Innovation the key for Esperance grain grower Chris Reichstein
IF KNOWLEDGE is power, then WA farmer Chris Reichstein says it’s best shared, writes RAY CHAN.
CHRIS Reichstein has seen it all. Farming on his own since 1993, he’s experienced floods, fire and frost on his 4600ha property in the medium rainfall Esperance district of Western Australia.
In those 25 years, he’s honed his practices using best management techniques to the current stage where the farm is considered one of the top producers in the region.
It’s a far cry from the days in the late 1970s when Chris’s family bought the original 2200ha block, which was gradually cleared from bush.
“We initially followed district practice, which meant a cropping/sheep enterprise in a 30:70 ratio,” Chris said.
But the wool market crash of the time made Chris quickly realise that keeping livestock was not necessarily the best option.
“The economics of keeping stock were such that cropping proved far more profitable,” he said.
“I realised that livestock was more a compromise than complementary, and so began to transition into crop as more land was purchased, and disposed of the 3000 Merinos we had.”
These days it’s entirely cropping that takes up Chris’s time in the paddocks, with Spectre and Cutlass wheat yielding healthy 4.2 tonnes/ha figures, exceptional for WA. He also plants barley for malt, with La Trobe, Planet and Baudin doing the job well with 4.3 tonnes/ha averages.
The rest of the major planting is devoted to canola and field peas, but Chris also makes sure to include about 20 per cent of pulses in his rotations.
“The lentils, beans and peas are used to build up soil nitrogen and improve soil health and biology,” he said, “plus they come in handy as small cash crops”.
GROW FOR IT
CHRIS has adopted many innovative methods to maximise his yields, including the use of controlled traffic, precision and no-till agriculture, and direct drilling.
He regularly clays his non-wetting soils, ensures soil pH is healthy, and employs gypsum for soil amelioration.
He also rotates chemicals regularly to help control weed resistance, and advocates harvest weed seed control using chaff carts which collect the chaff fractions as they exit the headers. Typically this material is left in piles in the paddock to be burnt in the following autumn to dispose of weed seeds.
Always eager to use better ways of improving his operations, Chris religiously keeps track of the latest grains research work, but has also been wondering if knowledge-sharing and learning can be improved among his peers and scientists.
“There’s been a long history of adoption of innovation in the Esperance region, with land clearing, high input production systems, the implementation of no-till cropping and precision agriculture,” Chris said.
“Esperance was settled by farmers in the 1960s, who were lured by the promise of cheaper land and opportunity. With that, there’s always been a strong undercurrent of risk-taking and progressive practice, which has led to early adoption of innovation in the area.”
INFORMATION BOOTH
THIS trend prompted Chris to examine whether farmers were effectively receiving scientific information and research results to help them best implement practice change and improve profitability and sustainability.
With the backing of a Nuffield Scholarship, he embarked on a study tour to investigate the subject, and looked at ways of bridging the gap between researchers and farmers to improve performance.
“Today, as growers in the 21st century, we’re facing a number of challenges such as climate and market variability, increased exposure to biosecurity threats and a general need to produce more, with less,” he said.
“I’ve always wanted to build understanding of what brings about change and how farmers learn to better their practices.”
The scholarship took Chris around the world not only to examine different R&D models, but also to identify some of the key barriers to adoption.
“Better extension techniques mean we get better value for our research dollars,” he said. “A lot of good research work is done but many growers are not adopting it. It could be the message, the way it’s delivered, or maybe it’s all too difficult and it’s what some growers don’t want to hear.”
As might be expected, Chris found a range of different systems around the world in terms of research and extension.
“In the US, research is led by the private companies, such as chemical and biotech businesses, who get involved in the day-to-day agronomy of farmers’ crops,” he said. “In Ireland, New Zealand and Argentina, the culture is more grower-driven towards research and collaborative learning.”
SPREAD THE WORD
CHRIS said there was no one-size-fits-all approach, and getting the format of the information right for the individual grower was critical.
“For farmers there are varied barriers to learning and adoption of innovation, be they cultural, economic, social, political or attitude to risk or past experience,” he said.
“When research identifies potential change to benefit our systems, we need to ask what are the impediments to adoption and tailor the message in such a way as to cater for individual farmers’ needs.
“Learning about the latest in R&D shouldn’t be a one-size fits all approach. It needs to be delivered to growers in a multitude of ways.”
Chris said he strongly supported the trend to facilitate peer learning via grower groups — a key characteristic of the “bottom-up” model — which plays a vital role in bringing together farmers and researchers for mutual benefit.
“There’s been a downsizing of state government agencies which traditionally undertook a great deal of the extension, meaning it is critical grower groups take the lead role on a local basis,” he said.
“Once farmers have made the decision to adopt an innovation or make a change of great complexity, one of the critical factors to ongoing success is the availability of peer and professional support systems.”
He said grower groups might be a uniquely Australian experience, varying in size from very small regional groups with all work being undertaken on a voluntary or part time basis, to larger organisations either covering a geographic area or specific agricultural practice such as no-till.
BOX SEAT
CHRIS said those groups also had greater influence on decision-making due to their localised or topic specific focus.
“They can also act as a support network in tough times, for example during droughts, fires and other disasters, and also have a social purpose.”
He said facilitated peer learning was a powerful extension tool and undervalued in Australia.
“When combined with benchmarking of agricultural enterprises, it can be a powerful driver of practice change,” he said.
“Extension is an inexact science — farmers will have different attitudes to adoption of innovation and risk-based on a wide range of previous experiences and personality types and as such, a range of criteria need to be met for change to be embraced.”
The desire to help his peers succeed has helped shape the high esteem in which Chris is held in the community, but he’s characteristically modest about his achievements.
“I hope I’ve done some good for agriculture and hope I’ve given back to this industry which I love,” he said.
“Farmers need constant improvement to keep ahead of the curve.
“Fear of change is the greatest barrier. We must be prepared for innovation.”
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