Riverine Plains Blog

Key points 

• The past few seasons have likely increased sclerotinia loads across the region 
• Sclerotinia develops under specific moisture and temperature conditions 
• In high-risk years, a preventative fungicide should be applied at 20-30% bloom  

While sclerotinia stem rot is best known as a disease of canola, it can also cause damage to peas, beans, sunflowers, soybeans, chickpeas and lupins. 

Key Points:

• Use pesticides judiciously to prevent resistance developing 
• Use a range of strategies to manage pest populations 
• Consider resistance testing on suspect populations 

While we might defer a lot of our pesticide management decisions to our advisors, as farm business managers (and spray applicators), we ultimately have the final say in what goes onto our paddocks and when.  

Key Points  

• Biosecurity should be an everyday farm practice  
• Simple, low-cost measures can prevent pests and disease from establishing on your farm 
• If you spot anything unusual, know how to report and contain it. 

While the current Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak in Indonesia has focussed our attention on emerging biosecurity issues, biosecurityshould really be an everyday farm management practice.  

Key points 

• Standing still is not an option in today's world  
• Changes will happen whether we are ready or not 
• Improvement in our farming systems can't happen in isolation  
• New ideas come from being connected to peers and experts. 

We all know that change is an inevitable part of life and running a successful business. As author Louise Penny said, "Life is change. If you aren't growing and evolving, you're standing still, and the rest of the world is surging ahead".  

Key points 

• AgTech includes everything from internet-connected sensors to software and advanced robotics  
• AgTech can provide data insights that help with decision-making.  
• Any AgTech investment must be worthwhile and not create more problems than it solves 

What is AgTech? 

Many people get overwhelmed when they think of AgTech. AgTech is a catch-all term that describes technological solutions that aim to improve yield, efficiency and profitability in agriculture (i.e. that make life easier).