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Bulletin No 4315 - Western Australian Agricultural & Fishery Exports At A Glance...1995/96, Graeme Robertson Dr, P. P. Rogers

Bulletins 4000 -

Second edition (revised and updated) January 1997.

Western Australia's economic growth and high productivity is based on a well established export-oriented economy that relies heavily on primary production.

Our abundant and diverse range of agricultural and fish products is supported by highly innovative and dynamic primary industries. These are backed by modern financial and physical infrastructure.

Western Australia's agricultural industries and fisheries have an international reputation for a professional approach to business and a proven track record in producing and supplying food and fibre products of consistently high quality. Clean air, unpolluted oceans and waterways, and abundant quality farmland are …

Achievements In Wool, Agriculture Western Australia

Animal production and livestock published reports

The Wool Strategy Group, which I initiated in 1993, works with Agriculture Western Australia's Wool Program to set the strategic directions for its activities. Chaired by Mr Philip Gardiner, it has members whose experience include fashion, marketing, financial markets, wool production, selling, as well as strong industry linkages. This document outlines the activities that the Group and the Program have been undertaking over the past 12 months.

The Chairman of the IWTO has recently suggested that Australian production in the coming years will be insufficient or not of the right specifications to supply market demands.

In order to assist Western …

New Chief Executive To Take Agriculture Into The Future, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia

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

The appointment of Graeme Robertson as Chief Executive Officer of the Government agencies involved in agriculture is a milestone in the delivery of services to the agricultural sector in Western Australia

Food Into Asia, Geraldine Pasqual, Richard Taylor

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

Competing for a share of Asia's food market may require playing by a new set of rules. New packaging and labelling formays will need careful and long-term planning and products must match the customer's palate and quality specifications.

Geraldine Pasqual and Richard Taylor explain some of the culturally significant rules of the game and why marketing success greatly depends on understanding what the customer wants and supplying it.

Understanding Fertilisers For Table Grapes, B. H. Goldspink, I. Cameron, J. Campbell-Clause, N. Lantzke, C. Gordon

Viticulture research reports

A course run by the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, August 1995.

The purpose of this publication is to clarify the role fertilisers play in commercial table grape production and to detail methods of selecting fertilisers. This selection process however is not easy as there are over 600 registered fertilisers in Western Australia.

In deciding which is the best fertiliser for a particular property many factors have to be considered. These include:

* Age of vine

* Rootstock

* Variety of table grape

* Soil type

* Soil chemistry

* Irrigation methods

* Previous fertiliser history Previous yield, vigour and …

The Business Checklist, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

Farm Systems and Economics published reports

A business can be likened to a broken water barrel. The performance of the business is represented by the volume of water the barrel can hold and the management skills of the manager are represented by the broken staves. The higher the manager's level of skill, the longer the stave.

If the business is to be successful, the manager's skills must cover all management areas of the business. Very good skills in one management area (for example, landcare planning) will not compensate for poor skills in another (for example, financial management). The performance of the business is limited by the …

Hanging On Or Handing Over : Proceedings Of A Succession Planning Seminar Held ... 28 July, 1994 At The Dalwallinu Recreation Centre ... 29 July 1994 At The Moora Recreation Centre., Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia

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The two inevitables of life are death and taxes and never has there been a more direct application to these inevitables than the old Russian proverb-

"If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail."

In 1980 in the Shires of the West Midlands and Northern Wheatbelt there were 1,102 farm enterprises. By 1993, there were 853 farm enterprises - a decline of 23 % and one of the major factors causing this decline is the lack of effective estate planning. It confirms that a significant proportion of farm businesses do not have the resources to fund the retirement …

Handing Over The Family Farm : Proceedings Of A Succession Planning Seminar Wednesday 2 March 1994 Dymesbury Lodge, King River., Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia, Adrian Ross

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Succession planning for farm businesses is becoming of increasing interest and importance. The increased pressure from competitive world markets and more marginal fanning profits is necessitating better planning for many farm families who wish to provide a sustainable family farming unit. Today's seminar has been arranged to inform farmers of the related issues and importance of careful estate planning. As The Department of Agriculture does not have specialised resources in the relevant areas, it is imperative that experienced individuals from the private sector are utilised to provide this information. These proceedings have been written by such individuals and are intended …

Beef Farms : Thriving Profits To Expensive Lifestyles, Bevan Kingdon, Greg Sawyer

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

Low wool prices in the last few years have stimulated interest in beef production in many areas of the State. Market sales at $500 and above for vealers sound attractive, but profitability of farms varies greatly. A BeefFarm Survey conducted by the Department of Agriculture has some interesting preliminary findings. Based on fairly modest returns for the operator's time, some farms are actually losing rather than making money on their beef enterprise, although potential profits are sizeable with good management. Interestingly, the biggest farms are not always the most efficient.

