Correction: King toad is actually called Cane toad
After a day off and a travel day we arrived in Horsham. The drive from Melbourne west, northwest to Horsham (about 3 hours) was very beautiful. There is lots off grazing land up to Ballarat and then more cropland after that. Sheep and cattle were grazing in grass that was up to the back of the sheep. We also saw lots of forest plantations. Unfortunately its raining here. Likely they have had around four inches in the last four to five days.
Andrew Whitlock of Precision Agriculture has taken over as our guide. He has done a lot of CTF research and trials. One of the more interesting ones was showing the impact of the combine wheels on yields. He mapped out where the wheel tracks were and then measured yields the next year. Most of his results showed around 30% yield loss and in one case up to 50%. Andrew said some clients have been adopting parts of CTF but have been reluctant to include the combine in the system.
They have also used moisture loggers to measure soil water with sensors spaced about 10 to 20 cm apart down to 1 M. This has enabled them to track water movement and use as well as changes over time.
The crops around here are more like home but winter crops – wheat, barley, canola and some oats. If summer crops are grown it is usually for biomass.
Tomorrow we will be visiting Robert Ruwoldt's and neighboring farms.
A couple of 'bus' pictures on the way to Horsham.
Australia is vast and beautiful country..in recent times Melbourne and Sydney has become one the most famous places to visit..people visit these two cities in numbers.
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