Australian sheep farmers are increasing pasture utilisation and reducing risk with easy‐to‐use tools from lifetimewool
Australian pastures in the broad‐acre sheep zone are typically under utilised (25‐45％ ) as producers tend to run stock at levels that would cope with the worst summer season.This strategy limits the need to feed expensive grain in poor years and reduces the risk of soil erosion.The lower stocking rate, however, typically leads to under‐utilisation of pasture over the rest of the year.Although some innovative farmers have adopted more efficient grazing practices that lead to higher utilisation, the majority still run stocking rates below the optimum.In addition to this, many producers have stock in sub‐ optimal condition at critical times and in above‐optimal condition in non critical times, compromising productivity and sustainability.Inhibiting factors to producers adopting higher stocking rates (and therefore higher pasture utilisation) are ; no simple technique to assess pastures accurately ; poor access to effective feed budgeting tools ; belief that high pasture utilisation leads to risk of erosion and poor stock health ; and beliefs that there is little financial reward for the increased risk and labour input.
ewe management lamb survival pasture utilisation feed budgeting tools
M Curnow J Whale D Gordon
Department of Agriculture & Food WA,Albany,Western Australia Department of Primary Industries Victoria,Hamilton.Current address Merigan Pastoral,Bungendore,NSW Department of Primary Industries Victoria,Hamilton.Current address Rural Industries Skills Training,
国际会议
呼和浩特
英文
2008-06-29（万方平台首次上网日期，不代表论文的发表时间）