The theme of the WANTFA Conference 2006 - Developing Diversity and Discs – provides an exciting mix of international, national and local speakers in an action packed one-day format in Fremantle. |
The last five generations of Mitchells have farmed south of Waterloo, Iowa, where 32-year-old Clay Mitchell farms today with his father, Wade. The Mitchells promote soil conservation with controlled traffic farming, no-till and root-zone banding of fertiliser, as these methods are economically advantageous and beneficial to the environment.
Ralph has been feverishly revamping rotations and fertiliser methods from the first years of his no-till adoption and has years of vital experience to relate. President of the Dakota Lakes Research Station from 1993 to 1999, he comes highly recommended as a keynote speaker you will not want to miss.
Rolf was among the first to research the no-tillage technology in Brazil and Latin America in 1971. Recognised internationally, some of his areas of specialisation are: conservation agriculture, no-tillage and conservation tillage, development and diffusion of sustainable agricultural production systems with permanent soil cover, green manure cover crops and crop rotations, and preventive wind and water erosion control as well as preventive control of desertification.
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A Nuffield Scholar from Quirindi in north western NSW, Dave operates a family farming operation of 4735 hectares with his brother. Both summer and winter crops are grown and his experience lends itself to our conference theme.
Peter has conducted both wild radish and ryegrass research in recent years and his presentation will be divided between the two weeds.
Abul will present findings from his research on ryegrass in rotations.
WAHRI has recently completed a survey of resistance in ryegrass in WA. Mechelle's presentation will outline the results of this survey and will provide an overview of the resistance (what and where and seriousness, etc) in WA cropping.
Jeremy will be sharing his knowledge on ARGT and the research he has conducted in this field.
Bill will be presenting and fielding questions from attendees in a forum on ryegrass and burning that will be held at the Perth Conference only.
Sara's research provides valuable information to demonstrate the benefits of not intensively disturbing the soil. She has found that the amount of glomalin in the soil increases with time in no-till. This material acts to formulate “soil glue” to enhance soil structural properties. The relationships between glomalin and soil aggregate stability in soils is being explored.
Jeff's areas of specialisation include soil fertility management, soil conservation and land use and stable isotopes. His research projects cover soil fertility and nutrient cycling in agricultural and forest ecosystems, soil conservation management strategies, fertiliser technology and use, soil analytical chemistry, dryland cropping agronomy, soil quality and land application of agricultural and industrial wastes. Jeff will be attending the Perth Conference only.
Jaime farms 3600 acres of flat black soil country near Dalby in Qld. He has been using zero-till and controlled traffic for ten years and precision guidance for three years; all his machinery is on 3 metre centres in multiples of 30 feet. Jaime was one of the first growers to change to permanent broadacre controlled traffic in the world and has been through a very interesting and expensive evolution of the system. He has seen the combination of these systems produce major production and economic rewards, which he will share with the audience.
John, recipient of a Churchill Fellowship to Canada in 2004, will focus on his trip to Canada and the role of deep-rooted perennials in annual cropping systems.
Peter, a chair of CWCFA (Central West Conservation Farming Association), will be visiting WA and attending both Katanning and Perth Conferences. Peter farms 640 ha in NSW and has had some experiences with cover cropping. Nature provided some incentive into high residue cropping last year when Peter lost 150 acres of field peas and 60 acres of canola to frost. Peter also purchased a disc seeder this year to sow through this residue and is pleased with the results.
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Australian Primary Superannuation Fund
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John Deere
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