Pastures

Serrated Tussock: managing native pastures to prevent invasion

This project aims to develop better management practices to stop the spread of Serrated Tussock to new paddocks, new regions and uninfested native grasslands by better understanding of the management system and biophysical factors that affect its spread…

Making better fertiliser decisions for grazed pastures in Australia

Australian grazing industries are facing increasing challenges. There is continual pressure to increase efficiency and productivity, while at the same time there is mounting scrutiny of the impact of grazing systems on the environment. Most Australian soils are deficient in plant nutrients, and therefore fertiliser is a major input on farms, which underpins pasture, livestock and milk production. The benefits of fertilising pastures include increased (more)...

Managing complex systems

Grain & Graze aims to offer ideas and ways of thinking about complex issues. This report explores strategic matters of interest to mixed farmers, teasing out the options and exploring how they vary in different circumstances. It doesn’t seek to provide precise answers; it highlights issues and options to be considered and gives more insight into how they can be tackled by individuals seeking to develop solutions to their own unique set of circumstances. (more)...

Changing Irrigation Systems and Management in the Harvey Irrigation Area

The Harvey Water Irrigation Area (HWIA) is Western Australia’s prime irrigated dairying area supplying Perth and the south west with more than 40 per cent of its milk. Irrigated agriculture commenced in Harvey with the establishment of a weir in 1916. Since that time, pastures have been watered through surface irrigation of paddocks which over time have been leveled and divided into irrigation bays. When this project was envisaged in 2001, there were no centre (more)...

Opportunities to breed/select/bioengineer Plant Species to Control Deep Drainage and Nutrient Leakage

Improving water use efficiency by reducing groundwater recharge under irrigated pastures

Approximately 65% of water extracted for irrigation in Northern Victoria and over 30% in the NSW Murray Valley is applied to pastures. In 1996, Murray Irrigation Limited (MIL) introduced a Total Farm Water Balance Policy which aimed to limit farm water use to sustainable levels and hence to reduce groundwater recharge to the district watertable. The dairy industry had some concerns with the original limit of 4 Ml per hectare and initiated discussions (more)...

Establishing a process to improve irrigation automation

Irrigated dairying is a major farming activity in the Murray Valley Irrigation Area (MVIA), in north-east Victoria, contributing greatly to this State’s economy. Most of the dairy farmers in this area flood irrigate their pastures. For better pasture quality and quantity, efficient irrigation is vital. The project entitled "Establishing a Process to Improve Irrigation Automation," realising the importance of irrigation for the dairy industry, has defined some (more)...

Eyre Peninsula Farming Systems 2006 Summary

Balancing feed supply and animal demand in the Border Rivers and Maranoa-Balonne regions

New Pasture Legumes for Grazing, Forage and Crop Rotations