Researchers want to know how the summer crop will impact on soil moisture and how it will affect the regular winter cereal crops being grown on the land.

The trial is on the farm of David Cook, who was impressed by the practice when he visited farms in the United States several years ago.

Mr Cook is a member of the university's Farmers Rivers Markets broadacre reference group, and so offered his property for the trial.

``We need to be more like Queensland and northern New South Wales where they are getting more out of their land,'' he said.

``We need to get out of this mindset where we only sow in autumn or winter.''

In recent years the Cook property has moved from a mixed farm to pure cropping.

``We got rid of the sheep about two years ago and now we're 100 per cent cropping, with full stubble retention, and growing wheat, canola, faba beans and in the last two years, chick peas.''

While double cropping works in the US, Mr Cook has been unable to find a scientist who can satisfactorily explain why this is so.

He believes it has something to do with keeping the soil biology active.

University of Melbourne research assistant Charlotte Aves said summer rain and soil water left after a winter crop was not well utilised under existing cropping systems.

``This experiment investigates how opportunistic summer cropping can be integrated into wheat-based winter cropping systems to capture available soil water and summer rainfall events.''

The experiment will also investigate how summer cropping impacts on the water use and yield of the subsequent winter crops.

Safflower, sunflower, white french millet, mung beans and a forage crop called lablab have been sown in plots with fallow land also being monitored to provide a comparison.

A feature of the experiment is the use of remote soil moisture monitoring equipment, which samples moisture levels every 10 cm down to 1.2 m.

The probes transmit the information, powered by a solar cell, to a central point on the property that then sends the information to a computer server managed by the private company IK Caldwell.

Researchers can log on to the site and download the raw data.

Professor John Langford said the university's Farmers Rivers Markets program was about doing more with less water and the trial fitted with the goal of making better use of rainfall.

He said Mr Cook had an innovative approach and the university was keen to apply the latest soil moisture monitoring technology to determine if there were benefits to broadacre farming.

Professor Langford and other university representatives visited the Pine Lodge farm recently to see how the crops were going.

The next trial site visit will be held on February 4 from 9.30 am to noon.

To get to the site, head 15 km east of Shepparton on Midland Hwy, then turn left on to Sidebottoms Rd.

Contact David Cook from Riverine Plains for more information on 0418 639 368.