Deep ripping field day breaks new ground

The event saw farmers travel as far afield as Glenmorgan and Westmar to find out the latest in deep ripping research and see how locals have improved yields and productivity in pasture, broadacre and irrigation development.

James Duddy, South Callandoon, explained how his TTQ Raptor has ameliorated clay pan soils to improve water infiltration and root and soil structure.

"By spending $80-$100 an acre on deep ripping and pasture development you end up with something that's worth at least $1000," Mr Duddy said.

TTQ Engineering Service managing director Geraint Hudson's main message was that farmers wanting to deep rip can work with what equipment they already own.

"It's fine to start small and build up if needed. Anyone can deep rip from 200mm-800mm depth with horse power between 150-600. For example, a 150 HP tractor will pull a basic deep ripper with 3-5 tynes, which can be purchased for as little as $25,000," Mr Hudson said.

"Another option available to locals is to hire a Raptor for $16 an acre, an MTS for $13 an acre or a tree line ripper for $300 a day, all available from Ag Spray Centre."

David Lester from Department of Agriculture and Fisheries spoke about the advantages of deep placement of phosphorous and potassium when deep ripping to increase crop yields. His advice was to rip early in the fallow, when the soil is dry enough that the ripping shatters the soil. Ripping early gives the soil the best opportunity to re-consolidate before resowing.

For dispersive soils, Mr Lester recommends firstly increasing ground cover, and then evaluating soil type to find out how big the problem is and what solutions are needed. He is currently experimenting on the yield effects of sub soil applications of compost and gypsum.

A highlight of the day was the ripping demonstration at Nick Benson's property, Widgewa, as well as inspecting Mr Benson's impressive irrigated wheat crop growing in brigalow and hard setting red soil, deep ripped to 600mm.

"Before we deep ripped, the country under pivot irrigation was producing very inconsistent yields; our most recent crop produced 10 bales an acre of irrigated cotton on the brigalow soil but only six on the red soil. Now on the same country, our wheat crop is expected to uniformly yield more than 1 tonne an acre," Mr Benson said.

Before deep ripping we always had trouble with water infiltration in the red soil, but now we are no longer seeing any run off. The deep ripping and levelling work has transformed country worth $500 an acre to $1500 an acre."

At the Billa Billa Sports Club, Talwood farmer Luke Arbuckle shared striking results he achieved after deep ripping broadacre his country at Warrandine.

Mr Arbuckle said he got 8.3 tonnes to the acre with SSS cut for silage from a deep ripped paddock, when previously it had only managed 5 tonnes.

He also discussed the importance of ripping against the direction of the country's fall, which can slow down the flow of water to allow better penetration.

Jerome Leray from InFarm also spoke about his drone surveying and water analysis technology, which is available for $5-7.5/ hectare.

Through water hydration modelling and water flow, contours and elevation analysis, the technology analyses how water travels across the farm, and allows farmers to make decisions on water management on their farm.