stocktakestocktakeplus.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/stock...iii acknowledgements stocktake...

Balancing supply and demand

Stocktake

A monitoring package that ‘takes stock’ of your grazing resources and points to improved management decisions

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ii Stocktake...Balancing supply and demand

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The Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI&F) is focussed on achieving profitable primary industries for Queensland and is a major contributor to the Queensland Government’s efforts to grow a diverse economy and create more jobs.

DPI&F delivers outcomes that maximise the economic potential of primary industries along the value chain with a focus on improving competitiveness, productivity, innovation and export earnings. This is achieved through the sustainable use of resources to ensure the long-term future of primary industries.

While every care has been taken in preparing this publication, the State of Queensland accepts no responsibility for decisions or actions taken as a result of any data, information, statement or advice, expressed or implied, contained in this report.

© The State of Queensland, Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries 2004

Copyright protects this publication. The State of Queensland has no objection to this material being reproduced but asserts its right to be recognised as author of its original material and the right to have its material remain unaltered.

Inquiries should be addressed to:

Manager, DPI&F PublicationsDepartment of Primary Industries and FisheriesGPO Box 46Brisbane Qld 4001

iii

AcknowledgementsStocktake developmentJillian Aisthorpe, DPI&F, Emerald and Col Paton, DPI&F, Gayndah

Database developmentPeter Timmers, NRW Indooroopilly(Initial concept development - Roger Cheffins)

Publishing and designHeather Lees, DPI&F Rockhampton

Assistance from:DPI&F grazing land management RD&E officers, in particular:• Bill Schulke, DPI&F, Bundaberg• Brigid McCallum, DPI&F, Charters Towers• Paul Jones, DPI&F, Emerald

NRW Climate Impacts and Natural Resources Unit, Indooroopilly

Pilot workshop groups and test properties• Western Downs BeefPlan Group• Mornish Landcare Group• CSIRO Belmont Research Station• DPI&F Swans Lagoon Research Station• Gemfields Management Committee• CQ govt agency and catchment staff

FundingFitzroy Basin Association (National Action Plan on Salinity and Water Quality)Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries

iv Stocktake...Balancing supply and demand

ContentsAcknowledgements iii

Introduction v

Background notesWhy assess land condition? 2

Keeping records 6

The grazing ecosystem 7

Pasture condition 13

Soil condition 16

Woody vegetation 18

Forage condition 20

Feed utilisation 23

Field assessment Getting started 26

Identify and calculate land type areas in each paddock 26

Setting up photo sites 30

Field assessment - basics 33

Field assessment – 1. Pasture condition 35

Field assessment – 2. Soil condition 37

Field assessment – 3. Woodland condition 39

Field assessment – 4. Forage condition 42

Database instructions Introduction 48

Choose property 49

Property details 50

Land condition input 53

Forage budget 55

Reports 59

Regional land types 61

Import and export 62

Glossary of terms 63

EvaluationReview Grazing Land Management Plan 66

References: 68

v

IntroductionStocktake is a paddock-scale land condition monitoring and management package. It has been developed to provide grazing land managers with a practical, systematic way to assess land condition and long-term carrying capacity, and to calculate short-term forage budgets.

The Stocktake package consists of:

1. Training workshop A one-day practical workshop that takes participants through the

technical concepts and demonstrates field techniques and database use.

2. Training manual Provided in association with the training workshop, the manual

documents the key concepts covered in the training workshop.

3. Field assessment system How field information is collected in the field and organised before it is

entered into the database.

4. Field recording booklet A booklet of field recording sheets, kept as an original chronological

record of field data.

5. Database Chronologically stores, organises and reports on field data, and has the

capacity to store photos.

6. Web site A common location for Stocktake users to obtain updates of the package,

find out when training workshops are being held and seek help about technical questions. The web site address is www.dpi.qld.gov.au/stocktake

vi Stocktake...Balancing supply and demand

1

Background notes

2 Stocktake...Balancing supply and demand

Why assess land condition?Loss of land condition causes a loss of essential ecosystem function, and will in turn, mean less forage is grown and available for consumption by stock.

Case study: Will a decline in land condition affect your bottom line?

Consider a 5000 ha property with these features:

• Breeding and fattening enterprise;

• Stocked at a safe carrying capacity where 30% of annual pasture growth is eaten; and

• Poor condition country grows only 45% of country in Good condition.

If we examine the profitability of the property in good condition compared to the property in poor condition we get the following results:

Analysis Good condition Poor conditionCarrying capacity (head) 1244 546Weight gain steers (kg/head/year) 130 130Breeders weaning rate (%) 80 80

Profit before tax ($/year) 154,240 67,660

The answer: Poor land condition costs profit!

This example is taken from the Burnett region, but the same principle applies in other situations – only the stocking rates, or carrying capacities, will vary according to land type and climate.

Not only are there economic benefits from good land condition, the production system is sustainable. To manage land condition successfully you need to have a framework for assessing and monitoring land condition.

The more knowledge you have of the aspects within your business, the greater control you have over your business.

3

PROPERTY PLANNING

Monitoring for the sake of monitoring can be an unrewarding and time-consuming exercise. However, monitoring as a part of business planning and assessment can be a very powerful management tool. A whole property plan is a document that considers and links the future management of natural, personal and fi nancial resources in order to better achieve personal and business goals. Based on an understanding of your resources, their current condition and productive capability, property plans provide for a more controlled and sustainable business environment as future risks and opportunities are considered and planned for.

The general whole property planning process is summarised in the following diagram:

Situation analysisWhat is my situation now?

GoalsWhere do I want

to go?

What do I want

to achieve?

StrategiesAction steps that will allow me

to achieve my goals

ImplementationPutting plans into action

Monitor and evaluate

Assessing progress

towards goals & the

impact of management

strategies on resources

Confi dent assessment of the impact of management strategies on business health relies on regular monitoring of resources. In the same way that managers monitor, analyse and plan their fi nances, they should also monitor, analyse and plan for their natural resources. To critically analyse whether changes in management have brought about the desired outcome, good records are required of starting and fi nishing points. How do you know if things have really improved if you have nothing to compare the current situation to?

CARRYING CAPACITYA primary goal for most grazing land managers is to optimise annual fi nancial returns by optimising livestock turnover. A starting point for looking at the productivity of a property is by assessing its long-term carrying capacity. Long-term carrying capacity is how many animals a paddock can carry over

Background notes


a planning horizon (>10 years) without impacting on land condition. It is determined by considering: the mix and area of land types; the condition they are in; tree density; climate experienced in the area; and evenness of grazing within the paddock. It is used for long-term or strategic management, and will only change if one of the considered factors changes (e.g. land condition).

