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Introducing Perennials Into Grasslands In South West Australia Increases Gross Margins For Dual Purpose Merino Enterprises, Paul Sanford

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Dual purpose Merino enterprises on the south coast of Western Australia (WA) typically utilise agricultural grasslands that comprise entirely of annual plant species. These grasslands face a range of challenges including a variable Mediterranean climate coupled with mostly infertile fragile sandy soils. As a consequence livestock producers have to manage potentially high supple-mentary feeding costs particularly in summer and autumn while running sufficient livestock to remain profitable. Sowing summer-active perennial species into these grasslands has been shown through short-term livestock trials to allow an increase in stocking rates and reduce the amount of supplement fed. The objective of this investigation …

Native Shrubs For Grazing In The Dry, Semi-Arid Sand Dunes Of The Mallee Region Of Victoria, Australia, Dave Monks

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Native shrubs have potential for growth and grazing in dry areas where alternative perennial pasture options are limited. Deep-rooted perennials have also been shown to reduce groundwater recharge and salinity to improve ecological stability. A forage shrub evaluation experiment was established at the Walpeup Research Station in the Mallee region of Victoria, Australia to compare the performance of a range of native species. The work was conducted as part of the Enrich project with the Future Farm Industries Cooperative Research Centre.

The Values Of Warm-Season Native Perennial Grasses Grown For Pasture Or Biofuel In The Southern Great Plains, Usa, James K. Rogers, Bryan Nichols, Jon T. Biermacher, Jagadeesh Mosali

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

The Renewable Fuel Standard under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 mandated the production of 136 billion liters of cellulosic biofuel by 2022. Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) has been identified as a primary feedstock because it is a perennial, produces high yields and is adapted to a wide environmental range. Development of the cellulosic biofuel industry has been slow. A reason for this slow development is lack of available feedstock driven by lack of a developed market. Rather than considering switchgrass only as a dedicated biofuel feedstock, we examined its potential both for grazing and biofuel feedstock. …

Dry Matter Yield Of Perennial Ryegrass Cultivars Under Mechanical Cutting And Animal Grazing, Patrick A. Cashman, Trevor J. Gilliland, Michael O’Donovan, Marion Beecher, Mary Mcevoy

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Perennial ryegrass evaluation trials are essential to identifying and promoting the most productive cultivars for use at farm level to maximise sward productivity (Grogan and Gilliland 2011). Cultivar testing is predominantly conducted under simulated grazing trials to predict dry matter yield (DMY) performance under animal grazing. Previous studies have shown a high correlation in DMY between these two defoliation methods (Camlin and Stewart 1975; Creighton et al. 2010). In contrast, Binnie and Chestnutt (1991) demonstrated that swards grazed by animals had higher DMY performance than those exposed to simulated grazing managements. Animal pressures such as pulling, treading and nutrient …

Hybrid And Perennial Tetraploid Ryegrasses Are At Least As Productive And Persistent As Perennial Diploids In Dryland Conditions In Northern Tasmania, Pedro M. Evans, Eric J. Hall

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Perennial ryegrass Lolium perenne is the preferred grass for fertile conditions and high rainfall areas or those with irrigation. Persistence of ryegrass can become a problem in drier and warmer areas (Fraser 1994). Even in high rainfall areas of south eastern Australia receiving between 550 and 750 mm of annual rainfall, loss of perennial ryegrass within a few years from sowing is a common problem (Waller and Sale 2001).

