De-risking the sowing program on the Eyre Peninsula

Project Category: Hub Projects

Project summary:

This long-term program of work is helping Eyre Peninsula growers reduce the risks associated with dry and early sowing by investigating practical management strategies that improve crop establishment, optimise fertiliser and herbicide use, and support more reliable crop performance under increasingly variable seasonal conditions.

Since 2022, AIR EP has led a series of connected projects that progressively build the evidence base for dry and early sowing, with each project exploring different management challenges while contributing to the shared goal of improving drought resilience across Eyre Peninsula farming systems.

Project description:

Dry and early sowing has become an increasingly important strategy for maximising growing season length and managing seasonal risk across the Eyre Peninsula. Over the past several years, AIR EP has led a series of connected research, demonstration and extension projects investigating practical management strategies that improve crop establishment and increase grower confidence when sowing into challenging conditions.

The first SA Drought Hub project, Best Practice for Early Sowing Opportunities (2022 & 2023), extended the findings of the SAGIT-funded Improving the early management of dry sown cereals research project (2019-2021) through on-farm demonstrations across the Eyre Peninsula. Demonstration sites investigated fertiliser placement, fertiliser type, long coleoptile wheat varieties and seed priming, translating previous research into practical, locally relevant information for growers.

Building on these demonstrations, the De-risking the seeding program: (2024), funded through Ag Excellence Alliance, expanded grower engagement and extension activities while continuing to improve understanding of management practices that support successful dry and early sowing.

The current SA Drought Hub project, De-risking the Sowing Program on the Eyre Peninsula (2025/26), has built on the findings and extension outcomes of the earlier projects by investigating herbicide strategies and sowing management under low rainfall conditions, providing growers with additional information to reduce establishment risks during challenging seasonal starts.

The next phase of this ongoing body of work, De-risking the Sowing Program on EP: A Comparison of Different Seeding Systems and Crops (2026/27), is continuing this work by investigating how different lentil seeding systems, herbicide mixes and rolling timings interact to influence crop establishment and yield under Eyre Peninsula conditions. The project responds directly to grower interest in expanding previous trials and will continue building practical, locally relevant evidence to support dry sowing decisions.

Together, these projects represent a long-term investment in improving dry and early sowing systems for Eyre Peninsula growers. While each project has investigated different management questions, they collectively contribute to a growing body of locally relevant knowledge that supports more informed sowing decisions under increasingly variable seasonal conditions.

Key achievements and results:

Since 2022, this program has progressively built a substantial body of locally relevant knowledge to help Eyre Peninsula growers reduce the risks associated with dry and early sowing. Across multiple demonstration and extension projects, the work has investigated how fertiliser management, crop establishment, variety selection, herbicide strategies and sowing systems influence crop performance under increasingly variable seasonal conditions.

Early demonstration sites established at Ceduna, Cowell and later Penong highlighted the importance of fertiliser management during crop establishment. While seasonal conditions in both 2022 and 2023 resulted in early rather than true dry sowing, the demonstrations still provided valuable insights into fertiliser toxicity, seed safety and early crop development. The projects also reinforced the value of locally delivered demonstrations, with growers consistently highlighting the benefit of seeing treatments under their own farming conditions and discussing results directly with researchers and advisers.

Building on these foundations, the program expanded to investigate herbicide management and broader sowing decisions under dry starts. More recent work has focused on providing growers with practical information to improve confidence in dry sowing systems while continuing to refine recommendations as seasonal conditions vary from year to year.

Project achievements include:

Demonstrated that placing urea below the seed generally improves crop establishment compared with placing urea in the seed row, reducing the risk of fertiliser toxicity during establishment.
Showed that MAP provides a safer option than DAP where fertiliser is placed with the seed, while reinforcing that fertiliser placement can have a greater influence on crop establishment than fertiliser type alone.
Demonstrated that improved early crop establishment does not always translate into increased biomass, grain yield or grain protein, highlighting the importance of seasonal conditions throughout the growing season.
Evaluated long coleoptile wheat varieties and seed priming techniques, improving understanding of where these strategies may provide establishment benefits and where seasonal conditions can limit their impact.
Expanded the program to investigate herbicide strategies and sowing management under dry sowing conditions, providing growers with additional information to better manage establishment risks during challenging seasonal starts.
Shared findings through demonstration sites, regional grower meetings, field days, Eyre Peninsula Farming Systems publications and extension activities, enabling growers to compare management strategies under local conditions and apply practical learnings on their own farms.
Continued expanding the program through a new demonstration comparing lentil seeding systems, herbicide mixes and rolling timing, responding to grower demand for further research into practical dry sowing management strategies.

Further information:

To learn more, visit AIR EP.

Read the best practice for early sowing opportunities technical article published in the Eyre Peninsula Farming Systems 2022 Summary