Spring Field Day attracts 150 in dry year

The Liebe Group held their annual Spring Field Day on the 7th of September, at our 2023 Main Trial Site, hosted by the Carters, east of Wubin. The day was a great success with over 150 growers and industry representatives attending.

It was a jam-packed day with 10 trials being presented, four marquee keynote speakers, a soil pit discussion as well as various machinery displays and demonstrations.

The Main Trial Site has received 108mm for the growing season to date, which despite the dry conditions still created a lot of interest in the Canola, Wheat and Barley NVTs, as farmers were interest to better understand the differences in phenology and stress tolerances.

The Liebe Group's ‘Early Sown Canola’ trial, a GRDC investment, is in its second year and was sown at the Main Trial Site this year. In 2022, this trial showed the significant rewards of early April Sowing on good soil moisture. 2023 has been more marginal, which will likely test the performance of the different varieties.

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPRID) research scientist Wayne Parker discussed the soil profile at the Main Trial Site. He explained how the Carters have successfully managed the pH of their soil through a consistent liming and soil amelioration program.

The site was hosted on the property of Boyd Carter, who implemented a farmer scale trial looking at different row spacings, as well as how speed impacts the depth of seed placement. Agronomist David Cameron (Farmanco) and Glen Riethmuller (DPIRD) facilitated an interesting discussion around this trial as well and the agronomic considerations and importance of seed placement at seeding time.

The Liebe Group’s ‘Legume Inoculation’ trial compared different inoculation options in terms of nodulation formation in Lupins, Chickpeas and Faba Beans. Mark Seymour from DPIRD shared his expertise and gave an overall outlook for legumes in WA, with an in-depth focus on the local area.

In the Marquee, Michaela Alexander and Jonathon How from the Bureau of Meterology (BOM) gave the attendees an understanding of forecasting process and the models that are used as well as introducing the newly created agricultural team and how they can assist growers.

Following on was Greg Easton (Farmanco) discussing how to optimise machinery efficiency and then Glen Riethmuller, DPIRD machinery engineer, spoke briefly about harvesting short and patchy crops which, unfortunately, is quite relevant to many growers this year.

In the afternoon, Roberto Busi (Australian Herbicide Resistance Institute) discussed options for managing herbicide-resistant weeds in fencelines, which can often be a source of resistance. The final presentation of the day was from DPIRD’s Chief Scientist, Ben Biddulph and frost researcher, Dr Amanuel Bekuma who discussed the role that stubble plays in frost management and the discovery of ice nucleating bacteria and how this can impact frost incidence.

The eventful day was followed by a sundowner sponsored by CSBP, who are celebrating 100 years of research and development trials. This was a perfect time for attendees to network and connect over some beverages and wood-fired pizzas.

The Liebe Group appreciates all the support it receives from farmers, researchers and supporting agricbusinesses who all work together to make this event happen to the highest quality.