Accelerating Change Performance Innovation Teams met in November and December. A significant amount of the discussion focused on the group's summer feeding strategies, characterised by limited water availability and high prices. Kelvin Matthews and Don Stewart are already seeing the results from improved data collection on farm. The nutritive sampling Accelerating Change has been conducting has revealed that their lucerne pasture was of excellent quality, much higher than the

A lot has been happening in the Accelerating Change project and the broader industry over the last month. The hot dry start to spring meant irrigation was well under way when the Stewart Performance Innovation Team (PIT) met on 17 September. With the upturn in water prices, many farmers involved with Accelerating Change are reviewing their summer feeding strategies. Initial data collection will help assist with the calculations to weigh up whether certain pastures will be wat

Picture: Mike Morris, DEDJTR irrrigation researcher speaking about spinner cuts with the Humphris PIT team. They can be both modelled using new research that the Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources (DEDJTR) are using to improve the precision of border check irrigation. The Humphris PIT heard about this and the importance of good drainage at the second meeting for the Accelerating Change program. At the farm of Tim and Lyndal Humphris, of Tongala,

Farmers attending the first meetings for the innovative Accelerating Change program are positive about their involvement and the benefits it will bring to their own farms. Project Manager Amy Fay said the project is showcasing how leading farmers are using the latest research and technology to grow feed. To do this, two partner farms – one owned by the Humphris family and the other by the Stewart family with their share-farmers the Matthews family – have started working with

Don and Meg Stewart operate three properties and along with share-farmers, Kelvin and Shelley Matthews, are participating in Accelerating Change on their Yarrawalla property, which totals 242ha and milks 600 cows. The majority of this property has been upgraded to a pipe and riser system with full automation. Their farm is an excellent example of a modernised system that has already incorporated the latest technology on farm, which many farmers in the region would aim for. Th

Tim and Lyndal Humphris milk 325 cows on 150ha at Tongala. The farm is an excellent example of a low cost, efficient and well laid out conventional gravity system with padman outlets. This system is applicable to many dairy farmers in the region. The Humphris' have a strong interest in innovation and technology and have begun to use soil moisture probes to improve irrigation management over perennial pastures and maize to increase water use efficiency as well as overall total