The northern Australian beef industry, a snapshot. 5. Land and pasture development practices

2005 ◽  
Vol 45 (9) ◽  
pp. 1121 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Bortolussi ◽  
J. G. McIvor ◽  
J. J. Hodgkinson ◽  
S. G. Coffey ◽  
C. R. Holmes
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Geographical Location ◽  
Herd Size ◽  
Northern Territory ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Legume Species ◽  
Beef Industry ◽  
Native Pasture ◽  
Average Annual Rainfall ◽  
Native Pastures

The land and pasture development practices of 375 northern Australian beef properties in 8 regions were surveyed during 1996–97. These properties represented a broad cross-section of the beef industry in terms of geographical location, enterprise and herd size, and ownership structures. Both tree clearing and killing were more common in Queensland than in the Northern Territory or northern Western Australia. In all regions where trees were poisoned, native pasture was more widely used than sowing introduced grass and/or legume species. In contrast, tree clearing was most often accompanied by sowing pastures (either an introduced grass only or introduced grass and legume species together), rather than using native pastures. Central coastal Queensland had the highest use of poisoning trees for pasture development. Tree clearing and using native pasture was most important in central Queensland regions and the Maranoa South West. Sowing introduced pasture species under live trees was more commonly practiced in northern Queensland, the Northern Territory and northern Western Australia than in other regions. A considerable number of introduced grass and legume species were sown by producers. Most of the sown species were grasses. Many of the sown grass and legume species were spreading naturally. Buffel grass was spreading in all areas with < 1000 mm average annual rainfall, but most sown species were spreading only in wetter regions. Stylosanthes spp. were the most commonly spreading legume species in regions with > 500 mm average annual rainfall. The results are discussed in relation to contemporary natural resource management issues and how this may affect land and pasture development activities in the future.

The northern Australian beef industry, a snapshot. 3. Annual liveweight gains from pasture based systems

2005 ◽  
Vol 45 (9) ◽  
pp. 1093 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Bortolussi ◽  
J. G. McIvor ◽  
J. J. Hodgkinson ◽  
S. G. Coffey ◽  
C. R. Holmes
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Northern Territory ◽  
Production Environment ◽  
Beef Industry ◽  
Finishing Cattle ◽  
North West ◽  
Northern Regions ◽  
Central Highlands

The herd performance of 375 northern Australian beef producers during the 1991 and 1992 to 1995 and 1996 financial years was surveyed in 1996 and 1997. Estimates were made of annual liveweight gain from production systems based on native and improved pastures together with hormonal growth promotant use and supplementation practices. The most commonly used pasture communities for growing and finishing cattle were black speargrass and brigalow communities in Central Coastal Queensland and the Central Highlands; black speargrass in Northern Queensland; Mitchell grass and gidgee in Central Western and North-west Queensland; Mitchell grass in the Northern Territory and northern Western Australia regions and brigalow–softwood scrub in the Maranoa South West. There was considerable variation and overlap in the production ranges of the various pasture communities. The estimates and ranges of annual liveweight gains were comparable with measurements from scientific and commercial studies for 3 major pasture communities (black speargrass, brigalow and Mitchell grass). On this basis, the annual liveweight gain data are considered to represent sound estimates of performance from the pasture communities and husbandry systems in use in northern Australia. Mean annual gains for pasture communities in the more northern regions tended to be <150 kg/year. Half the survey group used hormonal growth promotants but use varied between regions with lowest levels in Central Coastal Queensland (30%) and highest usage in the Central Highlands (59%). Steers and bullocks were the most commonly implanted class of cattle. Supplementation periods tended to be longest in more northern regions. Nitrogen was a component of >90% of the supplements offered. The percentage of producers supplementing various classes of cattle varied widely (0–77%). Steers were often the least supplemented class and weaners were the most common. The highest percentage of producers (>68%) supplementing weaners was found in North-west and Northern Queensland, the Northern Territory and northern Western Australia. Significant correlations explaining 3–23% of the variance were found between annual liveweight gain and latitude and/or longitude for native black speargrass and Mitchell grass pasture communities and improved brigalow pastures. Generally, annual liveweight gain increased with increasing latitude and longitude. The results are discussed in relation to herd management practices and sources of variation in the northern Australian production environment.