A standard way of referring to different classes of animals and the amount they eat is by comparing their intake needs relative to a 450 kg steer. It is called an Adult Equivalent (AE) and given a rating of one. Classes of animals that eat more than an AE are given a rating higher than one and classes that eat less are given an AE value of less than one. Carrying capacity is quoted on an AE per hectare basis.

If you don’t adjust for the intake differences of different classes of animals when setting stock numbers in paddocks, you could be putting much more or less grazing pressure on your paddock than you initially bargained for!

A 450 kg lactating cow eats approximately 1.35 times the amount of a 450 kg steer.

ADJUSTING FOR VARIABLE SEASONAL CONDITIONS Because long-term carrying capacity is calculated based on the average climatic conditions of the region, in the shorter term, when weather conditions and forage quantity can vary markedly, a more tactical herd management tool must be used.

Forage budgeting is a technique used to work out how many animals you can carry in a paddock based on the current forage available, to ensure that each animals’ intake needs are met for the budgeting period, and that land condition is either maintained or improved. It is used to calculate your short-term carrying capacity and used for short-term, or tactical management.

Forage budgeting is a process of balancing forage supply (existing and projected) and forage demand over a defi ned period.

SUPPLYDEMAND

Regular forage budgeting is a tool that managers can use to refi ne stock numbers based on seasonal forage availability.

5

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHERUsed together in planning, long and short term carrying capacities are important management tools in optimising property productivity and land condition. An example is outlined below.

Situation analysisDue to poor land condition,

property carrying capacity only

45% of what it could potentially beGoal

Improve land

condition so that the

property carrying

capacity is at it’s

potential

Strategies1. Reduce overall grazing pressure

2. Develop a grazing plan that allows for

rotational spelling of paddocks during

the wet season

3. Regular forage budgets to align stock

numbers with seasonal forage supply

Implementation1. Sell excess stock

2. Move cattle as per grazing

plan

3. Adjust stock numbers

based on forage supply

Monitor and evaluate

Annual land condition

and carrying capacity

assessment at the end of

the growing season

Background notes


Aspect AssessmentPasture condition 1

Soil condition 2

Tree basal area 3 m2 per ha

Ground cover 60%

Dry matter 2000 kg/ha

Unpalatable 10%

Photograph + Supporting Notes = Quality Monitoring Record

Keeping recordsHOW GOOD IS YOUR MEMORY…REALLY?‘There was never as much regrowth here 30 years ago as there is now’…prove it!

Memory is the most common way graziers store land condition information, but how objective and accurate is memory and how can you use it to demonstrate sound land management to others? Land condition may have actually changed a lot less or a lot more than what your memory led you to believe. What are the implications of this?

PHOTOSRegular photos taken at fixed points over time are an excellent means of monitoring land condition. It is an accurate and objective record of what the land looked like at a particular point in time.

RECORDED OBSERVATIONSPhoto records are enhanced with written observations. Written observations are used to explain some of the details that are unclear in a photo. For example, the condition of the pasture, quantity of pasture, level of ground cover and the plant species present.

Stocktake will allow you to collect, record and analyse information to satisfy your own needs and to help meet the needs of your clients and the broader community (e.g. Environmental management systems, vegetation management).

Stocktake is based on a sound understanding of how grazing land systems work.

7

The grazing ecosystemGrazing lands are a complex ecosystem. The important things to understand are land condition, and land stability. A measure of grazing land health and efficiency is how well the three key processes: energy flow, nutrient cycling and water cycling, are functioning.

Grazing land condition is the capacity of grazing land to respond to rain and produce useful forage ... a measure of how well the grazing ecosystem

is functioning.

Grazing land stability is its ability to persist and retain or recover function following disturbances such as drought, wild-fire, overgrazing, or infestation

by pests or disease.

1. ENERGY CAPTURE AND FLOWPhotosynthesis is the process where plants convert solar energy, nutrients and water into carbohydrate. A healthy grazing ecosystem photosynthesises efficiently to produce useful forage. The leaves are the solar panels capturing energy from the sun and converting it into carbohydrates. As most photosynthesis occurs in plant leaves, maintaining a high proportion of leaf in a pasture maximises photosynthesis.

2. NUTRIENT CYCLEIn a sustainable system, nutrients must be recycled to maintain production. Plants extract nutrients from the soil, animals eat the plants and the nutrients move through the food chain. As the animal or original plant dies, the organic matter is then returned to the soil surface where insects and microbes break it down into basic nutrient forms that are once more accessible to plants. Living plants and animals also cycle nutrients e.g. dung and urine. When the system is functioning well, only very small amounts of nutrients leave in the form of grazing animals.

Background notes


3. WATER CYCLEThe water cycle is the cycling of water in

various forms through the ecosystem and atmosphere. Any disturbance that reduces

the availability of moisture to growing plants is detrimental to the productive

capacity and sustainability of grazing enterprises. Poor ground cover, compaction and erosion can

all accelerate soil structure decline and interrupt the water cycle.

Land in good condition can sustainably grow forage as these three processes are working efficiently. Degradation of grazing land is the loss of land condition. In the early stages of degradation, the condition of land is responsive to a change in management. Degradation is judged to be severe if it is irreversible over a reasonable time scale and/or it is expensive to rehabilitate.

Land in good condition

will quickly recover after

disturbances such as fire or

drought.

9

Table 1: Differentiating between land, pasture and forage condition

Land Condition Pasture Condition Forage Condition

Affected by Long-term paddock management

Long-term paddock management

Weather, season, current paddock management, pasture condition

Rate of change SlowOver a number of seasons or years

SlowOver a number of seasons or years

QuickDepending on weather, season and current management

What changes? • Pasture condition• Soil condition• Woodland condition

• Presence of 3P grasses• Density and health of 3P grasses• Species diversity• Weed infestation

• Pasture quantity• Pasture quality (proportion of green, stage of maturity)

Signifi cance Overall health of the land, ecosystem function and biodiversity, long-term carrying capacity

Part of land condition, potential growth response rate of pasture after rain, long-term carrying capacity

Forage budgeting for stock, animal performance (live-weight gain), short-term carrying capacity

Assessing grazing land condition Grazing land condition is important because it directly infl uences the effi ciency of ecosystem functioning. It is comprised of three, key components:

Pasture condition: the capacity of the pasture to capture solar energy and convert it into palatable green leaf, to use rainfall effi ciently, to conserve soil condition and to cycle nutrients.

Soil condition: the capacity of soil to absorb and store rainfall, to store and cycle nutrients, to provide a habitat for seed germination and plant growth and to resist erosion.

