Other Animal Sciences Commons^™

Re-Thinking The Summer Drenching Program, Brown Besier

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

The summer drenching program has provided highly effective sheep worm control in Western Australia for many years - but recent research challenges its long term sustainability.

Trial results suggest that in large parts of the State, summer drenching is the main factor leading to the development of drench resistant worms. Alternative programs less likely to lead to drench resistance will require greater monitoring of worm burdens and panning pasture moves.

Ofda2000 Brings Major Changes For Wool Industry, Andrew Peterson

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

The classing of any wool clip into lines of uniform quality is a crucial step in optimising the value of the wool. Objective Clip Preparation (OCP) standards and training of wool classers lave led to the Australian wool clip being internationally recognised as the best classed and prepared wool in the world. However, adherence to OCP standards of clip preparation still leads to a substantial range in diameter and crimp frequency of fleeces within the main lines. Therefore, an opportunity has existed to develop improved technology to reduce the variation in quality within any main line, create lines of even …

European Wasps : Eradicating An Unwanted Pest, Marc Widmer, John Van Schagen

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

European wasps were first found in Western Australis in 1977. Mark Widmer and John van Schagen outline the pest's life history and control progeams which are in place.

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.

An Update On The Biological Control Of Rabbits, Stuart Wheeler

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

When myxomatosis was introduced into Western Australia in the early 1950s, farmers, pastoralists and government alike thought it was an answer to the rabbit problem.

The disease was devastatingly effective in the short term and initially had a 99 per cent kill rate. With time, the virus declined in strength, and the surviving rabbits have multiplied.

There have been many recent reports about new forms of biological control for rabbits and potential improvements in old ones.

This article summarises each of the prospective methods and improvements, and assesses the potential usefulness of each.

Red Kangaroos Can Set Back Range Regeneration, Andrew Mclaughlin

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

After years of severe drought, stocking rates in Western Australia s arid rangelands have been kept low since the 1970s to allow native pastures to regenerate. As well, extensive re-seeding programs have started and sheep and cattle grazing on these areas has been restricted or eliminated. However, pasture regeneration in the rangelands can only succeed when grazing by all animals - sheep, cattle, kangaroos, goo.ts, camels, brumbies and donkeys - is controlled Many more red kangaroos roam throughout Western Australia's pastoral areas today than 20 years ago. The installation of windmills and troughs to water domestic livestock has allowed kangaroo …

Animal Production From Tagasaste Growing In Deep Sands In A 450 Mm Winter Rainfall Zone, Chris Oldham, Greg Allen, Peter Moore, Bruce Mattinson

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

In 1985, Martindale Pty Ltd, Sir James McCusker's family company, signed a unique research contract with Professor David Lindsay of the University of Western Australia. The aim of the Martindale Research Project was to study ways of increasing farm productivity in the sheep-wheat zone of south-western Australia. A primary focus was the high cost of grain or hay used to fill the autumn feed gap in grazing systems.

However, it was not clear how or if tagasaste might be economically used to replace the grain and/or hay traditionally fed by hand to sheep and cattle in autumn.

Trees And Livestock : A Productive Co-Existence, Richard Moore

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

Trees, as part of farming can help to combat land degradation problems and produce a good economic return from timber at the same time. For example, there is now clear evidence that planting trees can help combat salinity by lowering water-table levels. Trees can also substantially improve overall farm productivity by providing shelter for pastures and livestock. The challenge is to find practical and economical methods of integrating trees and farming. A combination of widely-spaced trees and livestock is one promising method. This article describes the benefits of this type of agroforestry to farmers, suitable locations and how to practice …

Veterinary Consultancy Boosts Piggery Profits, Ashley Mercy

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

A pilot Pig Herd Health Management Scheme co-ordinated by the Department of Agriculture has stimulated much increased involvement of veterinarians in the Western Australian pig industry. Co-ordinated by Ashley Mercy, principal veterinary officer (epidemiology) horn 1985 to 1989, the scheme demonstrated the value of having regular visits from veterinary consultants and in implementing programs to prevent disease and production problems occurring in herds.

Can Kangaroos Survive In The Wheatbelt?, Graham Arnold

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

One of the costs of agricultural development in Western Australia over the past 100 years has been the loss of most of the native vegetation and, consequently, massive reductions in the numbers of most of our native fauna. Thirteen mammal species are extinct and many bird and mammal species are extinct in some areas. These losses will increase as remnant native vegetation degrades under the impact of nutrients washed and blown from farmland, from the invasion by weeds and from grazing sheep.

