RegenZ is running a “Crane-Friendly Trial” to protect these endangered South (SA) African birds at a farm in the KZN Midlands, Ivanhoe Farming Company, one of the oldest seed potato growers in the country. Ivanhoe is a Crane Custodian working closely with the KZN Crane Foundation. The farm boasts flourishing populations of all three crane species. The Blue Crane is SA’s national bird.
This ground breaking trial, conducted using Zylem and RealIPM agricultural inputs, aims to transform potato farming practices while championing regenerative agriculture and minimising synthetic inputs. As the trial progresses the team hopes that new insights and results will revolutionise farming methodologies while preserving the region’s delicate ecological balance.
Objectives of the Crane-Friendly Trial
Initiated in September 2021, the trial aims to pioneer economically viable high-quality seed potato production through regenerative agricultural practices. With an intended duration of eight years, the primary objective is to explore methods to reduce reliance on synthetic fertilisers and chemicals.
According to Nick Platt from RegenZ, cranes are essentially the face of any overall agricultural ecosystem of any growing environment/ecosystem and also at Ivanhoe Farming. The products in the CF programme are predominantly natural/biological in their formulation and designed to have a minimal and even positive impact on the soil and farming ecosystem.
The trial is nearing the halfway mark and with the recent planting of its third crop, is already showing promising signs. Control rows devoid of in-furrow fertilisers surprised observers with unexpected but encouraging yields, supporting the idea that most commercial potato crops can be produced with drastically reduced fertiliser applications.
Trial Methodology and Products
Following a holistic approach, products are carefully selected to harmonise with the farm’s ecosystem and benefit the crane population. Dividing an 8-hectare block into annual 1-hectare segments, the trial compares Ivanhoe’s ‘Farm Standard’ spray programme with the ‘Crane-Friendly’ (CF) regimen. While both receive in-furrow fertilisers, the Crane-Friendly block explores a range of Zylem’s nutritional products and RealIPM’s bio pesticides to minimise chemical dependency and enhance soil health, thereby reducing use of chemical pesticide sprays for the trial segments, only spraying chemicals for late blight. The applications have been far less frequent than a conventional chemical spray programme would necessitate.
The trial includes experimentation with various cover crop mixes and strategies to build overall soil health and address soil pathogens affecting potato crops. Post-harvest, the block will be planted with a cover crop which will then be periodically grazed by Ivanhoe’s beef herd in accordance with the farm’s existing land management/crop rotation practice.
Trial Assessment and Success
Soil sampling and analysis is the primary measure of trial assessment. “We are still in the learning phase of the trial. In the second half, we hope to synthesise and apply these learnings into the way we approach and manage the trial,” Platt says.
Success will be evaluated by
- Yield and quality: the programme should produce a high-quality seed crop at the required volumes and
- Cost: Growers will not consider these methods if data does not reflect commercially viability. A successful result would constitute a programme/methodology able to achieve the required yields at a comparable or improved cost to existing programmes.
Challenges of the Trial – Disease Pressure
The trial has encountered some challenges, notably disease during the 2023 harvest. The appearance of late blight and rhizoctonia underscored the complexities of sustainable farming. According to Platt, disease pressure is always going to be a challenge, but for now, test results inputs are tweaked into the spray programme to address it. Several interrelated factors impact the success or failure of each crop and the trail is focussing on trying to refine the programme. Thereafter, focus will shift to other areas of planning and management to improve outcomes.
Mixed Trial Results
“Although the trial is building the data, Crane-Friendly yields have been lower than the Farm Standard during both harvests, but have certainly not been total failures from a yield perspective,” Platt says. “For our approach to succeed, this will have to be addressed. We are still at the stage of refining our approach to try and bridge this gap in a manageable and cost-effective manner.”
However, there have also been promising results. For both the first and second crops planted, there were a few control rows in which no in-furrow fertiliser was applied at all. At the harvesting of both crops, a surprisingly high yield in these control rows was noted. “Nothing near the yield achieved in the conventionally managed crop, but very encouraging signs on which to build our programme, particularly when some observers and trial participants doubted whether any tubers at all would grow in these rows,” Platt explained. He said that it was important to note that a lower yield may be acceptable if the return on investment justifies it and recognises that using fewer pesticide applications has many direct and indirect benefits, both to the ecosystem and those who are handling the pesticides.
Environmental Impact and Observations
Beyond productivity metrics, the trial also examines the environmental impact on different trial groups. Post-harvest observations revealed a significantly improved earthworm population in the Crane-Friendly block, highlighting the positive effects on soil health compared to the Farm Standard, a simple but powerful indicator of soil health.
Redefining Future Sustainable Farming
As the Crane-Friendly trial unfolds, it illuminates the potential path toward sustainable farming, how we can respect nature while pioneering progressive farming methodologies.