Woodland condition: the capacity of the woodland to grow pasture, to cycle nutrients, and to regulate ground water.

The state of these three components, and thus overall land condition, are generally slow to change and infl uenced by repeated management over an extended period of time. Grazing land condition is an indicator of long-term safe carrying capacity.

Land condition, pasture condition and forage condition are terms often confused. They are three quite different, but interrelated things. Table 1 examines differences between the three.

Background notes


‘ABCD’ SCORING FRAMEWORKGrazing land condition can be split into 4 broad categories based on an evaluation of: coverage of perennial (3P) grasses, soil condition, woodland condition and weed infestation. Ground cover is an indicator of what might happen to future soil condition.

Excellent or ‘A’ condition has the following features:

Good density of healthy perennial grasses dominated by those species considered to be 3P grasses for that land type; little bare ground (<30%) in most cases

Few weeds and no signifi cant infestations

Good soil condition: no erosion, good surface condition

No sign, or early signs, of woodland thickening.

‘A’ condition

Fair or ‘B’ condition has at least one or more of the following features, otherwise similar to A condition:

Some decline in the health and/or density of 3P grasses; increase in other species (less favoured grasses, weeds) and/or bare ground (>30% but <60%) in most cases

Some decline in soil condition; some signs of previous erosion and/or current susceptibility to erosion is a concern

Some thickening in density of woody plants.

‘B’ condition

Land type 1 Land type 2


11

Poor or ‘C’ condition has one or more of the following features, otherwise similar to B condition:

General decline in the health and density of 3P grasses; large amounts of less favoured species and/or bare ground (< 60%) in most cases

Obvious signs of past erosion and/or susceptibility currently high

General thickening in density of woody plants.

‘C’ condition

Very poor or ‘D’ condition has one or more of the following features:

General lack of perennial grasses or forbs with mostly bare ground

Severe erosion or scalding, resulting in hostile environment for plant growth

Thickets of woody plants cover most of the area.

‘D’ condition

Stocktake uses fi eld indicators of soil and pasture condition to assess and rate land condition. If land condition is found to be less than optimal (B to D condition), annual grass production is discounted at a pre-determined rate and long-term carrying capacity downgraded.

Woodland condition is factored into the equation by applying a another discount for increasing tree basal area. Land condition is a function of soil and pasture condition at a given tree density.

Background notes




LAND TYPESLand condition is assessed at a land type scale. A land type is a unique parcel of land distinguishable by characteristic landform, soil and vegetation. Paddocks can contain a mosaic of different land types. In the example paddock below, there are two land types in the paddock: flooded coolibah country, and buffel pasture on cleared brigalow scrub.

Different land types, due to their inherent soil fertility, depth, structure and vegetation differences have a different capacity to grow grass. This needs to be accounted for when calculating the potential available forage in a paddock. For example, marginal infertile country will look very different in ‘A’ condition to a land type considered very productive and fertile. Land types should be assessed based on how productive they can potentially be and not be compared to the productive potential of other land types.

Annual grass growth for different land types is used to work out the paddock carrying capacities.

Road

Dam

Creek

Buffel pasture on cleared brigalow scrub

360 ha

Flooded coolibah 135 ha

Total area of paddock =

495 ha

Not to scale

13

Pasture conditionPERENNIAL, PALATABLE AND PRODUCTIVE (3P GRASSES)3P grasses are the key to maintaining energy fl ow, nutrient cycling and effective water use in a sustainable grazing system. They are the backbone of healthy pastures and management should aim to maximise their presence within a paddock. So why do they need to be 3P grasses?

Perennial species have an extensive root system and are able to access water and nutrients from deep in the soil profi le. For this reason, they are less sensitive to seasonal weather fl uctuations and more resilient under grazing.

The palatability of a plant is typically proportional to the amount of leaf it has. Plant species that mature quickly and have a high proportion of stem compared to leaf are not as palatable as those that have a long vegetative phase.

Productivity refers to the amount of leaf a plant is able to produce over time. Perennial species, with their extensive root systems, are generally able to mobilise more nutrients and water and therefore produce much more leaf than small, annual plants.

Curly mitchell grass Small burr grass

Perennial? yesProductive? yesPalatable? yes

Perennial? noProductive? noPalatable? yes

PASTURE BASAL AREA AND PLANT HEALTHPasture basal area (crown cover) is the area of the soil surface where living plants are attached (the plant crown). It is regarded as an important indicator of pasture health because it has the ability to:

Drive potential new forage growth and subsequent yield; the more dense the pasture basal area in your paddock, the more grass will grow

Slow overland fl ow of water and trap and cycle nutrients

Pasture basal area is generally much lower than ground cover. Proportions of two to six percent pasture basal area in a paddock would be healthy for rangeland environments (proportions should be higher in higher rainfall areas).

Pasture basal area

Background notes


Pastures in good condition have high basal area and healthy grass tussocks. Healthy grass tussocks are those that are:

Free from disease and pests;

Have many growing points (nodes) preserved; and,

Grow new shoots from the entire area of the tussock, not just around the edges or from isolated sections.

Unhealthy pastures have low basal area, and the tussocks that are present are often undesirable species, or unhealthy, and sometimes even dead.

To maintain the health of grass tussocks, conservatively graze, or preferably,spell pastures early in the growing season. This will allow them to build their nutrient

and energy reserves, which are likely to be depleted after extended,dry periods. Ensure that this rest period is long enough to allow the

plants to later set and drop seed for replacement of old plants.

Prolonged heavy grazing during the active growth period can result inweakening, and possibly death, of the plant.

DIVERSITY OF PLANT SPECIESPastures generally comprise a range of plant species including grasses, forbs (small, leafy plants) and woody plants. Not all plants have the same grazing value to animals. There can be great variation in palatability and digestibility of plants. Different plant species vary in their growth habits and seasons of growth. A range of species maintains a healthy ecosystem and enhances the diet quality of stock throughout the year.

Having an understanding of what plant species dominate a paddock will allow you to assess its grazing value. The native and naturalised species present are generally a refl ection of soil type, climate and past management.

15

WEEDSA weed is a plant that is growing out of place. They are often plants that can quickly grow and establish in bare areas and are more tolerant to management pressures, such as grazing. Weeds can directly infl uence the productivity of a paddock by reducing the proportion of palatable material there is for livestock to eat, or, under certain conditions, poisoning stock due to inherent chemical compounds.

The urgency to control weeds must be weighed up by considering a number of factors, these include:

Economic impact (reduced forage production, seed contamination etc…)

Toxicity to livestock

Declared weeds

How quickly it spreads

Responsiveness to control methods at particular growth stages (for example, when young, many weeds are easy to kill, but as they get older, control becomes more diffi cult).