Miscellaneous Publication 42/93 - Development And Dissemination Of Design Methods For Rangeland Paddocks Which Maximise Animal Production And Minimise Land Degradation, Shane Cridland, Mark Stafford Smith

Animal production and livestock published reports

Surveys of rangeland resources in Western Australia to date have shown that 23% of the area surveyed is in poor range condition. Poor condition is characterised by the loss of perennial vegetation allowing wind and water erosion. Approximately another 37% is in only fair range condition (Curry and Hacker 1990).

The loss of range condition is partly due to uneven use of paddocks by sheep and cattle. The areas close to water and the preferred pasture types are often over-utilised, while areas well away from water and less preferred pasture types are under-utilised. The result is that rangeland in good, …

Bulletin 4274 - Tree Planting On The High Rainfall Coastal Plain, Don Bennett, Richard George

Bulletins 4000 -

Careful planning can mean the difference between the success or failure of a tree planting program . Healthy , well-e stablished trees stand a better chance of survival, grow faster and are more resistant to insect attack. The need for time-consuming watering in summer is also eliminated.

The high rainfall coastal plain extends from Perth to Busselton and inland to the Darling Scarp. It receives about 800 to 1000 mm annual rainfall.

Site preparation is ideally started in summer. For a winter planting, decide before March where to plant, which varieties and how many trees to plant. Early planning allows …

Bulletin No 4247 - Introduction To Commercial Mushroom Growing, Margaret Graham

Bulletins 4000 -

No abstract provided.

A Proposed Communication Strategy For The Decade Of Landcare: A Report By The Working Group For The Communication Strategy Fir The Decade Of Landcare, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia, Working Group For The Communication Strategy For The Decade Of Landcare (W.A.), Soil And Land Conservation Council (W.A.)

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A Better Future for Rural WA was a conference focusing on leadership and economic development in rural WA. The conference included

o Development of leaders in rural industries and communities.

o Building more vibrant rural communities through community and economic development initiatives.

o Generating innovative approaches to value adding and marketing our agricultural produce.

o Exploring how rural WA can further build on the economic strengths of agriculture

The conference was designed to help people deal with the issues facing rural communities by showcasing new and innovative projects and practices in rural development from within Australia and overseas and showing …

Bulletin No 4216 - Broadscale Boom Spraying, Roger Doyle, Gary Dorr, Des Gilbey, John Peirce

Bulletins 4000 -

For spraying to be effective it must do the job required at a minimum cost, with no unwanted side effects. It is impo1tant to use the right chemical at the right rate, at the right tin1e and in the best conditions.

It is just as important that both the sprayer and the way it is used allows you to meet this objective. This Bulletin will help you select the right boom sprayer, maintain it for efficient operation and use it efficiently and safely.

Miscellaneous Publication 28/91 - Midas (Model Of An Integrated Dryland Agricultural System), David J. Pannell, Andrew Bathgate

Farm Systems and Economics published reports

MIDAS is a bioeconomic model of mixed crop/livestock farms in Western Australia. It selects farm management strategies which maximise profit subject to resource, technical and environmental constraints using the linear programming technique. This document provides a thorough documentation of the version of MIDAS developed for the "eastern wheatbelt" region. If you are learning to use MIDAS with the MARG menu driven system, you need to read the MARG manual as well as this documentation.

From early in the life of MIDAS, we gave a high priority to making the data and assumptions readily accessible in documentation and in microcomputer spreadsheet …

Bulletin No 4189 - Training And Care Of The Sheep-Dog, John Charlick, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

Bulletins 4000 -

A well trained sheep-dog is a considerable asset to a farmer — in a recent Queensland Department of Primary Industries study, participating graziers estimated the value of a good working dog to be up to $20,000 a year.

