Life 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.

Protein Plus : Increasing Summer Milk Protein Levels

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

Protein Plus has commenced as a collaboration between the Department of Agriculture and the CSIRO Division of Livestock Industries. The project is aimed at investigating the causes of Western Australia's problems with low summer milk protein levels, and finding management solutions for farmers.

Wa Beef Industry And Consumers Benefit From Meat Standards Australia (Msa), John Lucey

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

The Western Australian beef industry confirmed its world-class status when it became the first to implement the national beef grading scheme Meat Standards Australia.

New Sheep Meat Breeds For Western Australia, Matthew Young

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

The continuing decline in wool prices and the arrival of several new meat sheep breeds from South Africa are being seen as an opportunity for pastoral wool growers to diversify into sheep meat production, or to add value to their Merino flocks. Since the arrival of the Damara, Dorper and South African Meat Merino, the interest in these breeds has spread not only across the sheep areas of Western Australia, but also to many parts of Australia. Matthew Young reports on a number of demonstrations undertaken in recent years to assess the performance of these new breeds both on the …

Improving Productivity With Dairy Farm Performance, David Windsor, Ken Crawford, Stuart Gallagher, Vicki Staines

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

How productive can a dairy farm be? What options are available to dairy farmers to increase their productivity and profitability? How can you reduce milk production costs effectively? These are the kinds of questions that dairy farmers are, or should be, asking leading up to and immediately after deregulation. These questions, and many more, can be answered by participating in Agriculture Western Australia's (AGWEST) Dairy Farm Performance (DFP) Program. David Windsor, Ken Crawford, Stuart Gallagher and Vicki Staines report on DFP and the benefits being generated for dairy farmers in Western Australia.

Improving Feed Grains, Bruce P. Mullan

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

Clearly, to encourage grain growers to focus their production systems towards feed grains, it is important to first identify the reasons for variation in the nutritional value of grains and then to develop rapid, cheap, and accurate methods of measuring these factors. The analytical methods should ideally be suitable for application either at the site of grain delivery from the farm or within the place of stockfeed manufacture. This will mean the nutritional value of the grain can be known before it is used. The rational marketing of feed grains could then be achieved, with the benefits from more efficient …

Eradicating Virulent Footrot From Western Australia, R K. Mitchell

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

Western Australia has a unique opportunity to eradicate virulent footrot from the State's sheep flock, with only 62 properties or 0.6 per cent of sheep properties currently in quarantine. The majority of Western Australian flocks are now free of virulent footrot, with targeted on-farm and abattoir surveillance used to detect the remaining properties affected by the disease. Bob Mitchell reports on how farmers, industry, and government are working together, with research playing an important part in the eradication campaign.

Finding Western Australia's Most Profitable Merino Flocks, David Windsor

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

Wether trials across Western Australia are showing significant differences in Merino flock productivity, which have important implications for whole-farm profitability. David Windsor reports on how wool growers in the 21 st century can maximise productivity by combining superior management skills with the best available genetic material.

Profit From Pastures, Mark Callow, Martin Van Houtert

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

The research program has made a major contribution to the improvement of pasture management techniques, which has, in turn, led to a gain in productivity for dairy farms in the south-west of Western Australia. Analysis has shown a 25 per cent improvement in pasture utilisation, an increase in the average number of cows milked from 155 to 192, an increase in average stocking rates from 0.9 to 1.2 cows per hectare, and increased income from milk sales by $600 per hectare. There are still areas for improvement in sustainability, productivity, and profitability, but the success to date is a credit …

Clones Help Develop Ewe Feeding Strategy, Myra Yelland, Rob Kelly, John Davies, Johan Greeff

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

Cloned sheep are not a new animal to the researchers of Agriculture WA, but the method that produced Dolly is.

Cloned sheep have been produced at the great Southern Research Institute as early as the mid 1980s. Myra Yelland, Rob Kelly, John Davies and Johan Greef outline how clones are used in experimental studies on wool production

Selling Western Australian Wool To The World, Georgina Wilson

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

Western Australia supplies 14 per cent of the worls's apparel wool and Agriculture WA's Wool Program has been working to raise the State's profile as a consistent supplier of high quality fibre to the world markets. It's a slow process in a very traditional industry, but modern measurement and computers are useful tools as Georgina Wilson explains.

Breeding For Improved Feed Conversion Efficiency, Alan Lymbery

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

Alan Lymbery reports on a trial that has started at Vasse Research Atation to investigate the impact of genetic improvement on feed conversion efficiency on costs of production.

Woolpro : The Way To Better Pastures And Sheep, Julia Fry

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

WOOLPRO farmers recognise that sustainable increases in productivity are essentail to maintain and improve income of wool growers.

Teasing Apart The Threads Of Staple Strength, Andrew Peterson

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

A successful partnership between two local inventors and Agriculture WA's Wool Program has created a new instrument which, just like the growth rings of trees, can show seasonal changes in the fibre diameter of wool. This will have considerable value to the wool industry as Andrew Peterson explains.

Finfish Aquaculture In Western Australia, David Berry

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

David Berry surveys fish farming from Broome to Williams, on off shore reefs and in farm dams, for barramundi, silver perch and black bream, trout and tuna.

Better Flock Benchmarking From Wether Trials, David Windsor, Bronwyn Clarke

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

Genetic links between wether trials put in place by Agriculture Western Australia's Wool Program are helping farmers benchmark the productivity of their flocks on a statewide basis. David Windsor and Bronwyn Cklarke report on the progress to date.

