“In the early days my grandmother would sell eggs and sheep have always been a feature since day one.
“I am a machinery person and I aspire to be a sheep farmer but land values around here dictate I can’t be a sheep farmer,” Osborne said.
So he has specialised in cropping, incorporating sheep grazing to fit the farming system at the non-cropping times of the year.
“I believe the animals have an important part to play in controlling weeds and keeping the system going in rotation with the crops.”
Osborne also believes soil management is key to profiting from nature. Soils are the most important asset and the key driver of farm productivity and environmental outcomes.
“So making sure you maintain it [soil] is plain good sense.”
While soil is the most complex, diverse and important ecosystem for plants managing it is comparatively straight forward. The three key aspects are: biology, nutrients and compaction.
Biology is what makes soil. The key to maintaining soil biology is to feed it.
Soil needs a regular and diverse supply of fresh organic residues, ideally as much as the production system can spare.
Nitrogen and phosphorous are crucial elements in nutrient management. Understanding how nutrients are cycled through the plant system and why there are optimum and not maximum levels for soil is critical for effective and profitable soil management to achieve smart, sustainable farming.
Simon Osborne’s longer-term vision on his Leeston farm is fixed on growing efficiencies and improving the understanding of weed control.
“I don’t have a problem with insect pests – they are easier to manage but weed control needs more information around individual weeds and how they are best managed in a no-till situation.”
A huge part of Osborne’s insect management stems from retaining habitats for insects and spiders with grass and diverse plant species along fence lines and in shelterbelts.
Because weed species infest all crops and pasture, using a whole of farm approach was more important than for pests and disease. It was not the weed plants growing in crops that were the fundamental issue rather it was the weed seed bank that was at the heart of weed management.
As for the cover crops the issue was finding something that did not interfere with cropping rotations in terms of contamination or pathogens.
“A lot of work has gone on over the years and I have found wheat and phacelia mix has been quite successful and provides good greenfeed for the sheep grazing.”
Overall, Osborne thought his farm system was “going well”.
“Long-term sustainability now is largely about how I manage capital,” he said.
