Demonstrating soil zone mapping

FUNDER: SA Drought Hub

PROJECT MANAGER: Chris McDonough, Insights Extension, for Mallee Sustainable Farming

TRIAL LOCATION: Nathan Paech, Hoffman Road, Summerfield

TIMEFRAME: One year – 2024-25

TRIAL OVERVIEW: 

 This project will build on the first year of work conducted with three farmers groups in the SA Mallee region, including Murray Plains Farmers. In the first year (2023) replicated small plot trials were established, with one in each region.

In 2024, growers participating in the project select a paddock on their own property and start to use public satellite and NDVI data to establish their own soil zones to begin the journey of implementing Variable Rate Technology (VRT).

Murray Plains Farmers, working through Mallee Sustainable Farming, will select 2 focus grower paddocks with a minimum of 6 focus growers The growers must be willing to sow paddock scale fertiliser strips across soil types and must have a yield monitor in their paddock. Consultants Sean Mason and Peter Treloar will support the growers in setting up their paddocks and machinery, as well as provide the data analysis.

This activity will demonstrate how farmers can manage their own investigation of nutrition requirements when setting up VRT soil zones and fertiliser recommendations. The focus growers will have machinery that is compatible to VRT and yield monitoring and this will also be a focus of field day activities to demonstrate the machinery set up and practical considerations of capturing, storing and using data

The project aims are to:

• Equip growers with the tools and knowledge to use satellite imagery and NDVI data for creating and refining soil zones on their properties, paving the way for personalised application of VRT.
• Implement paddock-scale fertiliser trials across selected paddocks integrating technology such as yield monitors to enhance soil and nutrient management.
• Organise field days to demonstrate the set-up and use of VRT-compatible machinery, and to share practical insights on capturing, storing, and analysing data for optimised fertilisation strategies.