There’s truly a lot happening in farming right across the MIA. A recent field day hosted by the Irrigation Research and Extensions Committee (IREC) showcased what some called “game-changing” innovation.
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The day brought together farmers, agronomists and other industry professionals to listen to speakers and see firsthand what the technology was capable of.
Among the speakers this year were Rob Houghton, Jody Rudd, Deakin University’s Dr Wendy Quayle, Kieran O’Keeffe from Cotton Info. Together with the participants they discussed their work and trials on using drones for yield prediction, chicken manure research, Mirid trails and more.
IREC Executive Officer Iva Quarisa said around 90 participants showed up on the day.
“I was happy with the day. It was a great opportunity for people to see the range of research that is happening out at the site and in the region,” she said.
“The chicken manure research has so much potential in this area with all of the sheds we have around the district. It’s a easy and local source in the future.”
Dr Quayle’s research looks at optimising manures for the production of cotton, with the emphasis placed on chicken manure and how it adds to the soil health.
Kieran O’Keeffe also gave a demonstration, showing the use drones for yield prediction among crops.
“It opens up a lot of opportunities for farmers with regards to marketing,” Ms Quarisa said.
Roger Commins is an Whitton Cotton grower and strong advocate for field days.
“Field days like this are very important, particularly for new growers … The demonstrations are really important. It’s practical farmers,” he said.
His interest was piqued by a number of different things on the day, including Dr Quayle’s trials.
“We’re seeing the growth of Biarda chook production in the area so we’ll see a big availability of these fertilisers. It call comes down to what the cost is, to have it purchased and spread.”
He also spoke about the wide-ranging impacts of Murrumbidgee Irrigation’s automation program
“Automation is going to be the thing on the future. Traditionally a field would be syphons a the top ends of the field that would be manually stopped and started to irrigate. We’ve seen just a field irrigated automatically. It’s a game-changer.”
