A Malanda dairy farmer is trialling new technology to improve pasture and productivity – and the results will be showcased at a demonstration day on Thursday 6 June.

Glen Drury has been working with Terrain NRM to trial the Soilkee Renovator, a minimum till pasture cropping machine that mulches and aerates the soil while planting multiple species into existing pastures. The renovator was designed by Victorian beef producer Niels Olsen, the first Australian farmer to earn carbon credits for his soil under a government-regulated system.

Niels and Glen will be sharing their learnings and land improvements at the demonstration day, on Thursday 6 June, along with Australian Holistic Management Coop CEO Helen Lewis whose organisation, as part of the project, has begun monitoring Glen’s land to measure regenerative outcomes over the next five years.

Glen has planted a mixture of seasonal crops and pasture seeds with the Soilkee Renovator on 150 acres of his 450-acre property.  The aim is to build up pasture biodiversity, soil microbes and carbon.

“We’ve been putting in ryegrass, chicory and clovers for years but the new technology gives us more variety,’’ he said. “We’ve planted legumes, cereal, ryegrass, peas, beans and brassicas. A lot of those seeds are too big to go through the old planter.

“We are looking to grow more feed and more milk.”

He said minimum till was another advantage. “Before, if we worked up a whole paddock, we got really good feed but we had problems when it got wet trying to graze it out. And in the summer when we ploughed and there was heavy rain, it led to erosion.