SALINITYWater containing a high level of dissolved salts is undesirable for both plant growth and livestock consumption. Some soils are inherently high in salts and thus, water that fl ows through or over the soil may also have a high content of dissolved salts. Removal of deep-rooted, perennial plant species, such as trees and grass, can increase the mobilisation of salts through the soil profi le.

A couple of the immediate effects of salting include a change in plant species composition (fewer desirable perennial species and more salt tolerant species) and scalding (bare patches) on the soil surface.

Poor water quality is viewed as a secondary effect to poor pasture condition and it is assumed that if your land is maintained in good condition, water quality will be good as well.

Giant rats tail grass is an aggressive, unpalatable grass that reduces carrying capacity

Background notes


Soil condition

Scalded surface

Exposed roots from gully erosion

Pedestals, formed by removal of soil from around the roots of grass plants

GROUND COVERGround cover plays a very important role in maintaining a healthy ecosystem. It protects the soil from the harmful effects of the elements; sun, wind and rain. By preventing erosion and contributing to soil health, ground cover ensures efficient cycling of nutrients, water infiltration and root aeration.

Strictly speaking, ground cover is anything that breaks the fall of rain up to 30cm above the ground. It can include grass tussocks, leaf litter, dung, sticks or rocks. The most effective ground cover is attached organic matter, such as grass tussocks, which cannot easily be removed by wind or water.

Topsoil contains most of the nutrients and biological activity of soils; its loss causes severe and permanent disruption of the grazing land ecosystem. Signs vary with the form of erosion; these forms correspond with a progressive concentration of run-off. Inter-rill or sheet erosion is loss of thin layers or sheets of soil in each successive storm; it often goes unnoticed in early stages but will eventually show clear signs such as soil pedestals, and will eventually cause loss of all top-soil. As water concentrates into discrete flow paths, it forms rill erosion, seen as tiny gullies. As these rills widen and deepen, they form gully erosion.

Scalding is the result of massive loss of surface horizon soil in texture-contrast or duplex soils, exposing the lower horizon that is typically hard when dry and has very low infiltration rates.

17

Detrimental effects of the elements:

Sun

Evaporation of water

Increases ground temperature to a level that severely restricts the activity of soil microbes

Wind

Removes loose topsoil

Evaporates soil water

Rain

Soil is eroded by water and carried to lower areas of the catchment or into creeks and rivers. This effect increases with rainfall intensity.

Cover > 50% soil safe

Cover < 50% soil in trouble

Maintaining ground cover above 50% is essential to minimising run-off, loss of nutrients and soil, and for promoting forage production. Rainfall that does not soak into the ground either runs off into waterways or is evaporated and returned to the atmosphere. Evaporation rates in northern Australia can be very high. Effective rainfall (that which can be used by plants) may be only a small fraction of what actually falls. Maintaining good ground cover can signifi cantly reduce both runoff and evaporation.

In the same way that gardeners put hay or mulch on their garden toenhance soil water retention and reduce weed encroachment,graziers should maintain cover on their pastures

In Stocktake, ground cover is estimated as a part of the land condition assessment, however, it is not a true indicator of current land condition.

Why? A paddock can have low ground cover but still be in good land condition providing the soil surface condition, pasture condition and woodland condition are good. Ground cover can change quite rapidly depending on weather and short-term management. A fi re, for example, could remove all ground cover overnight, but not change land condition. Over time, if the ground cover is not allowed to increase land condition could decrease.

Ground cover is included in Stocktake as a fi eld assessment for land condition because it is the best indicator of erosion risk. Poor ground cover should prompt landholders to take corrective management to reduce this risk.

Background notes


Woody vegetationTREES/SHRUBS/SMALL WOODY PLANTSWoody plants include any plant that forms stems that mature into wood. Herbaceous plants have little or no woody tissue and most species die back to the roots each year during winter.

Other distinguishing features of woody plants:

Generally have a more extensive root system than herbaceous plants, including deep-penetrating taproots.

Their canopy of leaves is much broader than herbaceous species. This provides them with a greater ability to intercept sunlight and rainfall.

TREE/GRASS BALANCE

Generally, trees compete with pastures for water nutrients and light. However, managed correctly, trees can enhance the grazing value of a pasture and can provide an additional source of income.

Heavy grazing pressure can lead to woodland thickening. A resultant lack of fi re and competition from the herbaceous layer allows the woody plants to proliferate.

Too many woody plants, in combination with heavy grazing pressure can cause:

Reduced pasture basal area and grass production

Reduced soil surface cover

Increased risk of water erosion

Provide shelter and habitat for pest animals

Allow pest plants to colonise the bare areas

Can limit access for management purposes, e.g. mustering and weed control.

When in balance, woody plants…

Moderate ground temperatures in both summer and winter

Mobilise nutrients from deeper in the soil profi le

Improve biodiversity

Enhance soil microbes and therefore, nutrient cycling

Lower ground water tables and reduce salinity problems

Reduce wind velocities and improve micro-climate for herbage growth.

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3000

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

00 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

Tree basal area (m2/ha)

Past

ure

yiel

d (k

g/ha

)

Trees reduce pasture production. A small increase in tree basal area from 0 to 5 m2/ha can reduce pasture production by one third.

TREE BASAL AREATree basal area is a convenient measure of tree density. It is a better indicator of the extent of a reduction in forage production than other measures of tree density and can be used by graziers to make management decisions for their woodlands.

By way of explanation, imagine the trees in a one hectare area were cut off at 30 cm above ground level and the areas on top of the tree stumps were added together. This measurement gives the basal area of those trees in m2/ha. It is a method of accounting for tree size as well as the number of trees per hectare.

The basal area of this paddock is estimated as 13 m2/ha

The basal area of this paddock is estimated to be 27 m2/ha

It is important to have a good understanding of the land types and climate you are working with and what constitutes a healthy tree basal area for each. In some land types, removal of trees can have a detrimental effect on forage production e.g. higher rainfall areas with inherently lower tree density.

BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF TREESTrees act as nutrient and water pumps. Their deep roots recycle nutrients to the soil surface. Grasses growing under trees are often of higher quality than those in the open, particularly in areas with infertile soils. Sometimes, particularly with leguminous trees on deeper soils, grasses under trees can produce more forage. Trees can help to lower subsoil water tables and prevent salting problems.

Trees can provide shade and shelter for livestock, windbreaks for pastures and crops, a source of timber for fences, yards and off-farm income (timber is escalating in value), nature reserves, maintaining bio-diversity, soil retention in erosion-prone areas, and simply aesthetic value.

