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Climate in the Pilbara
Robert Sudmeyer
The Pilbara is characterised by very hot summers, mild winters and low and variable rainfall. It is classified as hot desert in northern and inland areas and hot grasslands in the north-west. The Pilbara claims a number of climate records:
- seven of Western Australia’s ... Read more
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Climate-ready agriculture: a situation statement for Western Australia
Robert Anthony Sudmeyer, Anne Bennett, and Melanie Strawbridge
Projected future changes in the state’s climate will present new challenges for our producers. The Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) continues to work with agricultural industries to lay solid foundations for an agricultural sector that has a range of response options.
This ... Read more
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Climate change: impacts and adaptation for agriculture in Western Australia
Robert Anthony Sudmeyer, Alexandra Edward, Vic Fazakerley, Leigh Simpkin, and Ian Foster
This bulletin reviews the latest scientific information relating to climate change and agriculture (broadacre, livestock, horticulture, pastoral industries) in Western Australia.
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Bioenergy and carbon farming opportunities in the Pilbara
Robert Sudmeyer, Kim Brooksbank, and David Rogers
The Pilbara region covers 270 000 square kilometres of north-west Western Australia. Its main agricultural land use is pastoralism, with beef cattle grazing native pastures. Currently, only 24km2 is under irrigation, with irrigated fodder the principal crop, but this could expand to 100km2. This expansion ... Read more
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Biomass scoping study: opportunities for agriculture in Western Australia
Kim Brooksbank, Mitchell Lever, Harriet Paterson, and Melissa Weybury
This report aims to provide a summary of national and international activity in the use of agricultural by-products for the production of bioenergy and biofuels. The summary is primarily an internal report for the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA), but will hopefully ... Read more
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Soil acidity : a guide for WA farmers and consultants.
Chris Gazey, Stephen Davies, and Ron Master
Our first edition of Soil acidity: a guide for WA farmers and consultants in 2009 was a significant publication which brought together current knowledge on the management of soil acidity in WA in a user-friendly book. Three thousand printed copies were distributed and an interactive ... Read more
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High quality agricultural land in Western Australia – a new decision tool for planning
Dennis van Gool, Angela Stuart-Street, and Peter J. Tille
The Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia, has worked closely with state and local planners and agricultural practitioners over the last four years to develop a new way to identify high quality agricultural land (HQAL). This methodology combines land capability for horticulture and dry ... Read more
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Establishment guide for sub-tropical grasses : key steps to success
Geoff Allan Moore, Ron Yates, Phil Barrett-Lennard, Phil Nichols, Brad Wintle, John Titterington, and Chris Loo
Sub-tropical perennial grasses are now widely sown in the Northern Agricultural region (NAR) and on the south coast of Western Australia (WA). Since 2000, more than 50 000 ha have been sown to perennial grasses in the NAR and about 150 000 ha on the ... Read more
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Soil peels: their preparation and presentation
Tim D. Overheu
Soil peels are an exciting and inexpensive technique for collecting an exact reproduction of soil profiles. They are an excellent product for displays and soil extension activities. Introduced in the mid-1960s, the soil peel (lackfilm) technique was initially developed using a flexible glue product in ... Read more
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Pasture condition guide for the Kimberley
Kathryn Ryan, Elizabeth Tierney, Paul Novelly, and Robert McCarteny
This interactive guide has been produced as a tool for assessing pasture condition over a range of pasture types in the Kimberley. A pasture type is a distinctive mix of plant species, soil type and landscape position. For example, the Mitchell Grass Alluvial Plain Pasture ... Read more
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Report card on sustainable natural resource use in agriculture
Robert Summers and David Weaver
Condition and trend Nutrients, such as phosphorus (P), are essential for profitable agriculture in the south-west of WA; however, excess P – more than is required for optimal production – is stored in many agricultural soils. On average, pasture soils and arable soils contain 1.3 ... Read more
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Agricultural greenhouse gas emissions
Meredith Fairbanks, David Bowran, and Geraldine Pasqual
Agriculture contributes 15.5 per cent of Australia’s emissions (Figure 1), largely due to methane, from ruminant livestock digestion, nitrous oxide from soils and carbon dioxide from fossil fuel use (Australian National Greenhouse Accounts 2011; ABARES 2011).
