An overview of the first 12 years of No Kill Cropping
by Bruce Maynard
The history of No Kill Cropping
“Advance Sowing” began in central west New South Wales in early 1996. It was developed by Bruce Maynard and his family who after radically changing their grazing management wished to make a similar breakthrough in cropping. Their aim was to grow crops without damaging their regenerating grasslands. This evolved toward the final system which does maintain the full diversity in the grassland while being able to grow crops profitably.
It is a method that sows crops into existing plant and litter cover without eliminating any other plants. It works on the complementary effects of diverse pastures rather than competition factors. It is a very low-cost, flexible approach to crop growing that gives growers flexibility throughout the growing season. (See the No Kill Cropping website for further information.)
The system was designed with the triple bottom line in mind and was imagined as a redesign rather than a refinement or replacement of existing systems. It was not until after 2000 that other farmers began to copy and trial the system but since then the system has spread throughout the eastern states. It is being practiced on light and heavy soils and in high and low rainfall zones. In 2006 the name was changed to No Kill Cropping to better indicate the intention of the system and to remove confusions that arose with the original name.
What have been the successes and pitfalls?
The first five year period saw exciting results with dry matter and grain production yields showing that the system worked even in paddocks dominated by annual weeds. Grain yields were in the range of 60% of conventional yields in years that had average to above average rainfall. In dryer years the grain yields were not usually sufficient to warrant mechanical harvesting but the additional high quality forage and grain in head available for livestock made the system highly profitable. In an independent study done in this period a crop of No Kill Barley added 35% more biomass to the grassland even though it prematurely frosted midway through the season.
The latter five year period saw the worst ongoing drought conditions in eastern Australia but No Kill was still able to demonstrate profitable and ecological results for farmers. Because of the relatively small cost of producing a crop- even those that did not go to grain harvest- meant that No Kill producers were not financially worse off due to the difficult run of seasons. This was coupled with the lack of any destructive or simplifying procedures on the diversity of the paddocks so all ground cover was maintained for the dual use of livestock and fauna.
The only substantive difficulties that the system has encountered have been in the realm of producer acceptance and lack of ongoing research efforts. Both difficulties are understandable given that production values are the dominant landholder driver and research is mostly directed toward that end. Producers commercially trialling the method have not reported substantial difficulties.
Unexpected results
The use of No Kill to begin remediation and repair of scalded sites was an unforeseen benefit. By introducing short lived, beneficial annuals to scalded or hard set areas without major soil disturbance a change in state was begun. Plant matter is produced, organic matter is introduced into the ground via the roots, and animals are attracted to the site to begin further cycling of nutrients. The potential to begin the repair of erodible soils particularly in the more arid areas in a profitable manner is an exciting advancement.
A massive reduction in fossil fuel use was not anticipated but is immediately apparent when pulling No Kill machines. Very small Tractors can pull wide machinery and utes are also used and achieve the result with little effort. Who would have ever thought that the farmer of the future would sow with a ute?
A lack of any crop or pest outbreaks over ten years is a very encouraging observation and certainly not predicted by the conventional agronomic conventions. It is however, entirely predictable from the viewpoint of ecologists. In their studies of natural functions, if there is greater diversity there is less likelihood of disease and pathogens becoming a difficulty. The ability of cereal crops in particular to compete with aggressive annual weeds was an eye-opener. Pastures dominated by annuals such as ryegrass, thistles, clovers or barley grass still have cropping potential with this system because of the head start that the sown crop enjoys over any short lived competitors.
Pasture renovation by the sowing of perennial plants by the No Kill system has been shown to be practical and achievable. Lucerne, buffel grass, phalaris, rhodes grass and kikuyu have been established this way successfully and more trialling will probably further extend the list.
Exciting developments
One of the most interesting and potentially industry changing developments is the work being carried out near Bathurst, NSW. Michael Inwood and family are well along the path to implementing a “zero input” cropping program. Using the No Kill principles, Michael is going to use an electric powered ute to sow his crops. By purchasing Green Power and later on having his own solar cells to generate electricity he will be able to crop without resorting to fossil fuel inputs at all. His only costs will be the initial capital investment and machinery maintenance. He may well become the lowest cost crop producer in the world! Michael is interested in the long term possibility of combining the McLeod Harvest System with his project to make a carbon neutral or carbon positive cropping system. Establishment of trees and shrubs using No Kill is also being trialled at various sites with the potential benefit of being able to add species to existing areas of native vegetation without risk of disturbance.
Further economic modeling is being conducted to enhance the existing gross margin and projection data available. The most exciting, interesting and encouraging developments are always the stories and anecdotes that are passed on by landholders as they attempt different approaches along these lines on their own properties. As the body of people trying No Kill Cropping grows, the depth of knowledge, integration and appreciation of the principles is expanding and leading toward further innovation.
As the implications of climate change begin to occur the agricultural industries will have to adapt rapidly and radically. Refinements to existing systems will not produce the reductions in emissions necessary to satisfy future generations. No Kill has developed much in ten years and shows promise of providing a path for long term triple bottom line sustainability.
