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Harvest strategy provides economic and environmental outcomes

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Sustainable Agriculture

New technology identified in the GRDC Groundcover publication not only delivers harvest efficiency but will also contribute to the achievement of the strategic priorities identified as part of the Regional NRM Strategy for the Avon River Basin.

Interest in Stripper Fronts is getting increasing traction in the industry for good reason.  When compared to the conventional knife front, strippers are faster, place less stress on machinery and are more fuel efficient, especially where crop stem counts are high.

The strippers strip the grain from the stem rather than cutting the plant and threshing the grain within the header.  This streamlined process saves both time and money.

And if these benefits aren’t enough to attract your interest, stripped crops leave the whole stubble intact, leaving at least twice as much straw in the soil to conserve water for next season’s crop.

Maintaining ground cover on agricultural land is a key strategy to improve soil health and was identified as a priority in the community focused Regional Strategy.

It is exciting that new technology such as this not only has benefits for economics and productivity but can also deliver better environmental outcomes.

Jacquie Lucas, the Wheatbelt NRM Regional Agriculture Landcare Facilitator is keen to highlight innovations in technology that will bring both productivity gains and soil health improvements.

For more information on this and other exciting developments please contact Jacquie at jlucas@wheatbeltnrm.org.au