Southern WA Producer Demonstration Sites

Over the past decade, increasing numbers of producers in the Esperance region have reported being impacted by Red Clover Syndrome. Very few properties in the region remain unaffected, and its impact on pasture production has been significant.

Many producers have moved away from clover-dominant pastures to serradella-dominant pastures. While serradella is not affected by red clover syndrome, it is not known whether serradellas provide the most productive option to producers.

This project seeks to compare different varieties of pasture (annuals and perennials) across a range of soil types in the region. It will initially demonstrate available varieties and performance in smaller trials and progress to commercial-scale demonstration sites in subsequent years. By identifying the most suitable varieties for the environment, the project aims to enable producers to identify opportunities to increase productivity and implement change.

More information 

Facilitator contact:  Sarah Brown, ASHEEP & BEEF M 0409 335 194, E eo@asheep.org.au 

Producer Group: ASHEEP & BEEF

Stay up to date with project progress: Pasture Variety Trials

Growers in the WA eastern wheatbelt region arguably deal with some of the toughest agricultural conditions in the state. Variability in rainfall, seasons and environmental and soil constraints all play a role in the ability of growers to remain sustainable. Sheep play an important role in mitigating that risk.

Approximately 85% of Merredin and Districts Farm Improvement Group members are mixed farming enterprises, all with the aim of making their sheep enterprise as productive as possible.

​The summer/autumn nutritional feed gap that often occurs in the WA eastern wheatbelt has resulted in low stocking rates, leading to sub-optimal sheep production most years. Supplementary feed is one of the major production costs. However, the adoption of legume pastures and novel forage crops is varied due to a lack of confidence. 

This Producer Demonstration Site (PDS) was designed to increase the adoption of shrub and legume pasture systems in the eastern wheatbelt of WA by demonstrating the ease of establishment and complementarity between crop residues and perennial shrub systems during the autumn, with the goal of encouraging producers to sustainably lift stocking rates and improve the productivity of the sheep enterprise. Six demonstration sites were established between 2021 and 2023.

More information 

Facilitator contact: Glenice Batchelor, Merredin and Districts Farm Improvement Group, M 0492 269 949, E admin@madfig.com.au

Producer Group: Merredin and Districts Farm Improvement Group     

Stay up to date with project progress: Legume and Shrub Grazing Systems Adoption Trial

This Producer Demonstration Site (PDS) was designed to demonstrate how much ewe reproductive productivity and gross margin/DSE can be increased, without compromising wool cut, by precision feeding ewes to meet production status.

Ewe reproductivity and lamb survival is a hot topic, and there are many programs already in place. Australian Wool Innovation and MLA have funded initiatives like the Lifetime Ewe Management course, Making More from Sheep modules, Sheep’s Back and more. DPIRD and local universities have invested significant time and research in developing tools and educating growers in best practice management.

The key problem has been demonstrating the significant increase in farm profitability and productivity to the growers, who have not adopted the practices or seen the need to improve their current practices. PDS projects allow growers to drive the project and tailor make the outcomes to suit their scenarios for their locations. The results have more meaning and can be observed over time; a change in mentality or new ideas takes time to form and implement. The longer length of the project allows for others to adopt the practices with training and support after a time of observation. The PDS will allow those growers who are at the forefront to implement best practices and showcase them to other growers.

More information 

Facilitator contact: Bronwen Fowler, Nutrien Ag Solutions, M 0447 678 457, E Bronwen.fowler@nutrien.com.au

Producer Group: Northern Agri Group

Stay up to date with project progress: Increasing number of lambs weaned / ewe unit

The purpose of this Producer Demonstration Site (PDS) is to define and demonstrate the financial outcomes, set up design and overall management required by those adopting confinement feeding while maximising animal welfare, supporting producers interested in and implementing confinement feeding, with attention to: 

• site selection criteria
• optimum mob sizes
• joining and management of pregnant ewes and cows
• monitoring and management of animal health and nutritional status
• decision making on when confinement feeding is justified (under drought conditions; extreme weather events; other)
• mineral supplementation.

With lower-than-average rainfall over the winter period of 2023, stubbles and pastures were starting to have limited feed on offer, and producers were looking at ways to increase this as the project entered its final year and monitoring over the 2024 autumn-winter period. 

More information 

Facilitator contact: Brianna Hindle, AgPro Management, M 0457 064 777, E brianna@agpromanagement.com

Producer Group: StockPro

Stay up to date with project progress: Which set up? Implementing confinement feeding

In 2013, about 2.64 million hectares of agricultural land had been identified as having potential to be affected by shallow saline water tables. If this was converted to an improved saltland pasture system, it would provide annual net returns in livestock improvements of $224 million (Hardy & Ryder, 2013). Conversely, salinity now costs producers over $500 million a year in lost productivity, while also having significant negative impact on the environment with losses in biodiversity, reduced soil health, poor water quality and reduced visual amenity of agricultural landscapes.

The causes, processes and management of dryland salinity has been the subject of significant research over the last 4–5 decades. The adoption of perennial, salt-tolerant feedbase systems is one of the most promising options for red meat producers.