Persistence of several annual legumes in mixtures under continuous grazing in the south west of Western Australia

1974 ◽  
Vol 14 (70) ◽  
pp. 632 ◽  
Author(s):  
GB Taylor ◽  
RC Rossiter
Keyword(s):  
Medicago Truncatula ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Subterranean Clover ◽  
The Other ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Annual Legumes ◽  
South West ◽  
Continuous Grazing ◽  
Average Annual Rainfall ◽  
Average Rainfall

Two experiments are described: one in the wheatbelt in areas receiving 320 and 400 mm average annual rainfall, and the other in a medium rainfall area with an average rainfall of 640 mm. In the first experiment various combinations of barrel medic (Medicago truncatula) and cupped (Trifolium cherleri) and rose clovers (T. hirtum) with subterranean clover (T. subeterraneum) were grown at four sites. Each site was continuously grazed by sheep for periods ranging from three to five years. At all sites subterranean clover became dominant within a few years of establishment. The second experiment involved rose and subterranean clovers in ungrazed pure swards and mixed swards which were either grazed or ungrazed. Grazing was continued for three years. Grazing had a profound effect on the composition of the mixture: whereas subterranean clover dominated the grazed sward, in the absence of grazing rose clover over-topped the subterranean clover and dominated the mixture. The success of subterranean clover in grazed mixtures is attributed largely to relative inaccessibility to the grazing animal, particularly of seedlings but also of seeds.

The numbers and distribution of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in some Northern Territory and South Australian soils

1960 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 505 ◽  
Author(s):  
CM Sims ◽  
FM Collins
Keyword(s):  
South Australia ◽  
Northern Territory ◽  
Soil Samples ◽  
Nitrifying Bacteria ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Ammonia Oxidizing Bacteria ◽  
Appreciable Effect ◽  
Liquid Media ◽  
Desert Soils ◽  
Average Annual Rainfall

Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria were detected in 75 soil samples from the Northern Territory and South Australia. Silica gel plates gave soil counts comparable with those obtained in liquid media. The counts varied from 20 to 8000 cells per gram of soil. Nitrosogloea merismoides was detected in 53 of the soils, Nitrosornonas europaea in 39 soils, and Nitrosococcus nitrosus in 14 soils. There was little difference between the numbers and types of nitrifying bacteria present in the desert soils compared with those from the more temperate areas, nor did the average annual rainfall have any appreciable effect.

IV.—On the Occurrence and Interpretation of Rock-Cliffs and Rock-Floors on the Western Shores of the “Dry” Lakes in South-Central Western Australia

1918 ◽  
Vol 5 (7) ◽  
pp. 305-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. T. Jutson
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Salt Lake ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Wind Action ◽  
South Central ◽  
Average Annual Rainfall

In South-Central Western Australia, in the physiographic division which the writer has termed the Central or Salt Lake Division, in a large portion of which the average annual rainfall is about 10 inches per annum, numerous “dry” lakes or playas occur. These have been described and the question of their origin has been discussed by various authors. They have been differently regarded as due to glacial, marine, and wind action; also as the remains of old Tertiary rivers now largely obliterated by drifting sands; and also (in part) as deformation basins. Most writers agree that they have been formed under subaerial conditions, and probably most will ultimately agree that deformation is responsible for some at least of the lakes, or has aided in their formation.