Blup For Merino Breeding, David Windsor, Johan Greeff

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

Best Linear Unbiased Prediction (BLUP) experiences of farmers into their genetic breeding programs.

Uht Milk : Expanding The Market, Caroline Love, Ian Bell, Martin Robertson

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

An increase in the export of UHT (Ultra Heat Treated) milk to Asian markets is potentially worth millions of dollars to the dairy inmdustry. This increase however, relies on the shelf life of UHT products being extended to nine months. Spoilage of UHT milk can be caused by bacterial spores which originate on-farm and are resistant to processing. Expansion in the UHT market therefore relies on a continued reduction in the number of these spores getting into raw milk. Caroline Love, Ian Bell and Martin Robertson report on the sources of spores entering milk on-farm and the control methods available.

Sheep Blowflies Strike Out!, David Cook, Ian Dadour, Ernie Steiner

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

Woolgrowers are constantly concerned that the sheep blowfly may be able to breed in sheep or other animal carcasses. David Cook, Ian Dadour and Ernis Steiner report on an experiment that answers that question once and for all.

Today's Woolgrowers : A Profile, Ian Mcfarland

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

Woolgrowers have been faced with fluctuating prices, a mix of seasons and rising production costs since the demise of the Floor Price Scheme in 1991. despite these difficult times, there are still very large differences in productivity and profitability between wool growing properties in Western Australia. Ian McFarland looksat production levels on wool growing properties in Western Australia and outlines some actions to lift productivity.

Improving Dairy Farm Performance, Ruth Dilley

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

Western Austraian sairy farmers produce more milk per cow and per farm than their eastern Sttates counterparts and the milk is also of higher quality. But there is always room for improvement and as grain prices rise it is crucial that maximum benefit is derived from the cheapest feed source - the pasture.With this in mind Ruth Dilley looks at the Dairy Farm Performance Program - a comprihensive farm database developed by Agriculture Western Australia.

Something Fishy Is Going On - Aquaculture, David Berry

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

Aquaculture id Australia's fastest growing primary industry. Product from fish farms is currently valued at $399 million, forecast to exceed $5oo million by 2000.

Whilst the figure pales into insignificance alongside world production (about $45 billion) it does represent a huge window of opportunity for prospective investors and for Australian primary producers who are keen to diversify.

David Berry reports on the prospects for yabbie and marron farming in Western Australia.

Beef : Meating The Market, Greg Sawyer, Richard Morris, Geoff Tudor

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

Nearly half of Western Australia's beef production is consumed on the domestic market, but the scene is changing rapidly.

In this article Greg Sawyer, Richard Morris and Geoff Tudor review information on production systems performance, and carcase and quality measurements that may well serve wider market opportunities in the future.

Sustainable Worm Control In Sheep, Robert Wroth

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

Deciding on the best worm control program for your farm can be a complex matter, but guidelines in this article by Robert Wroth should make it simpler.

Virulent Footrot : Mild Or Severe?, Laurie Depiazzi

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

The footrot eradication scheme in Western Australia has resulted in a low prevalence of severe footrot.

To appreciate the achievement, we need to understand what exactly is being eradicated. 'S' strains of Dichelorbacter nodosus, the infectious bacterium of footrot, are the target of footrot eradication. Laurie Depiazzi examines the basis for eradicating 'S' strains.

Drench Resistence : A Large Economic Cost, Brown Besier, Jill Lyon, Norm Mcquade

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

Drench restistant worms can cost sheep farmers a lot of money - more than most probably think. Brown Besier, Jill Lyon and Norm McQade discuss some new research that shows the value of conducting routine drench tests to ensure effective worm control.

A Measure Of Justice For Western Australian Wools, John Stanton

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

Western Australian wools are sometimes perceived as inferior to those from eastern States, and this perception has often been reflected in price. For the first time a detailed comparison of the characteristics of our wool with the rest of the country has been undertaken. It shows that Western Australian wools are sometimes different from their eastern counterparts, but not necessarily 'inferior'. Overcoming these industry perceptions of inferiority is probably our biggest challenge, according to JOHN STANTON.

Beefing Up Our Prospects, Trevor Boughton, Brad Mccormick

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

In the global fish pond the Western Australian beef industry is a minnow. Production is only 5.5 per cent of Australia's total and around 2 per cent that of the United States. Our output has remained static for the last decade while competition throughout the world has expanded. Moving forward to share the benefits of growing world markets or being left behind is the long-term choice facing the industry, according to TREVOR BOUGHTON and BRAD McCORMICK.

Value Of Saltbush Questioned, Brian Warren, Tess Casson, Ed Barrett-Lennard

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

Over the last 20 years the Department of Agriculture has focused on finding plant species that can grow on salt/and to produce sheep feed, and on techniques for establishing plantations of saltbushes. Some research has been in response to farmer reports of success in using revegetated salt/and to provide autumn forage, while other work has resulted from the apparent importance of saltbushes in rangeland areas.

Objective measurements of wool production have been taken only recently. Three years research at Katanning indicates that while saltbush material is selected and eaten by sheep, its value for wool production is not high. It …

Sharing Information Benefits The Meat Industry, Michael Paton

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

Cronic health problems of livestock, seldom detected on farms, reduce the efficiency of abattoirs and returns to producers. But a major project providing information to producers from abattoirs is indicating how everyone could benefit from feedback.