This Producer Demonstration Site (PDS) aims to improve knowledge and skills in the establishment, management, and benefits (profitability, productivity and sustainability) of salt-tolerant forage systems on moderately salt-affected land for sheep producers in the Mediterranean zone of southern WA.

The Gillamii Grower Group in the Great Southern region of WA has set out to improve the productivity of marginal saltland land, with 150 hectares of salt-tolerant forage systems being established over the course of this project in collaboration with four farming families.  

More information

Facilitator contact: Freya Spencer, The Gillamii Centre, M 0427 500 374, E admin@gillamii.org.au

Producer Group: The Gillamii Grower Group

Stay up to date with project progress:  Productive Saltland Pastures for southern WA

Beef producers growing out cattle in extensive paddock environments are not regularly weighing their animals and therefore can be delayed in noticing any changes in growth rates. Monitoring weights with in-paddock weighing equipment in real-time allows producers to respond to growth rate changes by providing additional supplementation or other suitable interventions in a timely manner. Real-time data can be used to plan sale dates and numbers, ensuring cattle are more likely to meet target weights and hit market specifications more accurately.   

This PDS project will utilise an Optiweigh unit on properties in southern WA to demonstrate the value of in-paddock cattle weighing systems for improved labour efficiency, monitoring animal weights and optimising compliance with target market weight specifications. Demonstration sites will be established on six properties across the south coast region of WA, including South Stirlings, Manypeaks, Kojaneerup and Kalgan, over three years.   

More information 

Facilitator contact:  Elizabeth von Perger, M 0488 888 265, E ceo@scfarmers.org.au   

Producer group: Stirlings to Coast Farmers              

Stay up to date with project progress: Demonstration of an in-paddock cattle weighing system

Carbon Neutral 2030: Getting started on-farm 

The Australian red meat industry has set a target to be carbon neutral by 2030 (CN30). This means that by 2030, Australian beef, lamb and goat production, including lot feeding and meat processing, aim to make no net release of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into the atmosphere. 

A major limiting factor to producers in the Esperance area completing a carbon baseline is having the knowledge of where to start. Many producers have not completed a carbon baseline, and some have identified that they have attempted to complete a baseline with online tools but are not confident they have completed it correctly and are unsure of what to do next. Building producer confidence in completing baselines and understanding on-farm practices required to achieve CN30 is an important first step.  

This PDS project aims to demonstrate the educational packages and services available to producers to meet the CN30 target and the initial practice change steps required to increase producer skills, knowledge and uptake.  

Core and observer producers will be provided with support to increase their knowledge and skills on how to create a carbon baseline and an emission reduction/carbon sequestration plan. Core producers will have a carbon baseline for their business, a plan to reduce their carbon footprint and have implemented at least one practice change within the term of the project. The project will establish five demonstrations to measure the impact of implementing new practices on-farm that work towards achieving carbon neutrality.  

More information 

Facilitator contact:  Jan Clawson, M 0407 990 497 E janclawson@bigpond.com  

Producer group: ASHEEP & BEEF                             

Stay up to date with project progress: Carbon Neutral 2030: Getting Started on Farm

Climate variability is challenging producers in south-west WA 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 PDS 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.  

More information 

Facilitator contact: Franco Renteria, M 0415 813 729, E agreec@faceygroup.org.au 

Producer Group:      Facey Group                              

Stay up to date with project progress: Confinement Feeding and Deferred Grazing Management System

Bovine Pestivirus (BVD) was listed as the second most expensive endemic disease within the Australian beef herd with an estimated annual cost of $114.4 million. ​Early surveys suggest that approximately 90% of Australian beef and dairy production systems have evidence of past exposure to BVD. ​Survey work conducted in Esperance by Swans Veterinary Services from 2004–2006 demonstrated that 75% of the 150 properties sampled had evidence of past exposure to BVD.  

​The first step to managing BVD is to attempt to define the Pestivirus immune status of individual production systems, starting with collecting serum samples from young breeding stock prior to their first joining. ​It is widely accepted that young breeding stock are at greater risk of either including a persistently infected (carrier) animal or having low seroprevalence (pre-existing immunity) but not both simultaneously.  

​​This PDS project will aim to demonstrate the value of utilising serology for BVD to define the risks specific to individual cohorts of heifers prior to mating and to guide producers to both identify and appreciate the most cost-effective intervention depending upon those results.  The project will establish three demonstration sites and conduct a pre-mating BVD serology survey over three seasons on at least 30 beef enterprises located within Esperance region of WA.  

More information 

Facilitator contact:  Sarah Brown, M 0409 335 194, E eo@asheep.org.au 

Producer Group: ASHEEP                         

Stay up to date with project progress: Utilising Heifer Pre-mating Serology to Manage Bovine Pestivirus (BVD)

Virgin bulls are susceptible to Bovine Herpes Virus subtype one induced balanoposthitis (inflammation of the penis and prepuce). If contracted during the breeding season, injury can lead to reduced pregnancy rates due to failure to achieve intromission or forced sexual rest and/or premature culling of young bulls.   

