Working together, leading change

The Liquid Injection Arable Growth Group is a loose group of about a dozen farmers who have been exploring the possibilities of liquid injection and sharing their knowledge. That includes producing a resource for growers on how liquid infection systems work, with some examples of how to install them on different drills.

Established a few years ago at their own initiative, the group has been supported by a Foundation for Arable Research facilitator, Donna Lill.

Lill said it was very fitting that the group, based around Methven, Leeston, and Hororata, won the award.

“They do work together well and embody what that award is about.”

She said they give each other lots of moral support and encouragement to try new things and get out of their comfort zone.

“In the space that they’re working, there’s not a lot of research. So it’s really good that they can learn off each other and share their knowledge and expertise.”

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The group’s focus initially was looking at the mechanics but more recently has shifted to the types of products that can be introduced by liquid injection.

Lill said anything that can commonly go down with the seeds such as fertilisers, biostimulants or innoculants, can potentially be used for injection, so that they are right there alongside the seed when it germinates.

While some commercial systems were available with “all the bells and whistles and a price tag to match” some were using completely do-it-yourself own-built systems, she said.

Part of the online guide was aimed at giving people an overview of those options.

Methven farmer James Halford initiated the group and describes himself as the leader only “by default.” On the awards night he was joined on stage by four others to accept the award.

A grower of feed and milling wheat, grass seed and various brassica seeds, Halford says liquid injection is theoretically usable on everything.

He says that while the machinery is available off the shelf there was a range of ways of doing it. One grower has bought his entire kit off the shelf and another made everything himself.

Halford says he has spent about $10,000 on injection machinery but another in the group has done it for under $1000.

One of their techniques has been what Lill calls “try outs” - not quite rigorous science with standardised controls but paddock-scale trials by different farmers across their own paddocks and with their own varied machinery.

“It’s not as specifically robust as a scientific trial but it does give you some replication.

“It gives you a look and see of how that product might work on your property. If you’re getting consistent results across seven other properties it gives you some confidence in what the results of that product may be.”

The group has recently been looking at injecting tricoderma fungus, a microbe believed to improve plant health, and learning from Australian experts on brewing their own injectable biofertilisers.

Halford said it was a bit early to say if the biofertilisers were a success.