More Workshops to be added soon...
Theme 1:
Controlled traffic, permanent bed systems for more sustainable CA
Yule DF1, Tullberg JN1, McPhee J2, McHugh AD3, Ellis T4
1CTF Solutions, Toowong, Qld, corresponding author don@ctfsolutions.com.au ; 2TIAR, University of Tasmania, Devonport; 3 NCEA, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba. Qld; 4 CSIRO Land and Water, Dutton Park, Qld.
NB. We seek additional contributors from India/Pakistan/China
Objectives
To explore the following issues of CTF or permanent bed systems:
- Do productivity and sustainability benefits occur in all soils and systems?
- Crop system, topographic, machinery and attitudinal barriers to adoption.
- Identify the steps necessary to increase adoption
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Plan (provisional)
Summary of research comparisons of wheeled/non-wheeled soil (Tullberg)
Summary of farm system comparisons of CTF v random traffic (Yule)
Does it apply in all soils? (Ellis) Why is it so difficult? (McPhee)
Developing country issues (input from China, India & Pakistan? + McHugh)
Tractor/machine track and working width standardization (Manufacturer)
How do we move forward? (All)
Justification
The impact of wheels is not always obvious in cropped fields with the cumulative effect of tractors and harvesters over many years of mechanised cropping, but it is profound on soil which has ameliorated naturally for a number of years without wheeling and tillage. Controlled Traffic Farming (CTF), permanent bed, or permanently raised bed (PRB) systems have now been studied in a wide range of soils and systems, providing data demonstrating substantial improvements in indicators of productivity and sustainability (on and off-farm).
It is more difficult to capture broad system effects (timelier field access, more planting opportunities) in research, but many farmer reports and one survey suggest that productivity can be almost doubled in CTF, while costs are reduced.
CTF is probably essential to permanent no-till where wet harvests are relatively common and/or heavy equipment is used. No-till seeding, cover crops, and rotations are all easier in CTF, which is a natural companion to CA, but despite all these positive factors only ~15% of Australian grain growers use CTF, and it is even less common overseas. Some disincentives to adoption are obvious, and their solutions have been demonstrated. Others are much more obscure, and perhaps more influential.
Other workshops planned for theme 1 will cover:
Residue management.
Management of herbicide resistance.
Prospects and challenges for CA in the lower Mekong countries.
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Theme 2: Adaptive Farming Systems for a Changing World
Lyon D1, Meinke H2, Blackshaw R3, Rodriguez D4
1Panhandle Research and Extension Center, 4502 Avenue I, Scottsbluff, NE 69361 U.S.A.
Corresponding author: dlyon1@unl.edu
2University of Tasmania, Private Bag 98, Hobart TAS 7001
3Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, P.O. Box 3000 Main, Lethbridge AB, Canada T1J 4B1
4University of Queensland, Australia
Rapid change is already a hallmark of the 21st Century, and the rates of global changes are accelerating. For instance, global populations and per capita income continue to grow, increasing the demand for plant-based products. Global changes also put increased pressure on natural resources resulting in agriculture competing with other sectors for inputs such as land and water, while the size of the environmental footprint of agriculture remains of concern. These trends led to the catch-cry ‘we need to produce more with less'. We will explore some of the multiple dimensions of these global drivers of change. Specifically we want to investigate how we can become more proactive and devise resilient adaptation strategies that can accommodate many of the potentially conflicting goals and still be highly productive. We will challenge the audience to think about the role and the differences between a) enabling vs. transformational technologies, b) cropping intensity in adaptive farming systems and c) crop diversity in adaptive farming systems.
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This workshop proposes to identify characteristics that provide system robustness for both the developed and developing world. We will provide illustrations from Conservation Agriculture on small and large farms. We will also discuss how we will support farmers in their endeavors to identify the characteristics that will make their farming systems more adaptive.
Three issues have been identified for discussion. These are: 1) Enabling vs. transformational technologies, 2) The role of cropping intensity in adaptive farming systems, and 3) The role of crop diversity in adaptive farming systems. Each issue will be introduced by one member of the leadership team identified above. These presentations will up to 15 minutes in length and will introduce the issue and the different views concerning the issue. They will set the stage for a facilitated discussion of between 20 and 30 minutes. At the end, we will have 15 to 30 minutes for final discussion and/or debate on the overarching issue of designing adaptive farming systems for a changing world.
Other workshops from Theme 2 include:
Modelling of mixed crop-livestock farming systems
by Andrew Moore1, Mario Herrero2, Ken Giller3
1CSIRO Sustainable Agriculture Flagship
2Sustainable Livestock Futures Group, International Livestock Research Institute
3Wageningen University
Integrated assessment of farming systems: categorising diversity, simulating trade-offs, communicating results
by Walter Rossing1, Pablo Tittonell2, Santiago Dogliotti3, Daniel Rodriguez4
1Wageningen University, The Netherlands
2CIRAD, Zimbabwe
3Universidad de Montevideo, Uruguay
4University of Queensland, Australia
Simulation assisted learning tools
by Howard Cox1, Zvi Hochman2, Bob Mcown2, David Freebairn3
1 Agri-Sciences Queensland, Toowoomba, Australia
2 CSIRO, Australia
3 Conics, Australia
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Theme 3: Why Landcare?
Landcare, the Australian community-based movement, may be key to boosting food security and incomes in some of the poorest countries of the world.
In the Landcare approach, individuals, groups and networks come together and take responsibility for solving environmental, production and other community issues in a holistic way. It provides a model that has been adopted internationally to deliver on-ground solutions.
For example the Philippines Landcare Project has helped farmers tackle the alarming rate of erosion of the steep, upland slopes of southern Philippines. Soil losses of 50-300 tonnes per hectare occurred yearly, leaving many families living in extreme poverty. Through Landcare farmers and their communities have been encouraged to take control of their own problems and to implement appropriate solutions.
What does Landcare offer that other extension programs don't? This workshop explores the elements of how the Landcare model has been adopted across the world - from Africa, Philippines, Sri Lanka, USA and New Zealand.
Theme 4: The role of Conservation Agriculture in future Policy environment will be a strong feature of the planned workshops in theme 4 of the congress.
The 21st century realities demand that agriculture land use should become increasingly multi-functional and that any intensification must be ecologically sustainable so that productivity is maintained but not at the expense of our environment. The conceptual evolution of Conservation Agriculture shows that agricultural land use and production activities can be managed in ways that can also allow simultaneous harnessing of food production while maintaining environmental benefits. At the same time it is important when promoting changes in agricultural practices that there is an understanding of the issues that may create conflicts with climate change mitigation measures. We need to take into account the practices that have a synergy with climate change mitigation and adadptation. This means having a better understanding of the complex greenhouse gas emissions of agricultural activities and the policies that will shape behavioural changes in farming practices.
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The workshops being planned as part of the congress in this theme include:
- Policy Development for Conservation Agriculture and environmental Services: Indicators, Certification and Payment.
- The interface between climate mitigation and adaptation in cropping agriculture
- Farming systems to minimise greenhouse gas emissions and
- Policy tools for sustainable agriculture currently operating in the Australian context as a case example
There are major agricultural policy issues facing us at this moment and these workshops will invite researches who have data on how to better manage our agricultural landscapes to share their ideas for a better global environment. We hope you will join us for these important discussion in better managing global food security in a changing world.
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