Investment

This investment aims to give growers in the high rainfall zone increased knowledge on the benefits of growing summer active legumes for additional nitrogen in their rotations.

Since January 2021, the price of urea has increased. This is currently a considerable concern for growers in Western Australia. Growers in the highly productive (and high-risk) Albany Port Zone are looking towards management measures that will de-risk their nitrogen strategies.

An opportunity lies in utilising often plentiful residual soil moisture at harvest to seed a legume cover crop such as cowpea, lab-lab, soybean or vetch that can be brown-manured and incorporated prior to seeding. This is in place of the traditional summer chemical fallow.