Background notes


Forage condition Forage condition relates to the quantity and quality of feed available to grazing stock at any point in time. It can change quickly over time and is under the direct influence of climatic conditions and daily management.

Graziers sometimes confuse forage condition with land condition. Just because a paddock has been eaten down, doesn’t mean it has been eaten out. If the tussock density of 3P species is still good and their is little soil movement, it is still in good land condition.

PASTURE QUANTITYStanding dry matter is the term used to describe the amount of pasture feed available to stock in a paddock. Dry matter is the non-water component of the feed and simply provides a standard way of comparing the quantity of different types and ages of grass available for animals to graze.

Livestock will generally not eat all of the forage available in the paddock. Some will be avoided because it is unpalatable, and some will be trampled or fall onto the ground before the animal has a chance to eat it. When forage budgeting, unpalatable forage, detachment (trampled forage) and a desired residual amount (how much you want left standing in the paddock at the end of the budgeting period) are deducted from the average paddock yield before working out how many AEs a paddock can support over a defined budgeting period.

Graziers don’t just want quantity of grass; they want quantity of quality grass

When assessing species composition in a paddock, graziers are particularly looking to assess the proportion of desirable grass species contributing to standing dry matter.

The age of a plant has a large effect on the grazing value of that plant. New shoots and newly germinated plants have a high concentration of nutrients within their leaves and are of highest nutritive value. The problem with grazing at this stage, however, is that feed supply is low and the plant is dependant on these new shoots for energy capture from the sun and ultimately root and shoot development. Overgrazing at this time could be detrimental for the sustainability of the pasture.

Actively growing plants producing lots of leaf and supporting stem, have a

PASTURE QUALITY

21

high grazing value and are more resilient to grazing than newly germinated plants and shooting perennial plants producing their first leaves at the beginning of the growing season. As pasture plants age, the proportion of leaves compared to stem starts to decrease. Stems are more fibrous and less palatable than leaves, and thus, aging plants gradually decline in nutritive value. This value decreases even more when energy and nutrients are mobilised from the leaves and roots and diverted to seed production in annuals and also to roots in perennials.

The time when perennial plants have the least nutritive value is during winter and dry periods. During these times the leaves die and nutrients are stored in the root system. The plant remains in a dormant state until it receives enough water and sunlight to stimulate active growth again.

GROWTH RATES OF CATTLE ON PASTURESThe most accurate predictor of cattle growth rates on pastures is dietary nitrogen (N) content. Dietary N content is strongly influenced by the proportion of green in the diet, which is, in turn, influenced by the amount of green in the pasture. In the figure below, as the proportion of green in pasture increases above 10%, cattle can select green material from the pasture and green in the diet increases rapidly. When green in pasture reaches 30%, there is little further influence on green in the diet with increasing green material in pastures.

Green in the diet compared with green in the pasture

Proportion of green in pasture

1

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

00 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

Prop

ortio

n of

gre

en in

die

t

Background notes

Source: Adapted from Bell (1998)

Dig

estib

ility

%

Proportion of green in pasture

70

40

MODERATE PRODUCTION

MAINTAIN DRY STOCK

WEIGHT LOSS OF DRY STOCK

HIGH PRODUCTION

9.5 - 10.0

4.8

Ener

gy (M

J ME/

kg D

M)

Active growth, green

Late vegetation, green

Early flowering

Mid-flowering, green and dead

Late flowering, in head

Dry grass and stalks

Dry stalks


Another way of manipulating the quality of the animal’s diet is by varying the stocking rate. If you increase stocking rate, live weight gain per head will decline as cattle compete with each other for the highest quality components of pasture and their ability to select these is reduced. The graph below gives you a guide to live weight gains for different stocking rates (from a trial at Galloway Plains near Calliope). Very heavy stocking rates will penalise live weight gains per head but sometimes maximises live weight gain per hectare in the short term. However, maintaining heavy stocking rates will be detrimental for both land condition and long-term productivity.

Cattle LWG at various stocking rates

160

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

01 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Stocking rate (ha/beast)

LWG

(kg/

hd/y

r)

It may suit to stock at slightly heavier rates when producing store cattle but this would not suit an operation aiming to fi nish to Jap ox specifi cations.

If you want higher liveweight gain you have to lightenthe stocking rate... easy!

DO YOU NEED TO SUPPLEMENTARY FEED?The Stocktake forage budget calculates how many animals a paddock can carry to ensure that their intake (gut-fi ll) needs are met and land condition is not impacted upon. A key point to remember is that even though their intake needs may be satisfi ed, this does not mean that their nutrient needs are satisfi ed if they are eating poor quality forage.

Check to ensure that the energy, protein and phosphorus content of the forage that the stock are eating is suffi cient. If it isn’t, supplementary feeding may be required. The EDGEnetwork © Nutrition Edge Workshop discusses animal nutrition needs in detail and can teach you how to fi ll nutrition gaps.

23

Feed utilisationWe can affect the health of our grazing ecosystem by manipulating the timing and level of forage utilisation (i.e. when and how much of the feed grown in a year is eaten by cattle). Utilising a high proportion of the feed grown, particularly early in the growing season, can have detrimental effects on the health of the grazing ecosystem. Pasture grasses, particularly 3P grasses are weakened and weeds, woody regrowth and undesirable species will replace them. Conversely, spelling pastures early in the growing season improves their health and they can be utilised at higher levels later in the growing season, or during the dry season, without ill effects.

The key is to adhere to safe utilisation rates.

SAFE UTILISATION RATE

Safe utilisation rate is the maximum rate of average annual use consistent with maintaining or encouraging good land condition. It is factored in when

calculating long-term carrying capacity.

Background notes

Safe utilisation levels vary with land type, grazing strategy (especially if regular spelling during the growing season is part of your management), and evenness of forage use both across a paddock and from year to year. A safe utilisation level for a particular land type may be 25%, which means that grazing should be managed so the average level of pasture utilisation is 25%.

Remember, the recommended utilisation level doesn’t account for the effect of distance from water or patch grazing by cattle.

In the Burnett, recommended safe utilisation rates vary depending on the fertility of the soil. They are highest on fertile soils and reduce for poorer soils. Infertile land types are more susceptible to degradation than fertile land types.

Utilisation rates for the Burnett region

Scrub and Clay soils 30 – 35%

Lighter forest soils 25 – 30 %

Poor forest soils 20 – 25 %

Managing for safe utilisation ensures land condition is maintained and there is no loss of desirable pasture species.

