techniques with modern science and technology, enabling the land produce mineral dense crops, and then regenerate with the help of waste products before being put to commercial use again. The result is a far superior cropping yield in both quantity and quality, and much healthier soils.
At Orion Australia, we love hearing about the success of Aussie farmers, especially as we know they battle the climate odds on a daily basis! As a leading supplier of agricultural products we hear the stories, sympathise with the tough times and celebrate the wins with Aussie farmers. To know that science, adaptability and innovation are pioneering our farmers into better, more sustainable and successful farming practices is something that gives us the warm fuzzies. And knowing that we can provide quality farm equipment products to Aussie farmers makes it all the more sweet!