This PDS project will establish six demonstration sites, aiming to demonstrate that a commercial Bovine Herpesvirus vaccine (either Rhinogard or Bovilis MH + IBR) before mating can reduce the incidence and severity of bovine balanoposthitis and hence bull wastage in virgin British breed bulls. The project will also establish a baseline incidence of the syndrome and produce statistics to estimate both the cost of the syndrome to Esperance producers and the return on investment of vaccination.    

More information 

Facilitator contact:  Sarah Brown, M 0409 335 194, E eo@asheep.org.au 

Producer Group: ASHEEP                         

Stay up to date with project progress: Preventing Bull Preputial Breakdown by Vaccination

From 1 January 2025, it will be mandatory for all sheep producers in WA to use the NLIS Electronic Identification (eID) tags. The reason for this is to give authorities another tool to trace sheep in the event of a biosecurity risk/outbreak. Diseases, such as foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), pose a significant biosecurity risk to the Australian livestock industry. Electronic identification will allow for more rapid tracing, and as a result, a more effective emergency response. There are also many other benefits of eID tags that producers can harness if they are willing to learn and implement the correct gear, and also gather, analyse and utilise the data available.

This Producer Demonstration Site project aims to demonstrate potential management, financial and biosecurity outcomes of utilising eID, while supporting the technological and data management requirements of implementing eID to generate positive, sustained management and decision-making change in sheep enterprises in the face of compulsory eID tag adoption in WA. 

Facilitated by Agpro Management, the project will establish three different groups covering the area of the south coast, south-west and northern agricultural regions of WA. In addition to focusing extension activities on the use and benefits associated with eID, the project will incorporate producer awareness and upskilling in accessing and using eNVD. 

More information 

Facilitator contact: Georgia Reid-Smith, AgPro Management,  M 0447 523 110, E georgia@agpromanagement.com

Producer Group: AgPro Management and ASHEEP & BEEF

Stay up to date with project progress: Utilising eID technology and data management

Achieving liveweight gain in sheep and cattle over summer and autumn in a Mediterranean climate is difficult and expensive. At this time of year, most annual pastures and crop stubbles provide insufficient energy and protein to support liveweight gain. Grain is commonly supplemented to maintain acceptable levels of liveweight gain (e.g. in lambs) or acceptable levels of liveweight loss (e.g. in ewes).  

​​Tedera is a new drought-tolerant perennial legume pasture originating in the Canary Islands (off Morocco) and developed by DPIRD. It offers the prospect of achieving liveweight gain over summer and autumn without the need for expensive grain supplements. The first commercial seed of Tedera was released to growers in 2019.  

​​Due to limited seed availability, high costs of the establishment (both seed costs and opportunity costs are high), and some unknowns regarding soil type suitability and potential economic returns, adoption so far has been very limited, with many producers “sitting on the fence”.  

​​The aim of this co-contributor Producer Demonstration Site (PDS) project is to demonstrate that Tedera can increase the liveweight of sheep (ewes and/or lambs) and cattle over summer and autumn relative to currently used practices. The producer group participating in this project is the Moora Miling Pasture Improvement Group (MMPIG). 

More information 

Facilitator contact: Philip Barrett Lennard, Agvivo, M 0429 977 042, E phil@agvivo.com.au

Producer Group: Moora Miling Pasture Improvement Group/The Moore Catchment Council Inc.

Stay up to date with project progress: Summer/autumn liveweight gain from Tedera

The ASHEEP & BEEF committee identified that cattle producers in the region do not have a clear understanding of how time of weaning impacts productivity and whether weaning earlier could be of benefit. Producers are unsure as to whether they’re getting the most out of the spring flush by leaving weaners on their mothers until the green feed dries off, or if separating cows and calves earlier would lead to better production outcomes.

MLA’s More Beef from Pastures program outlines the benefits of early weaning on increasing weaner throughput and feed efficiency. Additional consultation with local veterinarian Dr Enoch Bergman DVM (Swans Veterinary Services and WALRC Council member) has confirmed that practice change in time of weaning is likely to have a range of benefits, potentially leading to more kilos of beef per hectare turned off and better reproductive performance.

A 2020 survey of local cattle producers in the Esperance region indicated that the age of calves at weaning ranges between 152 days to 304 days. This represents high variability in existing practices, with only a small percentage weaning earlier than the district average (25% were weaning an average of 40 days earlier than the district average of 220 days). Those weaning later have no reason to change without demonstrated evidence that it will improve their operation and/or bottom line.

This Producer Demonstration Site (PDS) project aims to demonstrate that weaning cattle 60 days earlier than each participant’s current practice has the potential to improve pasture use efficiency, allowing for:

• improved stocking density
• conserved high value feed stuffs for finishing weaner cattle
• maintenance of body condition of breeding females (improving their ability to both calve successfully and rebreed at the subsequent mating opportunity).

More information

Facilitator contact: Philip Barrett Lennard, Agvivo, M 0429 977 042, E phil@agvivo.com.au

Producer Group: Moora Miling Pasture Improvement Group/The Moore Catchment Council Inc.

Stay up to date with project progress: Summer/autumn liveweight gain from Tedera