25

Field assessment


Getting startedThe most time-consuming part of Stocktake is setting up. The data will be most valuable to managers if time is taken to carefully consider and map out where the key land types and management units are located within each paddock. This exercise is useful for many other planning purposes as well, so it is time well spent.

Once processed, the data collected will provide insight into how the animals are utilising the paddocks, if they prefer particular land types, what impact they are having and whether there is potential for an improvement in productivity.

The basic procedure for setting up and using Stocktake is:

1. IDENTIFY AND CALCULATE LAND TYPE AREAS IN EACH PADDOCK To do a paddock condition assessment, or, forage budget, you need to know the area of your paddocks and the relative area of the land types within those paddocks. A property map with the land types and land type areas marked is an ideal way of doing this.

2. SELECT AND SET-UP PHOTO SITESPhotos are the only fixed-point record you will collect in Stocktake. As a general rule, each paddock will have one photo site per land type, per paddock, taken in a representative grazing area (i.e. not on a rocky outcrop in the corner of the paddock). Additional photo sites can be established to monitor particular areas of interest in the paddock.

3. FIELD ASSESSMENTThe Stocktake field assessment involves, for each land type, in each paddock, taking two photos (trayback and landscape) at a fixed site, and using a Field Recording Sheet, assess and rate the overall condition of key resource indicators (soil condition, pasture condition, tree basal area, pasture yield and % yield unpalatable).

4. ENTER FIELD RECORDINGS INTO THE DATABASE AND GENERATE REPORTS

Enter the field assessments into the database on your computer. Using some background information about the land types, the database will generate reports about overall land condition and paddock carrying capacity.

5. REVIEW GRAZING LAND MANAGEMENT PLANAnalyse your paddock condition and carrying capacity reports, are they what you hoped they would be? How are animals utilising the paddock? Is your management achieving the results you wanted or do they need to be adjusted to better achieve your goals? Is there potential for improvement?

27

HOW OFTEN?Grazing land condition should be monitored once a year, at the end of the growing season; while forage condition should be assessed at least at the end of the growing season, and also each time stock are moved between paddocks, or to check whether stock numbers need to be adjusted.

Forage condition is assessed more regularly because it can change very rapidly, depending on management and seasonal conditions. For example, in a rotational grazing system, you may only be budgeting for a short period of time and want to know how long the paddock can support the cattle you need to feed. Similarly, a paddock dominated by annual grasses may provide a reasonable quantity of feed during the growing season, but will quickly deteriorate to next to nothing as it matures and after the first frost.

For consistency between sites and between years, it is important to try to have the same operator taking the measurements each time. It can be even more effective if two operators make assessments individually and

then compare and discuss the outcomes the first time. If the operators can agree on their assessments and are consistently similar, then in other years

one could do the measurements without the other, giving more operator flexibility.

Field assessment


Identify and calculate land type areas in each paddockEquipment: Property map

Land types should be relatively easy to identify in the paddock. If they aren’t, particularly in regards to pasture growth, then it is likely that their productivity is not signifi cantly different from that of surrounding land types. The amount of effort and detail you go to when separating and calculating land type area really depends on personal preference and purpose of the monitoring. The key aim is to ensure that the dominant land types are clearly defi ned.

PROPERTY MAPA property map is a good starting point for defi ning and working out the areas of different land types in each paddock. Ideally, your map should detail:

Paddock boundaries and areas

Land type boundaries and areas within each paddock

Signifi cant watercourses and land forms (e.g. creeks, ridges)

Infrastructure (e.g. roads, watering points, fences).

There are a number of different ways a property map can be created, either, by yourself, or by a professional GIS person. A couple of them are outlined below.

Aerial photo and satellite imagery

Place a clear sheet of plastic over the aerial photo or satellite image

Use permanent OHP pens and draw on paddocks, waters and paddock land types

Using the distance scale provided on the map and a ruler, calculate the approximate area of the different land types. Alternatively, use the dot grids to calculate land type and paddock areas

This map could be developed further by using a mapping program to transform the data into digital form.

Areal photograph with overlay

29

GPS points recorded in the paddock incorporated into a digital map

Using a GPS, record coordinates of landmarks, paddock boundaries and land type boundaries

Using a mapping software package, superimpose the coordinates over a cadastral map to generate a detailed digital map of the property

Most regions will have detailed land type, drainage line and road maps available in digital form that can be added as another layer to your map

An added advantage of digital mapping programs is that they can accurately calculate the area of paddock and land type.

MANAGEMENT AREASWithin land types, there may be areas of country that are characteristically different or utilised differently than the rest of the land type. For example, stoney ridges, blade-ploughed areas, cleared areas or riparian areas.

If you wish to separately monitor these areas, also identify them on your map and calculate their respective areas. These will be entered as separate photo sites.

Field assessment

Digital map

Brigalow with Blackbutt Coolibah Flats Box on duplex


Setting up photo sitesEquipment: Star pickets, 20 cm lengths of white PVC pipe (50 mm diameter), wire to fi x the pipe, camera, colour fi lm & scanner or digital camera

PHOTO SITE DESCRIPTIONPhoto sites should be selected after an inspection of the whole paddock. This allows the person to get a feel for the area, the characteristics of the representative land types and where areas of concern may be.

The Photo site description sheet is for you to enter details about each of your chosen photo sites. Keep a record of your photo site descriptions in a labelled folder for future reference.

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Scrubby495 ha

Brigalow belah scrub360 ha

Brigalow 115/5/2004

200m NW of cockies gate on southern boundary fence

Black cracking soil

Undulating plain

Brigalow, wilga, false sandalwood, kurrajong

Buffel, Qld blue, brigalow grass

Yabila grass, urocholoa, pitted blue

Wiregrass

Daisy burr, sida, pigweed

PartheniumThis paddock has been used as the breeder paddock for the past 5 years. Areas around the bore have been overgrazed and annual broadleaved plants are dominant within about 50 m of the trough.Parthenium is encroaching in the bare areas between buffel tussocks.

Glycine, rhyncosia

Example PhotoSite Description:

31

LOCATIONThe photo site should be both marked on your map and a with a star picket in the paddock. A piece of white pipe fixed on top of the picket will make it stand out. Those who don’t want fence pickets permanently fixed at the photo site can dig a hole and fit some bore casing or poly pipe in the ground. The fence picket can be placed in there while taking photos and then removed for the rest of the year. When the site is not being assessed a marker, such as a plough disc painted white, should be placed over the hole.

