Harvesting wheat at Darcra Farming’s Wilkur property last year. Photo: Action Steel

BOOLAH has branched into Victoria, and is holding its first field day at Wilkur, between Warracknabeal in the Wimmera and Birchip in the Mallee, this Thursday.

It follows Boolah’s packed-out 2024 and 2025 field days held on its home turf at Pallamallawa, and will showcase how a range of inputs can help commercially successful farming become regenerative.

Stuart and Lyndall Tighe at Boolah’s first field day held at Pallamallawa in 2024.

The Boolah story started with principals Stuart and Lyndall Tighe wanting to maximise value for malting barley grown in their large-scale farming operation in northern New South Wales.

It led to Boolah supplying its and others’ barley through the PURE grain network to brewer Asahi Beverages on its journey towards net zero emissions, and thinking about scaling up its trials.

The Tighes turned to their friends and former Pallamallawa neighbours, the Henderson family of Darcra Farming, to set up their first trial site outside northern NSW, and foundations were laid last year in 320ha of the Hendersons’ wheat crop.

This year, the Wilkur trials cover 490ha of barley in what is shaping up to be a bumper season, and registrations to date indicate close to 300 visitors, including a busload from the Pallamallawa district, will attend Thursday’s event.

Its theme is Margin Matters, and Mr Tighe said it invites growers to think beyond the farm gate.

“We’re here to bring the whole of the supply chain together and create value for everyone,” he said.

Fitting in on the farm

Boolah started running regenerative farming trials using biological stimulants and organic as well as synthetic fertilisers in 2021 on its home farm, Dimboola.

Its trials in the Pallamallawa district now total close to 700ha and include additional area on the Tighe’s nearby farm, Popinguy.

Boolah Pure Network’s head of research, development and sustainability Brooke Sauer said the Wilkur trials have been designed to fit into the Henderson family’s operation.

Three generations of Hendersons: Brothers Mitch (left) and Ben Henderson with their father Craig and grandfather Lindsay. Photo: Darcra Farming

It involves Craig and Pauline Henderson and sons Mitch and his wife Sheree and Ben and his wife Elle.

The Hendersons’ existing rotation has wheat, barley, and lentils as the staples, with canola and hay as options.

“Whatever their rotation is, that’s what we’ll stay with over the four-year cycle,” Ms Sauer said.

Rather than being leased to Boolah, the company pays a compensatory amount to the Hendersons for the additional time it takes them to factor in inputs not used in the rest of their operation.

“They are using products they had no exposure to previously,” Ms Sauer said.

“Last year, we had four trials in wheat…and this year, we have brought in six new partners.

The initial Wilkur trial year involved products from Loam Bio, and Mort & Co Fertilisers, which recently rebranded as KIVAS.

New to the Wilkur trials this season are:

• Four products from Corteva’s biologicals range;
• Biological stimulants from UK-based company Intracrop;
• Through distributor NxtTech, three Privi biostimulants.
• Omnia’s Bacstim Seed dressing, which introduces bacillus species into the root zone of cereal crops; and,
• Loveland products from Nutrien’s biological arm.

The trial at Wilkur will next year grow lentils, and their nitrogen-fixing ability means the urea component will be suspended, opening the way for one or more new products.

“We’re looking for additional partners with more biostimulants.

“The trial at Wilkur is more focused on reducing applied nitrogen, whereas the ones on our home site are looking more at improving nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium use efficiency.

“We’re looking to establish something similar in Victoria next year…because there seems to be more phosphorous tie-up down south than there is in our trials in the north.”

Complementary to local research

Ms Sauer said Boolah’s trial at Wilkur seeks to assess the suitability of products designed to reduce a crop’s emissions without impacting productivity within a commercially successful farming operation.

“We’re looking to reduce reliance on synthetic fertilisers, and build soil carbon.”

This separates the aim of Boolah’s trial site from those conducted by, for example, the Birchip Cropping Group.

Founded in the 1990s, BCG partners with organisations including the Grains Research and Development Corporation, Agriculture Victoria, CSIRO, and universities, to look at aspects of agronomy like pests, diseases, and specific crops in Vic.

It has numerous trial sites, including NVT ones, in the Wimmera and Mallee as well as North Central Vic, and some are within a 15km radius of the Hendersons’ Wilkur country.

“BCG focuses very much on agronomic trials and early-stage investigation on small plots, whereas ours trials are focused on how we transition to a low-emissions future at a commercial scale.”

End-to-end representation

As was the case with Boolah’s 2024 and 2025 field days in northern NSW, the 2026 event is expecting a good roll-up from those in the brewing industry who are technically competitors, but who share a goal to lower emissions.

Asahi Beverages group senior manager raw material development Mark Goldsmith and Boolah’s Brooke Sauer inspect a crop of Neo barley at Boolah’s first field day held at Pallamallawa in 2024.

They include Geelong neighbours Soufflet’s Barrett Burston, a supplier of malt to Asahi, and Malteurop.

“We’ve got quite a few representatives in the barley supply chain coming along, from seed companies and growers all the way through to users.”

The field day is free and kicks off at 8am, with online registrations invited ahead of the event.

The program includes two panels facilitated by Grains Australia chair and Boggabilla, NSW, grower John Woods.

Margin Matters panelists are:

• FENDT senior marketing manager Phillip Janes;
• KIVAS CEO Grant Statton; and,
• Terragen chief operating officer Dr Joss West;

Future Opportunity panelists are:

• AxisTech Group founder and managing director Wes Lawrence;
• Barrett Burston Malting supply chain director Dean Ganino; and,
• Westpac agribusiness sector lead Rachel Kerlin.

Asahi Beverages category manager Cameron Wilson will also be presenting an end-user perspective on how sustainable sourcing, market expectations and stronger end-to-end connections can provide benefits across the supply chain.

The day will also include a trade display from 21 exhibitors, a running autonomous tractor, and a Precision Seeding Solutions display semi-trailer.

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