Rolls of film can help crops during planting season

Mar 15, 2016

Film helps keep moisture close to the crops

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

When it comes to planting season, Mother Nature can simultaneously be a farmer’s best friend and worst enemy.

To combat the changing climate in Australia, some farmers have started using a degradable polymer film that’s as thick as human hair.

After the farmer plants their seeds, the film is mechanically buried at the edges which creates an environment similar to a greenhouse.

"The film is placed in such a way that the seed is able to germinate and grow, where the degradation of the film is timed to be weak at the time the plant has grown to the point where it is trying to break out – typically about 10cm,” Co-Operative Research Centre for Polymers (CRCP) CEO Ian Dagley told the Brisbane Times; CRCP developed the film.

Farmer applies polymer film to a field

It can take approximately a month for the film to degrade enough for the plant to break through. During this time, the moisture within the soil stays close to the ground and is recycled back into it.

"You've trapped that moisture at the start of the season, so if you are going into a season that was very dry, the fact the crop was further developed early on might provide you with a benefit and potentially a better yield," Mr. Dagley said.

The film degrades underground so farmers can plow the fields without worrying about equipment getting caught on the film.

Trials have shown using the polymer film can lead to more uniform germination and earlier growth while not impacting soil quality or food safety.

Join the discussion and tell us if you would use a degradable polymer film in your farming operations.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.