This bulletin identifies current ways to reduce greenhouse gas ... Read more
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Nutrient Direction Statement
David Weaver, Robert Summers, David Rogers, Martin Clarke, Peta Richards, Tilwin Westrup, and Leon van Wyk
Managing agricultural nutrients is important to optimize economic outcomes for agriculture whilst minimizing offsite water quality impacts and associated algal blooms. Whilst much work has been undertaken in WA to understand nutrient transport and transfer processes, and the economic and water quality impacts of various ... Read more
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Greener pastures 7 - A fresh look at nutrient losses from intensively managed pastures
Don Bennett, Bill Russell, Martin Staines, Richard Morris, Mike Bolland, and John Lucey
Dairy farmers in Western Australia have a long history of being concerned for the environment in which they live and work, from early involvement with Landcare District Committees through to participating in the various programs run in DairyCatch.
They have planted trees, organised soil testing ... Read more
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Greener pastures 3 - Managing phosphorus in dairy pastures
Mike Bolland, Ian Guthridge, Bill Russell, Martin Staines, John Lucey, and Richard Morris
Between 1999 and 2009, soil testing was conducted in 48 dairy paddocks at Vasse Research Centre (VRC) in the south-west of Western Australia (WA). This study will be referred to as the VRC soil test study.
Phosphorus experiments were undertaken on partner farms of the ... Read more
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Greener pastures 4 - Managing potassium in dairy pastures
Mike Bolland, Ian Guthridge, Bill Russell, Martin Staines, John Lucey, and Richard Morris
We undertook three studies into the potassium requirements of high rainfall pastures: 1. Between 1999 and 2009, soil testing was conducted in 48 dairy paddocks at Vasse Research Centre (VRC) in the south-west of Western Australia (WA). This study will be referred to as the ... Read more
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Greener pastures 5 - Managing sulphur in dairy pastures
Mike Bolland, Ian Guthridge, Bill Russell, Martin Staines, John Lucey, and Richard Morris
During 1999-2009, soil testing for sulfur (S) was undertaken on 48 paddocks at the Vasse Research Centre (VRC) at Busselton, in the south-west of Western Australia (WA).
Paddocks had been grazed intensively by dairy cows and their young stock over a period of 10 years, ... Read more
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Greener pastures 6 - Managing soil acidity in dairy pastures
Mike Bolland, Bill Russell, Martin Staines, Richard Morris, John Lucey, and D L. Bennett
During 1999-2009, soil testing for pH (in CaCl2) was used to determine lime application for 48 paddocks at the Vasse Research Centre at Busselton, in the south-west of Western Australia (WA).
Paddocks had been grazed intensively by dairy cows and their young stock over a ... Read more
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Changing climate, changing business practices : lessons from innovative growers
David Gray, Nicole Baxter, Meredith Fairbanks, and Geraldine Pasqual
Climate change and increasing seasonal variability are challenging the production efforts of growers in lower rainfall environments of the Western Australian grain belt. Significantly less rainfall than the long-term average has fallen across southwest Western Australia during the past 30 years.
Seasonal rainfall has also ... Read more
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Greener pastures 1 - The greener pasture project: managing nutrients in dairy pastures
John Lucey, Mike Bolland, Don Bennett, Richard Morris, Bill Russell, and Martin Staines
As dairy farmers have strived to maintain profitability, many have farmed more intensively. More cows are milked and increasing inputs of fertiliser and purchased feed are used per hectare. However, these increased nutrient inputs have far exceeded the increase in nutrient output in milk production. ... Read more
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Landscapes and soils of the Lake Grace district
D N. Sawkins
The publication aims to provide readers with the principles underlying the formation of local landscapes and soils, and the ability to identify landscapes and their associated soils.
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Native vegetation in Western Australia is actively involved with soil formation
Doug Sawkins, William H. Verboom, and John S. Pate
Many adverse situations in Western Australian agriculture have arisen because in the past we cleared native perennial vegetation below safe ecological limits in order to grow annual crops and pasture. In retrospect, we did not fully understand the functioning of the native ecosystems concerned and ... Read more
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Greener pastures 2 - Nitrogen for intensively grazed dairy pastures
Martin Staines, Richard Morris, Tess Casson, Mike Bolland, Bill Russell, Ian Guthridge, John Lucey, and Don Bennett
We undertook three main studies during the Greener Pastures project:
1. From mid 2005 to late 2008, a farming systems study was undertaken with five rates of nitrogen fertiliser as the main treatment. This study will be referred to as the ‘nitrogen response farmlets’.
2. ... Read more
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Soil test and phosphorus rate for high rainfall clover pastures
Robert Summers and David Weaver
When new land was first developed, phosphatic fertilisers had to be applied at high rates to overcome Phosphorus (P) deficiency, and to increase P fertility. Once good P fertility has been established after a number of years of applying P, the requirement for applying high ... Read more
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