Level II Agricultural Business Operations

 Registration (1)  Crop production (7)  Plant health (3)  Business management (4)  IT (2)  Health and safety (2)  Conclusion (1)

7 sessions to include the following topics:  Understanding Crop Rotations  Performance targets  Soil Analysis  Nutrient Management Planning  Variety Selection  Growth Stages  Harvesting  Storage

3 sessions to include:  Crop Diseases  Crop pests  Bio-security

4 sessions to include:  Introduction to business management  Management accounts  Benchmarking analysis  Sources of finance

2 sessions to include  Hardware and software for the farm  Internet for business  Enterprise management software  New technologies  DARD on-line services

2 sessions to include:  Farming safely – Farm Safe Awareness Campaign  Risk assessment

Level II Agricultural Business Operations

 What is a crop rotation? is the practice of growing a series of different types of crops in the same area in sequential seasons

 Developed by Charles “Turnip” Townshend in 18 th Century  Based on Wheat, Turnips, Barley, Clover

 Benefits ◦ Nutrients ◦ Organic matter ◦ Pest Control ◦ Disease control ◦ Optimum use of land ◦ Incorporate organic manures ◦ Spread workload  Disadvantages ◦ Soil Structure ◦ Machinery Requirements Wheat after Break crop vs Wheat after Wheat

 Choice of crop and variety  Management of crop  Marketing of crop

 Is there a demand? ◦ Price / Profitability ◦ Ease of marketing  Is your land and climate suitable? ◦ Soil type ◦ Temperature, sunlight, precipitation  Do you have / can you plant a suitable mix of crops for a suitable rotation? ◦ E.g. WOSR could be difficult without WB

 Do you have the labour? ◦ interest ◦ expertise ◦ seasonality of demand for labour  Do you have the machinery and buildings? ◦ ownership ◦ access

 Is it in demand?Yes  Is it high quality?Variety dependent.  Is it high-yielding? Variety dependent.  Does it require a high chemical input? ◦ disease resistance ◦ pest resistance ◦ competitiveness against weeds

 Site ◦ location (near/far) ◦ soil type (light/heavy) ◦ surrounding crops (e.g. maincrop potatoes/early potatoes)  Place in rotation ◦ diseases and pests ◦ soil fertility and structure ◦ timeliness

 Seedbed preparation ◦ pH ◦ cultivations ◦ tilth ◦ compaction  Sowing ◦ date ◦ rate ◦ depth Seed rate, ok! Date, depth, tilth, compaction?

 Fertilisers  Nutrient Management Planning ◦ Major Nutrients eg. N, P, K ◦ Micronutrients ◦ Use of organic manures

◦ Yield & Profitability ◦ Cost/benefit ◦ Soil type ◦ Previous cropping ◦ Timing

 Weed control ◦ field History ◦ competitiveness of crop/weeds ◦ sowing date vs seed rate ◦ previous cropping ◦ cultivations ◦ mechanical weeding ◦ Herbicide mode of action

 Disease control ◦ Improve crop condition ◦ Varietal resistance ◦ Order of rotation ◦ Reducing need for chemical treatment

 Wheat after Wheat?  Wheat after Maize?  Wheat after Barley?  OSR after Cabbage?  Volunteer Potatoes?

 Wheat after Wheat?Take All  Wheat after Maize?Fusarium  Wheat after Barley?Take All  OSR after Cabbage?Club Root  Volunteer Potatoes?Blight

 Pest control ◦ soil type ◦ previous cropping ◦ weather ◦ crop growth and development ◦ pest populations ◦ chemicals (seed treatments, sprays, environment)

 Growth regulation ◦ variety ◦ soil type ◦ fertility ◦ sowing date, rate ◦ weather ◦ chemical (product, timing, rate)

Rotation allows better utilisation of resources ◦ Labour ◦ Machinery ◦ Drying ◦ Storage

 Spreading risk  Meeting Specification ◦ moisture content ◦ storage duration ◦ end user ◦ facilities  Storage ◦ price ◦ facilities

 Contracts ◦ quantity ◦ quality ◦ environmental standards ◦ minimum price ◦ bonuses  Open market ◦ price volatility

 Options ◦ insurance against price volatility  Pool marketing ◦ delegation of marketing decisions

 Choice of crop and variety ◦ Choose crop and variety to suit farm conditions ◦ Chose crop to make best use of resources  Management of Crop ◦ Plan rotation to reduce pests, weeds & diseases ◦ Plan rotation to maximise nutritional benefit  Marketing of Crop ◦ Choose crops with a ready market ◦ Choose crops which spread risk ◦ Use local / speciality markets

 Nitrogen  Fungicide  Herbicide  Which rate will give highest yield?  Which rate will be most profitable?