Even kangaroos are affected. Unless the community manages remnant vegetation to minimise degradation and enhance the regeneration of …

The Western Australian Pig Health Monitoring Scheme, Ashley Mercy

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

Over 30,000 slaughter pigs from 245 Western Australian piggeries have been examined for the presence of 16 diseases since the Western Australian Pig Health Monitoring Scheme (PHMS) started in January 1987. The scheme was developed by the author in conjunction with Dr Chris Brennan, a pig veterinary consultant. Monitoring of slaughter pigs is an important part of providing an effective veterinary service to commercial piggeries. It can be used in accreditation schemes and to help in certifying herds free of particular disease

Direct Selling Is A Plus For Cattle Producers, P G. Frapple

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

The aim when marketing cattle is to maximise the net return with the minimum level of risk. To do this a producer needs an accurate description of the stock for sale and information on the likely gross returns and costs of selling through the different marketing systems.

Since producers' selling costs and processors' buying costs are lower in direct sales, it is more likely that net returns from direct delivery will be higher.

The Sandplain Lupin : Its Nutritional Value And Grazing Management, P W. Morcombe

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

The sandplain lupin or Western Australian blue lupin (Lupinus cosentinii) was introduced to the West Midlands at the turn of the last century. Since that time it has been used as a self-regenerating summer forage for sheep and cattle.

Being deep rooted, it has adapted well to the sandy soils from Perth to Northampton, and plantings now cover more than 100,000 ha.

As few other improved pasture species will persist on these deep sands the sandplain lupin provides an important source of summer feed for grazing livestock. A stand can be grazed throughout summer at stocking rates of 10 to …

Intensive Animal Industries In The Peel-Harvey Catchment, R W. Payne

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

The Swan coastal plain to the north and south of Perth is attractive for the intensive production of pigs and poultry for several reasons. It is close to markets, feed manufacturers and labour; has a less extreme climate than inland areas; and is underlain by a large reserve of high quality groundwater.

Because these are all intensive operations, large quantaties of nutrient-rich waste are produced over a very small area. They can severely damage ground and surface waters unless steps are taken to control the wastes which they produce.

This article oulines both the nature of intensive aniamal industries in …

Atrophic Rhinitis In Pigs, A R. Mercy

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

Severe atrophic rhinitis in pigs recurred recently in Australia after an apparent absence of some 20 years. The first of these recent cases occurred in a Westerm Australian herd in late 1984 and since then six other local herds have reported the disease. Severe atrophic rhinitis has also been seen recently in South Australia.

Atrophic rhinitis is a complex disease which causes degeneration of the nasal cavity, twisting of the snout and sometimes occasional bleeding from the nose.

It occurs only in pigs and severely affected animals may have a slower growth rate.

The Use Of Buffer Zones In Dingo Control, P C. Thomson

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

The aim of dingo control is to protect livestock, not to eliminate dingos from Australia's vast ininhabited areas. However, with labour costs rising, dingo control must become more cost effective.

In this article, P.C. Thomson discusses the "buffer zone" control strategy which involves removing dingos from a strip of country adjacent to stocked land.

Although variations of this strategy have existed for some time, detailed knowledge of dingo behaviour and movement patterns was required to ensure that the concept was soundly based. Much of this information came from a long-term study of dingos carried out in unstocked country and adjacent …

Dingoes And Sheep In Pastoral Areas, P C. Thomson

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

Since 1975, a long-term study of dingoes in the Fortescue River area of northern Western Australia has sought to provide the detailed information necessary to devise efficient dingo management strategies.

Dingoes have been fitted with radio-transmitter collars, then tracked and observed from a specially equipped aircraft. Their movements, breeding, hunting and social behaviour have been monitered in the rugged, spinifex-covered ironstone terrain which represents typicaldingo refuge country, and in neighbouring sheep country.

Although the pastoral and agricultural industry have long recognised the need to control dingoes to protect livestock, particularily sheep, there is little published evidence about the type of …

Rabbits North Of Carnarvon, D R. King

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

In Westeern Australia rabbits are mainly a pest along the south-western coastal parts of the State, but there are populations north of the Tropic of Capricorn. Rabbits after crossing the Nullarbour plain from South Australia and colonising the South-West of the State, were reported to have reached the west coast near Geraldton by 1912 and then spread northwards.

