Using technology to measure success
Embracing new technology as well as tried-and-true farming techniques is paying dividends for the Taylor family in the NSW Central West.
Innovative technology and benchmarking opportunities have put a mixed farming operation in the NSW Central West on a trajectory of growth and improvement.
The Taylor family have ties to the land spanning five generations, and they combine tried-and-tested methods with the latest innovation to find gains in their sheep and cropping operation.
From moisture probes to soil mapping techniques and precision farming, Rob and Mandy Taylor, along with son Fletcher and Rob’s father, Bob, have implemented what is necessary to give them the feedback required to make effective management decisions.
They embraced controlled-traffic farming 12 years ago and also run 5000 Merino breeding ewes.
Livestock and cropping go hand in hand and help to reduce economic risk and dissipate seasonal woes on the 2500-hectare property, Glenalla.
The enterprises are divided into a 60:40 mix between cropping and livestock. A total of 1600ha is under crop with the balance for grazing.
Glenalla receives an average annual rainfall of 600mm to 620mm, and in January this year, 150mm fell, which is three times the average.
The summer rain has allowed for some early-sown grazing canola to go in.
CROP COMPETITION FEEDBACK
Benchmarking crops with others in the area and throughout the state has paid dividends, and the Taylors have won the NSW championship of the AgShows state wheat competition for the third consecutive year, after previously winning in 2021, 2022 and 2023 with a crop of Raider wheat.
Rob said the competitions provided feedback and also served as a beneficial community event. Its also a great opportunity to network with other successful growers across the state.
A full-time employee assists with the family operation, and Rob’s three sons help out during busy times and Uni holidays. While Mandy sorts out the office and administration, Bob is in his late eighties but still lives on the farm and offers his help and experience when required.
Additional labour is sourced during peak times, such as harvesting, baling or shearing.
The property is almost 100 per cent arable and features fertile soil throughout.
“We have predominantly red-loam free-draining soil,” Rob said.
The winter cropping rotation consists of canola and wheat for eight years and then barley, which is undersown with pasture for six years. They also incorporate legumes and grow fodder.
Canola and wheat account for 90 per cent of the sowing area, with barley and lupins making up the balance.
“We may change things a bit this year; the canola prices aren’t great so we will increase our pulse hectares and slot in some area to high density legume hay,” Rob said.
The aim is to use a legume-based pasture to help with nitrogen fixation, rebuild soil carbon and assist with weed control.
“On some country, we continually crop.”
Rob said he adopted technology wherever possible and uses controlled-traffic methods with a 12-metre seeder, 36m SP boom and spreader and the machinery running on a 3-metre-wheel configuration.
“We have been using the system to minimise compaction and increase trafficability in wet years,” he said.
It was a big help in the past few wet years getting fungicide on when it was needed.
He also uses variable rate applications for lime, urea and MAP.
Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) satellite imagery enhances the input decision-making. Soil moisture probes are also used, as well as yield mapping to provide data and establish management zones across the farm.
MARKET FLEXIBILITY
The Greenethorpe property can store grain on the farm. However, marketing comes down to a diverse approach.
The crops are sold through forward contracts, futures and also direct to the silo at harvest.
“Most of our wheat was sold at harvest time last year,” Rob said.
“We have a flexible approach; we deliver some of the grain when prospects look good, and we can store on the farm too,” he said.
Sowing is done by the calendar rather than waiting for an autumn break.
The Taylors use a Seed Hawk Drill, and fertiliser is applied at variable rates during sowing.
“Top dressing is done later and when required,” Rob said.
“All of our farm is on a precision agriculture system, and we use variable rates for lime and nitrogen ... we monitor it and test the different zones,” he said. The machinery runs on Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) two-centimetre guidance. The soil mapping is done on a two-hectare grid basis.
“We have been doing this for a while and improve it each year,” Rob said.
The fertiliser program consists of MAP, urea and lime plus Gran-Am, an ammonium sulphate application.
The farm is relatively weed-free, and Rob said he had used a “whole suite” of chemicals and knockdowns to achieve this goal.
“We also use harvest weed seed control to stay on top of seed banks.”
“We have already done two fallow sprays over our cropping country, and the idea is to preserve as much moisture for the crop as possible,” he said.
The biggest environmental threat to the crops is frost.
“Even last year, we had some late frosts at the end of October,” he said.
Windrowing of canola starts around the first week of November.
An average wheat yield is more than 5 tonnes/ha, and some paddocks have achieved 9 tonnes/ha in a good year. Canola averages 2.8 tonnes/ha.
DUAL-PURPOSE LIVESTOCK FOCUS
The Taylors run a flock of 5000 Pooginook-blood Merino ewes joined to Merino, Poll Dorset and White Suffolk rams.
“We have changed the focus of our breeding a lot; we are now running more of a dual-purpose sheep,” he said.
Around 25 per cent of the ewes are joined to terminal sires, and the core breeders make up the self-replacing flock and are joined back to Merinos.
The sheep graze on perennial pastures, including phalaris, fescue and chicory, clover and lucerne mixes and much of the lower creek country is used for livestock.
Recently, the Taylors have built a six-stand shearing shed with yards under cover.
They will consider moving to twice-yearly shearing if it is viable.
Lambs are sold at 22kg to 24kg carcass weight, and the Merinos are about 10 to 12 months of age when they hit this target. The first-cross terminal lambs are six to eight months at the same weight.
The Merino ewes are 19.3 micron and cut an average of 7.7kg of wool at shearing in June.
“We are happy with that; they are productive sheep with high fertility when managed correctly,” Rob said.
He said the main focus had been evolving the decisions to be truly dual-purpose and efficient at wool and meat production.
Crutching is in January-February, and the ewes are joined in March for an August lambing. The current lambing percentage at weaning is 115 per cent, but it has been as high as 130 per cent in some years.
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
While the return on capital in agriculture is not “overly high”, farming is something Rob said he loves.
“It’s becoming, like everything, competitive, and there are small margins,” he said.
Although, with that comes the cyclical nature of seasons and markets.
Rob said he didn’t see a single “silver bullet” approach for agriculture but believed in small incremental changes.
“Controlled traffic and VR has improved our efficiency, but it hasn’t been a game changer in terms of yield,” he said.
“Improved hybrid canola varieties over the last decade has definitely lifted our yields, but the most important fundamentals of moisture conservation, timeliness of operations and stringent management are of paramount importance.”
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