WANT to drive around the cropping paddocks of the Ruwoldt family farm at Kewell, west of Minyip?

Then you had better get yourself a vehicle with wheels exactly 3.048m apart.

And you had better stick to the same wheel marks used by all the machinery on the grain growing property.

    FAST FACTS
  • WHAT: Mallee Machinery Field Days
  • WHEN: August 4-5
  • WHERE: off Sunraysia Highway, 2km south of Speed
  • HOURS: 9am to 5pm
  • ENTRY FEES: adults $12, children under 16 free
  • MORE DETAILS: phone the field days office on (03) 5082 4301
  • Get your 12-page Mallee field days preview in The Weekly Times, July 28

For Robert Ruwoldt and his son, Justin, using the same wheel marks, or tram tracking, is an essential part of their sustainable cropping system.

"We are basically row cropping on a broadacre scale," Robert said.

"Apart from providing a lot healthier soil from less compaction and better moisture retention by keeping stubbles, the system allows us to perform some advanced techniques, such as shielded spraying and inter-row sowing."

Enforcing the "no go" zone on the paddocks is just one of many changes on the Ruwoldt farm aimed at maximising returns in what Robert described as a "challenging climate".

"We started direct-drilling our crops into stubbles in the early 1980s and have been using GPS technology since 1996," he said.

"We are constantly learning and changing the system, but the gains are well worth it.

"That's especially so in the past five years, when rainfall has been well below average."

Robert said cereal crops on the property yielded two tonnes a hectare to 7t/ha.

"Even with the poor finish to the season last year, our crops yielded OK.

"It's clear evidence the soil is better off under the zero-tillage, row cropping system and plants are using the available moisture much better."

Robert is passionate about the sustainability of farming and he travels extensively to ensure his perspective and knowledge of new techniques is kept up-to-date.

"By looking differently and using a whole systems approach, the rewards from farming can be tremendous.

"You can't keep your head in the sand."

One annual trip Robert usually makes is to the Mallee field days at Speed.

"It's a good field day as it's specific to the area and a way to see some of the new machinery on the market," he said.

"It's also a great social outing."

The Ruwoldts sow more than 2000ha annually on the property, where the average rainfall is 400mm.

Crops are a mix of cereals, oilseeds and legumes.

The larger machinery includes two John Deere tractors, a John Deere self-propelled sprayer and a John Deere harvester, all bought through Emmetts of Horsham.

One of the tractors is a John Deere 8345T, which is a tracked vehicle sporting 257kW of power.

The 8345T tows a Daybreak disc seeder which has a working width of 9.14m.

To cater for inter-row sowing, the Daybreak seeder has a side-shift mechanism to allow each seeding disc to be moved sideways each year.

Emmetts will display a range of the latest John Deere tractors at the Mallee field days, including several models from the 8000 and 9000 series.