At the Soil Wealth and Integrated Crop Protection demonstration site in north-west Tasmania, Harvest Moon uses a unique machine to control erosion: the ripper mulcher.

Invented and built in Tasmania by Dr Bill Cotching, the ripper mulcher has been designed specifically for the steep slopes that are used for annual cropping on the valuable ferrosols of north-west Tasmania. It overcomes the issues caused by contour drains and occupies about half the land compared to drains, and can be used for crops when it’s impractical to have cover crops or retain residue.

RMCG has produced some great resources on the use of the ripper mulcher in Tasmania, which are free to access online:

• Podcast
• Fact sheet PDF

Thanks to the investment of public funds, ripper mulchers are free for Tasmanian growers to borrow and use, including a mulcher currently based at the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture’s Forthside Vegetable Research Facility.

For more information, contact RMCG’s Theresa Chapman at theresac@rmcg.com.au.

This post appeared in the AUSVEG Weekly Update published 26 March 2019. Subscribe to the Update using our online form to receive the latest industry news in your inbox every week!