The Pine Grove farmer has a strong no-till farming background and is committed to improving soil health and reducing chemical inputs on his property.
He says three things can happen to water on a paddock: it can run-off, it evaporates or it transpires out of a living plant.
“That's the only way we can make money out of the plant, when it transpires,” Mr Sims said.
“Usually when we are farming we are thinking about farming in two dimensions: how many acres are we running?
“We have to think about our farming area in three dimensions: length by width by depth.
“When we made some changes in 2008, in 10 years we doubled our rooting depth and our water holding capacity, so in effect we are farming twice as much on our land without increasing our land size.”
Mr Sims has stopped using MAP fertiliser and seed dressing.
He uses liquid fertiliser, most of which is made on the farm, and addressing not only NPK (nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium) but adding trace elements.
He has worked towards better soil microbiology.
Mr Sims said they had been able to double their long-term average yields using principles including eliminating or minimising tillage, keeping the soil covered at all times, maximising rotations, stopping soil compaction and integrating livestock.
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