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Spring Field Day: Rotational cash and cover-crop options for diverse, sustainable Northern Queensland farming systems

Tue 28 July 2020, 8am-noon AEST

Savannah Ag Consulting has a number of trial crop sites near Mareeba, north-west of Cairns in Far North Queensland. And on the morning of 28 July, growers, agronomists, industry and other interested parties are invited to join expert Savannah Ag and GRDC staff on a seasonal field site tour.

Participants will be able to inspect a broad range of crops and trial sites and learn about ongoing trials investigating rotational and cover crop options for sugarcane, cotton, broadacre and horticulture cropping systems, for soil health and nutrition, weed and disease control and cash-flow opportunities.

The spring field day will highlight the CRC for Northern Australia’s Developing an oilseed industry in Northern Australia project.

Crops of interest

Trial crops that can be inspected on the day include:

Spring oilseeds Sesame and sunflower
Winter pulse crops Chickpea, lupin and faba bean
Cereals and coarse grains Wheat, sorghum, millet and rice
Cover crops Sunn hemp, velvet bean and mixed-species blends
Spring pulses and legumes Cowpea, mungbean and guar bean
Specialty and fibre crops Buckwheat, fenugreek, quinoa and cotton
Winter oilseeds Canola, carinata, mustard, camelina, safflower, linseed and nigella

 Where and when?

Be at the site carpark by 8am for an 8.15am start.

The tour will start at 8.15am with a ‘shot-gun start’ to split the group up around a number of stations, where discussions will occur for various crops and will rotate on a regular basis.

The site tour will conclude with a BBQ lunch.

Savannah Ag estimates that the site tour event will wrap up by 12 noon.

The research site is located at 539 Mulligan Hwy, Biboohra, just over five kilometres north of Mareeba. Get Google map directions.

The organisers will be setting up a designated car-parking area to ensure everyone’s safety, as farm operations will be ongoing.

Registration and further information

Please RSVP by Friday 24 August at tony.matchett@bigpond.com

Note that participants must wear clean, enclosed sturdy shoes. Wearing a hat and bringing a light jacket are recommended.

For those who can’t make it on the day, copies of the field day handouts from the day will be available – to obtain one, contact Tony Matchett via email at tony.matchett@bigpond.com or on 0438 482 728.

For further information about the event or the project, contact project lead Tony Matchett or Savannah Ag Research Agronomist Tegan Brownie on 0457 032 992.