Grazing Cereal Crops in a Mallee Farming System | 2014
| Project start date: | 01 May 2012 |
| Project end date: | 31 January 2014 |
| Project status: | Completed |
| Livestock species: | Lamb |
| Relevant regions: | NSW |
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Summary
The inability of Mallee producers to sow perennial pastures due to the low and variable rainfall is a key limiting factor to the reliable production of quality prime lambs to meet market specifications.
The Nullawil Producer Demonstration Site (PDS) was set up to investigate the potential to refine and improve systems and practices developed in the B.PDS.1002 to enhance prime lamb production in Mallee farming systems.
The Nullawil BWBL group has refined and enhanced the precision management of sheep under rotational grazing with solar powered electric fencing. Utilising both existing and new and emerging varieties of cereal, grain legume and forage crops and examined the use of precision sheep management utilising both Pedigree Matchmaker (PMM) and Walk Over Weighing (WOW).
Objectives
The objectives of the PDS were to:
• determine the suitability of other fodder varieties for Mallee grain farming systems to fill the identified feed gap from September until the availability of the first stubble for grazing (December)
• quantify the financial implications of rotational grazing cereal crops and specialist fodder crops in a Mallee farming system
• investigate grazing management practices which decrease the turn off times and increase growth rate from 230g/h/d to 350/g/h/d of lamb produced in Mallee farming systems
• investigate the role of walk over weighing (WOW) and pedigree matchmaker (PMM) systems in an extensive environment to identify underperforming animals and their parents
• investigate the benefit-cost of the systems and the relative payback period for these systems.
Progress
The PDS introduced the producers of the Mallee to the concept of precision sheep management using RFID to monitor and manage prime lamb production.
The Nullawil Rotational Grazing Cereal Crops in a Mallee Farming System 2 PDS assisted to refine the processes developed in B. PDS. 1002 and provided Mallee lamb producers with a viable alternative to current grazing practices, which enables the more efficient management of both sheep and fodder to finish lambs to market specifications.
The PDS has also introduced producers to the concepts of value chain systems, sheep meat marketing and precision sheep management.
