The aim of any post-drought cropping program is to restore cash flow as soon as possible. To respond in a timely manner when the rain does fall and put yourself in the best position to establish and grow a harvestable crop, some pre-planning is critical.

There are a number of management decisions that need to be made at the right stage of recovery to ensure you are able to capture rainfall when it falls and maximise profit after drought.

Part three of this webinar series will focus on:

Fallow management:

• Importance of groundcover, soil surface conditions and fallow weed management on rainfall capture and storage.

• Fallow efficiency – cereals vs pulses, short fallow vs long fallow. Overview of data from the northern farming systems project.

• Cover cropping – is it worthwhile?

Crop management:

• How to maximise yield after drought – what are the key agronomic considerations?

Planning for the next dry:

• Economics of drought recovery – experience from other droughts

Presenters:

1. Rod Collins – Senior Development Extension Officer (DAF)

2. James Hagan – Economist (DAF)