P4335The incidence of acute rheumatic fever in indigenous adults in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
C De Angelis ◽  
L Giles ◽  
R Roberts-Thomson ◽  
A Brown
Keyword(s):  
Rheumatic Fever ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Acute Rheumatic Fever ◽  
Negative Binomial ◽  
Geographical Location ◽  
Significant Risk ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Secondary Prophylaxis ◽  
Incidence Rates ◽  
Northern Territory

Abstract Background Worldwide, knowledge of the contemporary incidence of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) in Indigenous adult populations is limited, with little understanding of patterns of ARF recurrence according to age and geographical location. This has created uncertainty in the development of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) guidelines surrounding the appropriate duration of antibiotic prophylaxis for these patients. Purpose This study aimed to describe the incidence rates of ARF in Indigenous Australian adults, analyse patterns of recurrence according to sex, age and geographical location, and assess adherence to secondary prophylaxis. Methods ARF episodes in Indigenous adults, aged 18 years and older, recorded within three Australian jurisdictions (Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia) ARF registers, diagnosed between 2007 to 2017, were included. Poisson and negative binomial regression were used to estimate incidence rate ratios (IRR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for first and recurrent episodes according to age, sex and remoteness. Adherence rates to secondary prophylaxis was described in the 12 months preceding recurrent ARF episodes in the Northern Territory. Results 481 episodes were analysed. The incidence of ARF episodes in these jurisdictions from 2007 to 2017 was relatively constant. The overwhelming burden of disease occurred in remote areas (105 episodes per 100,000 people). An increased rate occurred in females (IRR 2.34, 95% CI 1.81–3.03). The 18–24 year olds had the highest incidence rates (115 episodes per 100,000 people). High rates of recurrence were also observed in those aged 25–34 years (96 episodes per 100,000 people). Adherence to secondary prophylaxis in those having a recurrent episode was only achieved in 10% of cases. Conclusions The incidence of ARF remains very high amongst adult Indigenous Australians. Adherence to secondary prophylaxis continues to play a role in recurrent episodes. RHD guidelines should take into account remoteness as a significant risk factor when deciding the duration of secondary prophylaxis.

Comparing fixed and flexible stocking as adaptations to inter-annual rainfall variability in the extensive beef industry of northern Australia

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lester Pahl ◽  
Joe Scanlan ◽  
Giselle Whish ◽  
Robyn Cowley ◽  
Neil MacLeod
Keyword(s):  
Carrying Capacity ◽  
Rainfall Variability ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Herd Size ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Beef Industry ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Stocking Rates

Many beef producers within the extensive cattle industry of northern Australia attempt to maintain a constant herd size from year-to-year (fixed stocking), whereas others adjust stock numbers to varying degrees annually in response to changes in forage supply. The effects of these strategies on pasture condition and cattle productivity cannot easily be assessed by grazing trials. Simulation studies, which include feedbacks of changes to pasture condition on cattle liveweight gain, can extend the results of grazing trials both spatially and temporally. They can compare a large number of strategies, over long periods of time, for a range of climate periods, at locations which differ markedly in climate. This simulation study compared the pasture condition and cattle productivity achieved by fixed stocking at the long-term carrying capacity with that of 55 flexible stocking strategies at 28 locations across Queensland and the Northern Territory. Flexible stocking strategies differed markedly in the degree they increased or decreased cattle stocking rates after good and poor pasture growing seasons, respectively. The 28 locations covered the full range in average annual rainfall and inter-annual rainfall variability experienced across northern Australia. Constrained flexibility, which limited increases in stocking rates after good growing seasons to 10% but decreased them by up to 20% after poor growing seasons, provides sustainable productivity gains for cattle producers in northern Australia. This strategy can improve pasture condition and increase cattle productivity relative to fixed stocking at the long-term carrying capacity, and its capacity to do this was greatest in the semiarid rangeland regions that contain the majority of beef cattle in northern Australia. More flexible stocking strategies, which also increased stocking rates after good growing seasons by only half as much as they decreased them after poor growing seasons, were equally sustainable and more productive than constrained flexibility, but are often impractical at property and industry scales. Strategies with the highest limits (e.g. 70%) for both annual increases and decreases in stocking rates could achieve higher cattle productivity, but this was at the expense of pasture condition and was not sustainable. Constrained flexible stocking, with a 10% limit for increases and a 20% limit for decreases in stocking rates annually, is a risk-averse adaptation to high and unpredictable rainfall variability for the extensive beef industry of northern Australia.

