Our experience covers a wide range of crops including grain crops, oilseeds, pulses, food crops and fodder crops. The exact crop to be grown will depend on a range of factors such as site conditions, markets and the skills and capabilities of operators.
Cropping Systems
- Continuous cropping
- Rotational cropping
- Zero or minimum till
- Direct drill
- Controlled traffic
- Bed farming
Factors Influencing Crop Performance
- Climatic factors including rainfall, sunlight and frost
- Site conditions including topography and drainage
- Soil conditions including soil type, depth and physical/chemical properties
- Paddock history and suitability for each crop
- Equipment and labour resources
- Crop inputs: seed, fertiliser and chemicals
- Sowing date and storage
- Marketing: cash sales, pools, forward contracts and futures contracts
Profitability at Two Levels
- The returns from producing the crop
- The returns from marketing the crop
Our experience is that with the right strategy, the returns from alternate marketing strategies can be as significant as the returns from production.
Limiting Factor
It is important to identify what is the limiting factor in crop production. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Many farmers add more inputs to lift production when the level of inputs is not the limiting factor — all the extra inputs do is increase costs and reduce profits. In many cases, the limiting factors are management decisions such as crop selection, paddock selection and sowing time.