Due to the abundance of feedlots and other intensive livestock operations in northeast Victoria, there is local interest in using manure to supply nutrients to grain crops and to address any prevailing soil constraints. In collaboration with Riverine Plains, trials were established in 2022 and 2023 to assess the benefits of organic amendments in restoring fertility following a grain legume (faba bean) crop, as it seems that in high yielding situations, most of the nitrogen fixed by this legume is exported at harvest. Yields from the following year’s wheat crops were compared under a variety of fertiliser treatments including 2.5, 5 and 10 tonnes/ha of manure.
A two-year extension to the project provides an opportunity to assess the legacy effects of these treatments. Over the 2024 and 2025 growing seasons, the legacy of the treatments’ effects will be assessed at the 2023 trial site, specifically in relation to yield and soil nutrition.