Central West Farming Systems

02/09/2026

Livestock graziers — how well do you really know your local lucerne growth rates? 🌱

Our Long Term Lucerne Trial is tracking exactly how lucerne performs through the seasons in low rainfall zones, and the results are shaping smarter decisions on rotation length, grazing pressure and stocking rates.

Come hear the year 2 &3 insights straight from the paddock.

📅 CWFS Spring Field Day — Tuesday 8 September 2026, 8am–2pm (breakfast from 8am)
📍 Condo Ag Station, 152 Fifield Rd
🚶 Field walk: Long Term Lucerne Trial with Wendy Gill, Achieve Ag Consultancy

RSVP now (for catering purposes)




Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

01/09/2026

Five weather apps, five different forecasts. Cut through the noise at our free Weather Wise Workshop – Mythbusting the Forecast, Thurs 1 Oct, 8.30am–1pm at Condobolin Ag Station. Learn to read a real seasonal forecast and turn it into a plan for sowing, stocking and drought decisions. Numbers strictly limited — register now via trybooking.com/DOVNF 🌾. NSW Farm Business Resilience Program

31/08/2026

26/08/2026

Not all the work in the paddock is done by machinery.

A honeybee hard at work in the faba bean crop — pollination like this plays a real role in flower fertilisation and pod set, a small but important piece of the yield puzzle.

A good reminder of why protecting pollinator habitat and activity matters for our farming systems. 🐝🌱

26/08/2026

Crop nutrition, sheep production and soil health — this year's Spring Field Day line-up covers it all. We're thrilled to welcome three outstanding guest speakers on Tuesday 8 September. Meet them below →

Professor Terry Rose, research agronomist and Director of the Centre for Organics Research at Southern Cross University Lismore. With a career spanning on-farm agronomy with DPI NSW and as field trials officer in the UK to leading national soil and crop nutrition research, Terry brings practical, science-backed advice on broadacre crop nutrition and sustainable farming systems.

Wendy Gill, founder of Achieve Ag Consultancy in Forbes. A mixed farming and sheep production consultant with a Bachelor of Agricultural Science and a lifetime working across rural and regional NSW, Wendy brings practical, on-the-ground advice on sheep genetics, fodder systems and business benchmarking to help primary producers get more out of their operations.

Dr Yunying Fang, senior soil scientist at Griffith University. With a PhD from the University of Sydney and a research background at NSW DPI, Yunying brings practical, field-tested advice on soil health, nutrient cycling and the next generation of organic-based nitrogen fertilisers.


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25/08/2026

Aphid colonies are building in faba beans right now — feeding damage shows as wilting, stunting and premature flower and pod drop, plus the added risk of virus spread.

With crops at flowering, that's a direct hit on fertilisation and pod set — where yield is actually decided. Get into paddocks and check aphid and beneficial numbers before acting. A selective insecticide like Pirimicarb is less disruptive to beneficials than some other options (note: WHP is 21 days).

Timing the call now matters more than timing it late.

25/08/2026

Update: Breakfast is now 8am at the Condo Ag Station! Don't miss CWFS Spring Field Day on Tuesday 8 September — a big day of field walks and ag insights. Book tickets now! 🌾

18/08/2026

Two crops, one row — this week's Trial Tuesday looks at wheat and vetch working the paddock together.

Yesterday Sapphire was out collecting biomass cuts for the FDF & Soil CRC Plant Diversity Trial — looking at a temporary intercrop of wheat and vetch.

This year, Sundancer wheat was sown at 53 kg/ha alongside 15 kg/ha of Morava vetch. The two crops grow together until the wheat reaches flag leaf emergence (Z37–Z39), when the vetch is terminated. Termination was completed today.

It's a simple system on paper, but the biomass and nitrogen story underneath is where the real trial data lives.

13/08/2026

Not to be missed - sign up today!

12/08/2026

Last week, with rain forecast, our team made the call to go ahead and topdress our trials – good judgement, with widespread rain following shortly after application.

Our Junior Trials Agronomist, Sapphire, completed the fertiliser spreading at one of our Soil CRC demonstration sites at the CWFS Fettell Centre, Condobolin.

The demonstration is part of a two-year Soil CRC project investigating new organic-based nitrogen fertilisers developed by Griffith University. These fertilisers combine urea with organic materials such as peanut shell biochar, cow manure and green waste compost, with the aim of improving nitrogen use efficiency, crop productivity and soil health.

As part of the extension component of the project, we are comparing the biochar-based nitrogen fertiliser with conventional urea in cereal demonstration strips across two sites with different soil types. This provides an opportunity to see how the new fertiliser performs under local paddock conditions alongside a product growers are already familiar with.

We look forward to watching the demonstration sites progress and recording the results as the season unfolds.