Despite their value, dogs can be maintained cheaply. The Queensland study quoted $130 a year as the most any grazier spent on an individual dog — for dry food, vaccine and treatments for internal and external parasites.

This Bulletin aims to show how to train a sheep-dog from a raw pup to a highly useful and well trained, mature dog. The methods …

Farm Planning Workshop Manual, Brian Lloyd

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The Katanning District Office of the Department of Agriculture has been running Farm Planning Workshops since 1988. These group sessions evolved due to an ever-increasing demand for individual farm plans to be drawn up by departmental staff - a demand that eventually outstripped the ability of staff to supply the plans on a one-to-one basis.

This manual has been complied to supplement the workshop sessions. It comprises:

The Farm Planning Manual:

Notes written by various officers of the Department on factors to consider when drawing up a farm plan.

Reference Material:

Selected notes on various topics that have proven to …

Bulletin No 4176 - Agroforestry With Widely Spaced Pine Trees, Richard Moore, Peter Jenkins, Geoff Anderson, Phil Scott

Bulletins 4000 -

Combining a softwood timber crop with other forms of agriculture on the same land can make better use of available space, soil and water, and lead to higher productivity from farms.

This Bulletin outlines the potential benefits of, and a programme for, the growing of pine on farmland in Western Australia in conjunction with either pasture or another crop. The agroforestry system described has been well researched in Westem Australia.

The main objectives of agroforestry are to produce high quality timber while maintaining adequate pasture for either grazing or fodder cropping until the timber is harvested.

Farm Management Memo - Advice To Help Farming Through The Rural Downturn, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

Farm Systems and Economics published reports

Historically, commodity prices cycle between a "boom and a bust" every few years. Farmers are often able to adjust their operations to reduce the impact of a downturn in commodity prices by:

• Increasing efficiency through reducing or maintaining input costs while maintaining or increasing production levels.

• Maximising returns through seeking price premiums on commodities (protein, noodle quality, finer wool, increased clean wool yield).

• Reducing overhead costs

• Seeking cheaper finance or refinancing costly loans

• Careful planning and management with a high degree of attention to detail.

• Seeking advice

Bulletin No 4187 - Choosing Commercial Beef Bulls, David Barker

Bulletins 4000 -

This bulletin provides a method of placing realistic differences in value on young bulls offered for sale.

The prices paid for young bulls are often based on superficial appearance alone, and this has important financial implications for the purchaser. Different characteristics have either large or small effects on the net value of progeny produced. They are dependent on such factors as: the variability of different characteristics in cattle; differences in reliability of the assessment; the extent to which the characteristic is passed on to the progeny; the effect of the characteristic on realized net value of the progeny; the effect …

Miscellaneous Publication 23/90 - The Economic Implications Of Btec Destocking Part Of The West Kimberley Cattle Herd, Bruce Howard

Biosecurity published reports

Economic implications of destocking infected breeding cows from the West Kimberley region, as part of the Brucellosis and Tuberculosis Eradication Campaign (BTEC) programme, were studied to evaluate effects on herd size, turn-off, cash surpluses and herd asset value.

Bulletin No 4172 - Using Gross Margins, Peter Eckersley

Bulletins 4000 -

The gross margin of a farm activity is the difference Variable or direct costs are those which change according between the gross income earned and the variable costs to the size of the activity, for example, drenches, dips and incurred.

Gross margins are useful for comparing similar farm activities. They are best expressed in terms of that farm resource which is most limiting (for example, per hectare, per dollar invested or per labour unit). Gross margins can be used to compare the performance of current activities or to predict the performance of a potential alternative activity.

They should not be …

Plantscan, Ted Lefroy, Fritz Droge

Natural resources published reports

PLANTSCAN is a network of schools and landholders throughout the wheatbelt of Western Australia. It aims to speed up the process of testing plants for their suitability to this environment.

This kit contains seed of various trees and shrubs and notes on how to grow them, plant them out into a small plot and record their progress.

Schools and landholders throughout the wheatbelt who have purchased this kit become part of a research network aimed at selecting plants that will:

* overcome soil erosion;

* overcome soil salinity;

* and provide a source of income for farmers.