SITE NAMEEach photo site for each land type on the property should be given an identifiable name, which will be entered into the database. Should you decide to have more than one photo site in each paddock land type, one needs to be identified as the primary site and the others identified by name or number as auxiliary sites. In the example paddock below, ‘Coolibah 1’ is the primary photo site in a representative grazing area, while ‘Coolibah 2’ is an auxiliary photo site in a specific area of concern (e.g. riparian area).

The primary site is the name given to the photo site that is located in a representative area of the each land type. The land condition assessment for that land type is linked to the primary photo site. Auxiliary sites are additional photo sites in that land type and are not linked to any land condition information.

Example: Scrubby paddock, Paradise Downs Station

If the woody vegetation (trees) of a land type is to be treated differently in one area of the land type, then it might be best to enter the two areas separately into the database. For example, if a large portion of a land type in a paddock is designated for timber retention (shade, shelter, timber reserve) and the rest of the area is to be kept cleared, enter this into the database as two different areas of the paddock. By doing this you can enter an ‘A’ Condition tree basal area appropriate for each area of the land types; the area to be kept cleared will have zero tree basal area when in ‘A’ Condition, while the timbered area might have 6 or 8 m2 of tree basal area when in ‘A’ Condition.

Road

Dam

Photo site

Not to scale

Coolibah 2

Coolibah 1

Brigalow

Field assessment


TAKING PHOTOSPhotos should be taken every time you do a land type condition assessment. The best photos are taken on a clear day with the sun behind you, between 9am and 3pm with colour print film or digital camera. Two photos are taken at each photo point; a trayback photo and a landscape photo. Photos taken from the trayback of a ute, looking down into the pasture, visually capture soil, pasture and forage condition. Landscape orientated photos pick up the general condition of the site, showing major changes in shrub and tree populations.

Some graziers like to write the site name and date on a small sign for inclusion in photographs. A small chalkboard or whiteboard is suitable for this. Cameras that print the date on the photograph may also help with record keeping.

Photos should either be scanned and stored in the database, or, kept in plastic holders with the monitoring record.

The trayback photo

1. Park your vehicle beside the photosite post and stand on the back with the camera so you are looking south (see figure below).

2. Position the base of the post (numbered 1 in the figure below) in the middle of the viewfinder, focus on the pasture, make sure the picture is level and take the photo.

An alternative to standing on the back of a ute is to stand on a small stepladder or drum to take the photo.

The landscape photo

1. Stand on the ground close to the photosite post (don’t get it in the photo) and line it up with post 1 (see figure below). Position the top of post 1 in the top of the viewfinder, focus on infinity, make sure the picture is level and take the photo.

Photosite post

Photosite postNORTH

33

Field assessment – basicsEquipment: Field recording sheet, pen or pencil

ASSESSING LAND AND FORAGE CONDITIONThe land and forage condition assessment involves having a good look at each land type (or management area), in each paddock, and coming up with an overall rating for key resource indicators in that area.

In the example below, the assessor stopped four times to come up with an overall land type assessment.

Example: Scrubby paddock, Paradise Downs Station

Photo site

Assessment stop

Road

Dam

Not to scale

Whether it be the land or forage condition, there can be much variability within a land type. You need to make a judgement, based on your observations, about what is the most representative condition of each resource indicator in each land type. The better you know your paddock, the easier this job will be.

Remember that these are broad-scale assessments. Don’t get bogged down in detail!

Field assessment

RECORDSThe Field recording sheet is for you to manually record your data and observations in the paddock. On each sheet there is space to make up to four sub-assessments per land type and one overall assessment, based on the sub-assessments, of the different condition indicators. Enter the overall assessment into the database as the condition recording for that site, at that point in time.


Other Observations

The ‘other observation’ box is for you to record any other things of interest. Examples include:

Seedling recruitments (when many seedlings germinate at once)

Dieback of old plants

Pest plagues (e.g. grasshoppers, army worms)

Flood events

Pasture quality (stage of maturity and greenness)

Ungrazed areas (e.g. rocky ridges, areas far away from watering points)

Dominant pasture species

Description of erosion (e.g. gully, rill, sheet, 30 cm deep etc…)

Recent management actions (e.g. clearing, ripping, sowing of pastures, fi re)

Seasonal weather conditions.

Other Observations

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15/5/04Dusty RhodesScrubby (495 ha)90 wet cows

Coolibah fl ats135 ha

100

Coolibah 1Coolibah 2

25 40 20 253 2 2 2

3 2 2 2 1100 1700 1500 1500 15 10 10 11

8 4 4 5

Ground cover mostly leaf litterFlood in late JanuaryParthenium germinating along creek

35

Field assessment – 1. Pasture conditionEquipment: Recording sheet, pasture condition table, Plants of Central Queensland (or relevant publication for your region)

The table on the following page is an aid to help you decide on a Condition Rating for your pastures in each land type of a paddock. You will need to look over the whole area of the land type and decide its average rating.

The first and most important determinant is the proportion of 3P grasses. The proportion, as a percentage of pasture dry matter yield, of 3P grasses will give you the best indication of the area’s pasture condition rating. If 3P grasses comprise 80% or more of pasture yield, then the area would get a Rating of 1. Refer to the Pasture Condition Assessment Table on the following page when assessing land condition.

Secondly, check the crown cover of 3P grasses. If the crowns are sparse (much bare ground in-between), unthrifty (diseased, discoloured, poor growth), or beginning to fragment, it is a good indication that the pasture is not in optimal condition and likely be susceptible to further deterioration if grazing pressure is high in the following growing season. A further reduction in plant crown cover could result in the death of 3P grasses.

Any one or more of the remaining Condition Indicators can occur in combination with the level of 3P grasses for each rating. These other condition indicators will help to determine whether the pasture condition rating should remain the same as indicated by the 3P grasses or whether it should change. For example, if there were 60% 3P grasses, the condition rating would normally be Rating 2. However, if there were also 40% weeds, e.g. giant rats tail grass, the condition rating would be downgraded to Rating 3.

Different combinations of the other condition indicators can occur with the 3P grasses for each Rating score.

The proportions of each indicator for a condition rating do not have to add to 100%. For example, if a pasture were comprised of 30% 3P grasses, 10% annuals, and 30% undesirables, the remaining 30% could be intermediate grasses (not 3P’s, but not undesirables, e.g. pitted blue grass on a clay soil). The pasture described would then get a Condition Rating of 3.

This is a simple system for rating pasture condition:

1. Check to see what proportion 3P grasses contribute to the total pasture yield in the area and gauge the health of those plants (by assessing crown cover).

2. Check to see whether there are any of the other pasture condition indictors present. If there are, guess roughly what proportion of pasture they comprise.

