No-Till Drills Links & Resources

The Western Australian No-Tillage Farmers Association (WANTFA) long-term field trial, which ran from 2006 to 2019, was designed to test and further develop high-quality no-till systems based on the conservation agricultural principles of permanent soil cover, minimal soil disturbance and diverse crop rotations.

No-till has long been considered a sustainable agricultural practice because of its potential to provide on-farm productivity benefits as well as off-site environmental benefits. However, “economic concerns” have been identified as one of the largest barriers to adopting no-till (i.e., costs associated with adoption possibly being greater than the returns in the short term). This study evaluates the long-term economic impact of no-till adoption using rich plot-level data from a long-term field experiment over the period 1996–2019.

“Our results reveal that continuous no-till adoption generates positive economic benefits by reducing overall input costs. Moreover, the profitability of no-till increases as one continuously uses this practice over an extended period of time. Furthermore, because continuous no-till can be both economically and environmentally attractive, our results are consistent with recommendations to support long-term adoption of continuous no-till management.”

A conservative zero-till cropping strategy with added manure and high nitrogen applications has proven to be the best-performing system to maximise returns in Central Queensland.

GRDC’s Northern Farming Systems project has been experimenting with different systems for nearly a decade.

The Northern Farming Systems project concentrates on how farming systems’ modifications affect water use efficiency, nutrient balance and nutrient use efficiency, changes in pathogen and weed populations, changes in soil health, and profitability.