There is little information on the biologhy of rabbits in the northan parts of their range, but pastoralists in some areas are concerned about erosion and damage to vegetation on their stations when rabbits reach high numbers.

The Agricultural Protection Board undertook …

Myxomatosis In Western Australia, D R. King, S. H. Wheeler

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

Since myxomatosis was introduced to Western Australia in the early 1950s rabbit plagues have ceased. However, myxomatosis has not proven to be the whole answer to the rabit problem.

Rabits continue to damage crops and pastures in many areas and resurgences of rabbit populations are reported from time to time.

Drs D.R. King and S. H. Wheeler of the Agricultural Protection Board's research section have been studying the way myxomatosis epidemics occur and spread in rabbit populations in a range of Western Australian environments. This research will provide data for planning effective control strategies intergrating the various control options available …

Rabbit Kitten Survival In The South-West, D R. King

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

In the South-West of Western Australis reliable winter rains allow the rabbit breeding season to extend through winter and spring, and thus a large number of kittens are produced each year.

Studies on the biology of rabbits at Cape Naturaliste (270 kilometres south-west of Perth) and Chidlow (40 kilometres east of Perth in the Datling Range) have shown that at these sites each doe produces about 30 and 27 kittens respectively a year. If all these youg rabbits survived, there would be a 15-fold increase in numbers. Within a short time the State would be covered "wall to wall" by …

How Rabbit Poisoning Methods Work, S H. Wheeler

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

While the "rabbit plauges" of the past are a distant memory for most farmers, rabbit numbers must still be controlled in many parts of Western Australia. Rabit control techniques rely heavily on poisoning, which given the right conditions can kill a high percentage of rabbits at risk.

Recent research by the Agricultural Protection Board has been aimed at determining how different poisons, baits and poisoning methods work. By knowing in detail how each method works and what influences its results, we can choose the best control method for a particular place and time, avoid costly failures, and increase the effectiveness …

Feral Donkeys : An Assessment Of Control In The Kimberley, S H. Wheeler

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

Feral donkeys are one of the major limitations to increased pastoral production in many parts of the Kimberley area of Western Australia, where they compete with cattle for food. In addition donkeys are aggressive animals, driving cattle from watering points and better grazing areas. They eliminate perenial plants by overgrazing and therefore reduce the carrying capacity of the range.

Originally introduced as draught animals, donkeys were released when cars arrived; since then they have bred up to large numbers in many areas.

For several years the Agricultural Protection Board has undertaken a programme of donkey shooting from helicopters. Since this …

Research Objectives In Vertebrate Pest Control, A J. Oliver

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

The European rabbit, introduced into Australia in 856 by an early settler for hunting, caused massive losses to agricultural production in Western Australia in 1940s and 1950s.

In those years most of the country's recources and efforts allocated to vertebrate pest problems were aimed at controlling this animal.

Research and control measures by Commonwealth and State agencies, including the introduction of myxomatosis, were largely responsible for reducing the rabbit problem to the comparatively minor one it is now.

Today, the Agricultural Protection Board is involved in the control of a much wider range of mammals and birds which cause losses …

1080 : A Selective Poison For Pests, D R. King

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

Since the 1960s, the control programmes for rabbits and dingoes in Western Australia have relied heavily on the use of sodium monofluoroacetate, more commonly known as compound 1080. Large quantaties are used each year as it is a valuable substance for the control of vertebrate pests.

Once in the animal's body 1080 is converted to fluorocitrate, a poison which is highly toxic to most mammals. Fluorocitrate blocks the Krebs cycle, a fundamental pathway of energy exchange in animals and plants. The animal dies as a result of damage to the heart, or to the brain and central nervous system, or …

Testing Bulls For Breeding Soundness, R L. Peet

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

New tests are available to ensure that bulls are fertile.

Lupinosis : A Disease Still With Us, Jeremy G. Allen, P. Mcr. Wood, K. P. Crocker, J. Hamblin

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

Current research on lupinosis continues to reveal what a complex problem it is, but the improved understanding should help to reduce losses.

Saving The State From Rabbits, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

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

A thoughtful look at the rise and fall of rabbit populations in Western Astralia and the work done to achive the current levels.

Controlling Annual Ryegrass Toxicity, C H. Trotman

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

Eight years of intensive work has changed annual ryegrass toxicity from an unknown killer to a manageable problem.

Pigs May Need More Protein, N W. Godfrey

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

Results of trials indicate that meatmeal based rations of 18 to 20 per cent protein may improve carcase quality and give better returns.