The following sheets …

Bulletin No 4167 - Futures Markets, Roderick Grieve

Bulletins 4000 -

Most people have heard of futures but many are unsure of what they are or how they work. The primary purpose of futures is to reduce the risks associated with selling or buying commodities whose price fluctuates. The futures market operates by bringing buyers and sellers together in one place where they negotiate prices at which certain specified commodities will change hands at given future dates. Users of the futures market include producers or users of the commodity, traders in the commodity and speculators.

Futures contracts differ in several respects from typical contracts for cash sales. The futures contract standardizes …

North Mullewa Research Station "Daisy Downs" Field Day, Peter Nelson

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NMRS (165 ha) was leased from "Daisy Downs" (Manager Mr Ken Thompson) in 1985. NMRS was established in response to famer and local goverment demand for more research on the shallow, heavy soils in a low rainfall area. It is run along similar lines to the East Chapman Research Station (ECRS), with large rotation paddocks (42 ha) set up to study farming systems the remainder of the leased area being used for general experimental purposes.

Bulletin Ma 3/89 - Broccoli Growing In The South West, J. Burt, M. Hegney, H Gratte

Horticulture published reports

Manjimup Regional Office

Agdex No. 254/11

Broccoli (Brassica oleracae, variety italica) is closely related to cabbage, cauliflowers, brussel sprouts and kohl rabi. This group of plants may be referred to as crucifers, brassicas or cole crops.

Broccoli originated in Italy. The head consists of well developed green flower buds on a fleshy flower stalk. It is high in protein, calcium, fibre and vitamins A and C.

Broccoli are produced throughout the year for Western Australian markets, but mainly from January to August as there is more competition from Perth producers in spring. There is potential to export broccoli to South …

Bulletin No 4158 - Western Australian Beef Industry - Economic Constraints And Future Market Outlook, Alan Peggs

Bulletins 4000 -

Since the mid 1970s there has been a substantial decline in cattle numbers in Western Australia. Most of this decline has occurred in the agricultural areas.

Much of the decline in cattle numbers can be attributed to low real cattle prices.

As a result of the fall in cattle numbers beef production has also fallen. However, the percentage fall in production has been somewhat less than the percentage decline in numbers due to a rise in the average carcass weight of animals slaughtered.

With declining beef production the amount of beef available for export has also declined. Similarly domestic consumption …

The Benefits Of Weaning Cattle In The Kimberley, David Pratchett, Stuart Young

Animal production and livestock research reports

The Kimberley region was populated with Shorthorn cattle from Queensland and New Sonth Wales in the 1880's. The descendants of these cattle known as Kimberley Shorthorn are still the predominant breed in the region. The relatively poor performance of these cattle under the harsh Kimberley conditions and the fact that changing the genotype can improve productivity was recently published (Pratchett D. WADA Journal No. 4 1988)

While the adoption of Bos indicus breeds is the correct move, improved husbandry can also increase the productivity of the Kimberley Shorthorn cow. The majority of cattle in the Kimberley are not weaned. Sometimes …

Livestock Statistics Western Australia Prices Of Livestock Sold At Midland Auctions, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia, R. L. Taylor

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Livestock prices are shown as monthly weighted average prices calculated from saleyard auction prices, Prior to July 1989 Midland auctions were reported on by the Western Australian Department of Agriculture's Livestock Market Reporting Service, Since July 1989, prices are derived from a weekly summary of sales prepared under contract to the Department of Agriculture by Nicholls Independent Livestock Information Service ,

Livestock slaughterings and production are derived from Australian Bureau of Statistics Catalogue No. 1305.5.

Miscellaneous Production 23/87 - Animal Production In The Spinifex And Shrubland Regions Of Western Australia, D. Burnside

Animal production and livestock published reports

The role of the Rangeland Management Branch is to promote the sustained economic use of the rangeland resource. It provides research and extension services to the pastoral industry, provides advice on the condition of the range resource to Government and provides technical information on rangelands to other rangeland managers. A principal objective to be met in fulfilling that role is the development and promotion of economically efficient place systems that conserve the rangeland resource. At the inaugural Pastoral Soil Conservation Districts Conference in Meekatharra in May 1987, pastoralist delegates emphasized the importance of achieving that objective within the various soil …