This work aimed to examine the ability of a range of lines and cultivars of ryegrass to produce and persist under dryland conditions and rotational grazing by sheep in northern Tasmania, …

Adaptability And Extension Activity Of Dwarf Napiergrass In Southern Kyushu And Elsewhere Since Its Introduction To Japan 15 Years Ago, Yasuyuki Ishii, Dong-Jin Kang, Asuka Yamano, Sachiko Idota, Kiichi Fukuyama

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Southern Kyushu is well suited to the cultivation of tropical grasses due to its warm climate, history of herbage production, and extensive areas of abandoned arable land. In 1996, a C4-tropical dwarf variety of a late-heading (DL) napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach) was introduced from the USA into southern Kyushu via Thailand. Since 2004, DL napiergrass has been evaluated for its production potential, overwintering ability, and suitability for grazing. In Miyazaki, napiergrass exhibits superior sustainability, persisting for more than 5 years without annual renovation. The species shows excellent overwintering ability in coastal areas and is resilient to pathogens and insects. …

Survey Of Pasture Species And Management, Manure Management, Milk Production And Reproduction On Pasture-Based Dairy Farms In Florida And Georgia, Usa, F. Du, K. D. Gay, M. E. Sowerby, Y. C. Newman, C. R. Staples, R. C. Lacy, A. De Vries

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Traditionally, most dairy farms in the south-eastern United States confine cows to barns or on pasture lots year-round and feed stored forages and concentrated feeds (Fontaneli et al. 2005). Often, much of the feed is purchased, however, the cost of purchased feed and fuel has risen rapidly in the last 5 years (NASS 2009). In addition, a significant amount of capital is tied up in buildings, machinery and manure management systems on the farms. For these reasons, many dairy farmers have shown an interest in or started transitioning to pasture-based dairy systems (Ricks and Hardee 2012). The management practices …

Scenario Analysis: Risk And Return Of Aluminium Tolerant Lucerne, Claire D. Lewis, J. L. Jacobs, K. F. Smith, G. Spangenberg, B. Malcolm

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Lucerne (Medicago sativa) yield is limited by aluminium stress associated with acid soils (Campbell et al. 1988; Scott et al. 2008). With the aid of transgenic technologies, the development of aluminium tolerant (Al Tol) lucerne is proposed. Modelled scenario analysis was conducted to explore the potential net benefits of Al Tol lucerne as part of a grazing system for a sheep production system in the high rainfall zone of south west Victoria.

Diversity, Trends, Opportunities And Challenges In Australian Grasslands–Meeting The Sustainability And Productivity Imperatives Of The Future?, Lindsay W. Bell, Richard C. Hayes, Keith G. Pembleton, Cathy M. Waters

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Grassland production systems contribute 40% to Australia’s gross agricultural production value and utilise over 50% of its land area. Across this area a broad diversity of systems exist, but these can be broadly classified into four main production systems: 1. Pastoral grazing of mainly cattle at low intensity (i.e. < 0.4 DSE/ha) on relatively unimproved native rangelands in the arid and semi-arid regions of northern and central Australia; 2. Crop-livestock systems in the semi-arid zone where livestock graze a mixture of pastures and crops which are often integrated; 3. High rainfall permanent pasture zone in the coastal hinterland and highlands and; 4. Dairy systems covering a broad range of environments and production intensities. A notable trend across these systems has been the replacement of wool sheep with beef cattle or meat sheep breeds, which has been driven by low wool prices. Although there is evidence that most of these systems have lifted production efficiencies over the past 30 years, total factor productivity growth has failed to match the decline in terms of trade. This has renewed attention on how research and development can help increase productivity. In addition, these industries are facing increasing scrutiny to improve their environmental performance and develop sustainable production practices. We propose several areas in which grasslands research and development might help provide gains in system productivity and sustainability. In particular, pasture productivity might be improved by filling gaps in the array of pastures available either through exploring new species or improving the adaptation and agronomic characteristics of species currently sown. Meanwhile there is a need to maintain efforts to overcome persistent and emerging constraints to pasture productivity. Improving livestock forage feed systems and more precise and lower cost management of grasslands would translate into improved utilisation and conversion of forage produced into livestock products. There is significant scope to capture value from the ecological services grasslands provide and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from livestock production. Multi-purpose grasslands provide not only grazing for livestock but produce other food products such as grain which may also have potential to integrate livestock with cropping. However, reduced human research capacity in pasture science will challenge our ability to realise these potential opportunities unless efforts are made to attract and support a new generation of pasture scientists.