Increasing wheat yields in a high rainfall area of Western Australia

1990 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 607 ◽  
Author(s):  
WK Anderson ◽  
WR Smith
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Quality Parameters ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Seed Rate ◽  
Wheat Production ◽  
High Rainfall ◽  
Agronomic Practices ◽  
Average Annual Rainfall ◽  
N Rates ◽  
High Rainfall Area

Average commercial wheat yields in the southern, high rainfall area of Western Australia have seldom exceeded 1.5 t/ha and wheat is not widely grown. However, the average annual rainfall and length of growing season (>400 mm and >6 months) are conducive to much larger yields. Thirteen factorial experiments with mid and long season cultivars (Aroona and Osprey), 2 levels of applied nitrogen (N) (40 and 80 kg N/ha), 2 seed rates (50 and 100 kg/ha) and with or without fungicide were conducted at 8 sites over 2 seasons. The experiment was done to investigate combinations of cultivar and agronomic practices suitable for increased wheat production in long season environments in Western Australia. Largest grain yields (>4 t/ha) were obtained where wheat followed a grass-free break crop, and the mid season cultivar was used with 80 kg N/ha and 100 kg/ha of seed. Increases due to cultivar and seed rate were more consistent than those due to N, and increases from application of fungicide were less consistent. It is suggested that the optimal wheat production 'package' will include sowing in May in rotation with a grass-free break crop, seed rate of about 100 kg/ha and, when all other factors are optimal, N rates of over 40 kg/ha. The greatest yield increases were associated with the sites where wheat followed a grass-free crop. Increases due to other factors were relatively smaller. Hectolitre weight and percentage of small grain (<2 mm) often reached levels that would have entailed downgrading in commercial deliveries. However, in the most productive crops where root and leaf diseases were minimal, these quality parameters were seldom deficient and grain protein contents exceeded 10% at yields of up to 4 t/ha.

THE ROLE OF GRASSLAND IN MANAGEMENT

1968 ◽  
pp. 44-49
Author(s):  
B.K. Cameron
Keyword(s):  
Soil Temperature ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Silt Loam ◽  
Average Annual Rainfall ◽  
Very High ◽  
Wilting Point

THE PROPERTY to be discussed is a mixed sheep and cropping unit, situated ei ht a miles east of Ashburton and midway between the Ra aia and the Ashburton rivers. Average annual rainfall is 27 in., evenly spread, but there is very high summer evaporation and therefore frequent droughts. On average, the soil is below wilting point for 40 to 50 days each summer. Winters are cold with the soil temperature being below 48°F for about four months each year. The soil is a Lismore stony silt loam averaging 9 in. in depth over gravel.

Wind blown sediment mass budget of Sahelian village land units in Niger

2001 ◽  
Vol 172 (5) ◽  
pp. 523-531 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Louis Rajot
Keyword(s):  
Wind Erosion ◽  
Size Range ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Complete Disappearance ◽  
Mass Budget ◽  
Sediment Mass ◽  
Aeolian Sediments ◽  
Average Annual Rainfall ◽  
The Village

Abstract To assess the mass budget of aeolian sediments transported by wind (erosion vs. deposition) at the scale of village land units (25 kmX25 km), measurements were carried out during 3 years (from 1996 to 1998) in a cultivated field and in a fallow area simultaneously. These were located in the Sahelian zone of Niger with an average annual rainfall of 560 mm. The vertical upward fluxes of particles &lt;20 mu m exported from the study area were estimated from the horizontal sediment fluxes measured using BSNE sand catchers. This mass of exported dust was compared with the vertical downward fluxes of particles of the same size range (&lt;20 mu m) measured using passive CAPYR collectors. Values of deposition recorded in the field and in the fallow were similar. In the field, wind erosion reached its maximum in May and June when the vegetation cover was minimal. In the fallow area, wind erosion was always very low in comparison with the field. It occurred during the strongest storms when the grass cover was minimal. Nevertheless, the net balance between deposition and erosion was highly positive in the fallow areas. These results have been extrapolated at the scale of the village land units based on the current land use. At this scale, the balance was positive for the arable land, indicating a net deposition of aeolian sediments of +0.36 t ha (super -1) yr (super -1) . However, the complete disappearance of fallow land would result in a balanced budget for the arable land.

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