Productive and Sustainable Salt Tolerant Pastures for South Australia and Victoria

Product Information

This project looked at tall wheatgrass-based pastures as an option for saline land. The investigation covered pasture and animal productivity, biodiversity impacts, soil and water environment, and economic analysis.

Project activity was focussed on a grazing experiment located on a 20-hectare area of saline land near Dunkeld in western Victoria. Experimental treatments were (i) a volunteer control, (ii) commercially available cultivars (Dundas tall wheatgrass, Persian clover, Balansa clover and strawberry clover), and (iii) a pre-release line of Melilotus albus, with Dundas tall wheatgrass. The site was graded to form gentle mounds to improve drainage, followed by sowing in April 2003. It was grazed by maiden Merino ewes between late spring and early autumn, followed by wethers to control excess growth in autumn and for brief periods during winter and early spring.

Economic analysis was undertaken for three farmer case studies using a discounted cash flow analysis. The case studies included tall wheatgrass at Hamilton and Seymour, and saltbush near Bairnsdale. These showed an internal rate of return over 20 years of between 20 and 32%. In each case, the unimproved carrying capacity was much lower than that achieved in the grazing experiment. This indicates that an alternative pathway to improving saline land could be to encourage salt-tolerant volunteer species (where suitable species are already present) by separate fencing.

The project made significant advances in identifying best practices for establishing and managing tall wheatgrass-based pastures. These practices form a chapter in a recently- released farmer-oriented book. The majority of salinity extension staff in Victoria have visited the research site, use findings in their own face-to-face advice, and welcome further contact with project staff.