Life Sciences Commons^™

Other On-Station Activities For Wool Pastoralists, Mark Stevens

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

The impact of low wool prices has been most severe on specialist wool growers who have little scope for diversification, particularly those in the pastoral area.

Although there are limited opportunities for new enterprises on all pastoral stations, individual pastoralists are examining other on-station activities to determine which ones might be suitable. In doing so, they are evaluating:

• location (proximity to a major highway or population centre);

• natural attractions (coast, gorges, river, wildflowers);

• natural resources (native fauna and flora); and

• water supply (quantity and reliability of good quality water).

Diversification In The Woolbelt, John Allen

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

The productivity and diversification initiative for wool growers incorporates two leves of diversification.

Greatest emphasis is placed on industry wide increases in cropping intensity and in the range of crop types grown.

The second level involves non-traditional, alternative enterprises, each offering prospects for expansion of a limited number of wool growing businesses, suited to particular parts of the woolbelt.

The alternative enterprises include floriculture, aquaculture, export hay, farm tourism, commercial timber, horticulture and new animal industries.

Crops In The Woolbelt : Current Options And Emerging Prospects, Wal Anderson, Ross Gilmour, Robyn Mclean, Peter Nelson, K H.M Siddique, Paul Carmody, Ian Prtichard

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

It has traditionally been more profitable to grow sheep for wool in the medium rainfall parts of the south-west of Western Australia than to grow crops . Crop production has been difficult owing to the hilly terrain, the frequency of waterlogging, the high incidence of damaging frosts in some areas, the frequency of losses from diseases, difficulties with wet weather at harvest, and a lack of adapted crop varieties.

Advances over the past decade have made cropping on a limited scale potentially profitable in the woo/belt.

This article is intended to bring the various options for crop production to the …

Floriculture : A Blooming Business, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Over the past 1O years, Western Australia's ornamental plant industry has experienced significant growth in value. The industry has expanded and adopted new technologies, but some enterprises have closed There have also been major changes reflecting the economic climate and conservation pressures.

The ornamental plant industry in this State is valued at more than $70 million annually. It encompasses three areas: nursery production, exotic cutflower production, and native cutllower production. The native cutflower industry is by far the largest growth sector.

Field Peas In The Wheatbelt, R J. French

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Plantings of lupins in the Western Australian wheatbelt increased rapidly in the late 1970s and early 980s as improved varieties became available and farmers realised the benefits to be gained from growing grain legumes. Grain legumes are useful not simply as alternative cash crops. They provide 'fixed' atmospheric nitrogewn to following cereal crops and act as a cleaning crop to break cereal disease cycles. They are also valuable sheep feed.

In 1975, throughout the wheatbelt, the Department of Agriculture began a comparison of several alternative legumes. The crops included field peas, faba beans, chickpeas, lentills and various vetches. Field peas …

Progress In The Nursery Industry, W J. Heggers

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

The demand for ornamental plants in Western Australia is sat an unprecedented level, making the nursery industry a relatively prosperous branch of horticulture.

One reason for the continued demand for nursery lines is probably that people are concerned about the environment - "green survival", as it is often refered to in promotional literature.

In rural areas, farmers are becoming increasingly aware of the value of planting windbreaks, shade and ornamental trees, while mining companies and the Forests Department are actively engaged in re-afforestation.

As a result the nursery industry is in a healthy situation and can continue to develop in …

Linseed : An Alternative Crop For The South Coast. 2. What Is The Future For Linseed?, R J. Doyle, R. J. Guyton

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

In a preceding article* we stated that the expansion of linseed in Western Australia was due primarily to the ability to sell on the export market at current ruling prices.

This is necessary because Australia's domestic needs are likely to be supplied in most years by Eastern States producers.