Confinement Feeding and Deferred Grazing Management System
| Project start date: | 02 January 2023 |
| Project end date: | 02 March 2025 |
| Project status: | In progress |
| Livestock species: | Sheep, Lamb |
| Relevant regions: | Western Australia, Mediterranean |
| Site location: | WA: Wickepin Region |
Summary
Climate variability is challenging producers in the southwest of Western Australia to adapt livestock production systems to successfully manage pasture resources, stock nutrition and soil health in drying climates. The inconsistent timing of the autumn break and the quantity of growing season rainfall presents a challenge for producers to balance pasture management and livestock nutrition in Autumn while maintaining a profitable livestock enterprise. Innovative producers in WA have experienced great success with supplementary feeding pregnant ewes in confinement to delay pasture grazing until closer to the lambing period, where pasture resources are most valuable.
This producer demonstration site project will establish two demonstration sites in the Wickepin region of WA to demonstrate the production and economic benefits of supplementary feeding pregnant ewes in confinement and deferring grazing of pastures to match ewe nutritional requirements with pasture availability over the lambing period.
Objectives
By December 2025, in the Wickepin region of Western Australia, Facey Group will engage 10 core and 40 participating producers to:
1. Demonstrate the production and economic benefits of implementing a production system that involves supplementary feeding pregnant ewes in confinement prior to lambing onto deferred pastures, including:
- Maintaining the condition score of ewes according to farmer’s target CS (recommended 3+ for single-bearing ewes, 3.5+ for twin-bearing ewes, as per Lifetime Ewe Management guidelines) from the commencement of confinement feeding to lamb marking.
- Increased Feed-On-Offer over the lambing period, measured by taking comparative biomass cuts 1. at the time the producer commences grazing ewes not in confinement, 2. at the time stock are removed from confinement and transferred onto the deferred pasture, and 3. When stock are removed from the paddock.
- Increase in lamb marking percentage (%), measured by comparing average marking percentage of mobs of ewes contained and lambed onto deferred pastures compared to mobs who were not contained and did not lamb onto deferred pastures, within the same property.
- Maintaining or improving farmer’s target weaning weights of lambs (at least 45% of adult body weight), measured by weighing a representative sample of lambs at weaning.
- The economic benefit ($/head) of confinement feeding and deferred grazing pastures calculated by comparing the supplementary feed and labour costs of confinement feeding and deferred grazing compared to the costs associated with the mobs not managed under this system on the same property.
2. Implement a series of support activities to increase the knowledge, skills and confidence of producers interested in transitioning towards a production system involving confinement feeding and deferred pasture grazing, including case studies, fact sheets and online group meetings.
- Over 50% of Facey Group Members will have been to a confinement feeding field day and have an improved understanding of confinement feeding systems.
- 85% of core producers have greater knowledge of the production and economic benefits of confinement feeding and deferred grazing.
- 85% of core producers have increased their skills and confidence in confinement feeding and deferred grazing.
- 70% of observer producers have greater knowledge of the production and economic benefits of confinement feeding and deferred grazing.
- Three core producers and 5 observer producers will implement the process of confinement feeding after 2 years of the project.
3. Conduct an annual field day to showcase the demonstration site confinement infrastructure, pasture/stock resources and ongoing results. The field days will facilitate networking and knowledge sharing between producers and encourage adoption by 15 attending producers.
Progress
The Confinement Feeding and Deferred Pasture PDS operated by the Facey Group, was run at a local farmer's property north of Wickepin WA.
Through this project, the Facey Group will demonstrate the production and economic benefits of confinement feeding pregnant ewes before lambing. Confinement feeding provides targeted nutrition while deferring grazing of pastures until feed-on-offer and ewe nutritional requirements over the critical lambing period can be matched.
This strategy can optimise pasture resource allocation, ewe nutrition, and ewe and lamb survival. We hope to help and support other producers interested in this production system. Benefits will be demonstrated by collecting and extending production and economic data to assist producer adoption in the Wickepin and surrounding regions. Local support for the project has been demonstrated through engaged host farmers and good attendance at the supporting events.
In 2024 Facey Group will be working with three host farmers and looks forward to the momentum that this project is generating.