3. Check off your estimates against the table and decide which rating best suits.

Field assessment


Condition rating

Condition indicators

3P grassesAnnual grass

% DM yield

Undesirable grasses and other weeds % DM yield

Species diversity - desirables

% DM yield Crown cover

1 > or = 80%Dense and plants healthy

< or = 20% < or = 20% > 5 species

2 60-80%

High to moderate density and some plants unhealthy

20-40% 20-30% 3-5 species

3 10-60%Moderate to low density & some plants dead

40-70% 30-80% 2-3 species

4 < 10%Sparse and many plants dead

> 70% >80%1 or less species

PASTURE CONDITION ASSESSMENT TABLE

Major consideration To be considered

(level of importance when considering pasture condition)

*Species diversity criteria needs to be reviewed on a region-by-region basis

37

Field assessment – 2. Soil conditionEquipment: Recording sheet, soil condition table

Soil condition is assessed by examining some visual surface characteristics. A stable soil has little evidence of surface disturbance. A healthy soil that has good soil structure will have optimal potential for soil water infiltration and a healthy population of soil microbes to cycle nutrients.

SOIL SURFACE CONDITION

Surface description

Soil condition rating

Indicators

Stable 1 No visual evidence of soil movement

Slight disturbance

2 Soil slightly disturbed by erosion. Indicators include:· • Soil surface compaction or crusting • Signs of increased surface runoff • Signs of increased soil movement by wind or water • Cattle tracks affecting water movement

Moderate disturbance

3 Soil moderately affected by erosion. Indicators include:· • Plant pedestalling occurring • Definite signs of sheet or rill erosion • Definite signs of soil mounding around obstructions • Salt-affected areas occurring • Gravel and stone pavements common, having a concrete look

Severe disturbance

4 Soil severely affected by erosion. Indicators include: • Any rocks or plants on pedestals • Runoff concentrated in channels • Prominent sheet, rill or gully erosion to 15cm deep • Prominent sand mounds blown against object • Vegetated areas isolated in mounds or depressions • Scalds, exposed subsoil • Gravel and stone pavements prominent • Bedrock at the surface

Very severe disturbance

5 Soil very severely affected by erosion. Indicators are as for severely disturbed above, but more extreme. • Sheet, rill or gully erosion >15 cm deep

Use this table to determine the soil condition rating of each land type area in your paddocks. Again, look over the whole area and decide what an average rating might be. If only a small area of a paddock is disturbed, you might record in note form where that is and how large the area is. Make the notes simple but descriptive enough so you can refer to them later and see whether changes are occurring over time.

Pedestalling

Field assessment


GROUND COVERLook around the land type and work out an average from what you see. You will have to check small areas on the ground in front of you frequently to help give you a feel for what might be an average amount of cover. Use the images below as indicators of the amount of cover required to meet each category. Take into account larger scalded areas in your average. Remember, this is a broad scale assessment and is not meant to be definitive. You will get a feel for these measurements after a while.

5% 15% 30%

90%50%

Stylised examples of ground cover proportions

39

Field assessment –3. Woodland conditionEquipment: Pencil or pen about 7 mm in diameter or a bitterlich stick, recording sheet

TREE BASAL AREATrees mostly reduce pasture growth in eucalypt woodlands. We can account for this effect by measuring the tree basal area. A simple technique is described below, but fi rst, you need to delineate areas of your paddock that differ in tree density.

In each paddock you will have separated areas by landtype or by some distinguishing feature such astopography or even by differing grazing pressures. If theland type in which you are working has trees scatteredrelatively evenly over the whole area, one or twomeasurements averaged, should be enough for the area.However, if the trees are thicker in some areas thanothers, take measurements in each area and averagefor the land type.

To measure tree basal area:

1. Stand in the middle of a representative area of trees or regrowth:

Hold the pencil or pen vertically at arm’s length

As you turn in a complete circle, count every livetree in your line of vision with a trunk appearingthe same width or wider than the pencil at 30 cmabove the ground.

2. Calculate the approximate basal area in square metres per hectare by dividing the fi gure by four.

TREE DENDROMETER OR BITTERLICH STICKThe pencil technique is quick and handy for determining approximate tree basal area. However, if you intend to measure changes in tree basal area over time, the pencil technique is not suffi ciently accurate and you should use the tree dendrometer provided or construct a Bitterlich stick.

A tree dendomoeter is used in the same way as the pencil technique; however, you don’t divide the fi nal count by four to get basal area in square metres. The string is held taut horizontally from the forehead to 50 cm in front of the head. The user looks through the open window in the frame and counts every tree in 360° radius wider than the 1 cm square in the middle. Any trunks wider than the 1 cm square are given a rating of one, and anything smaller is not

Tree basal area

Using a pencil or pen to measure basal area

Field assessment

30 cm


counted. When using the tree dendrometer, one unit is equal to 1 m2 of tree basal area. Use the stick from the same points in the paddock each time you take measurements.

side viewfront view

50 cm 1 cm

Method 2

Cut a piece of dowel rod, 55 cm long

Cut a piece of cardboard approximately 10 cm to 15 cm long and exactly1 cm wide.

Fold the strip of cardboard in half

Fold the strip ends in half again, each end folded in opposite direction back towards the initial fold. This will create an inverted T shape (refer to diagram below).

Fix the folded out ‘arms’ of the inverted cardboard T lengthways along the end of the dowel rod with tape. This will leave a 1 cm wide strip of cardboard sticking up at the end of the rod 50 cm from your eye.

side view

front view

50 cm

1 cm Folded cardboardFolded cardboard Tape

5 cm 1 cm

A Bitterlich stick can be constructed a couple of different ways:

Method 1

Cut a 55 cm long thin, fl at piece of wood (can be less than 55 cm, but must be more than 50 cm)

Fix two pins 1 cm apart, 50 cm along the stick

If you don’t have a tree dendrometer, then you can construct your own bitterlich stick at home. It is used in the same way as a dendrometer, however, the end of the stick is placed at the base of the eye instead of the forehead.

41

SAPLING BASAL AREAIf saplings are very dense, in a 10 m strip 1m wide, count the number of saplings and get a rough idea of their average diameter at approximately 30 cm from the ground. To work out saplings per hectare, multiply the number of saplings you counted in the 10 m strip by 1000 and write the figure down on the recording sheet. If sampling density is not very high, then you may need to go to a bigger area e.g. 10 m x 10 m square and count the saplings in that area. To work out the number of saplings per hectare now, only multiply the count by 100.

To calculate sapling basal area (m2/ha):

(Sapling diameter (m) / 2)2 x 3.142 x Number of saplings per hectare

‘A’ CONDITION TREE BASAL AREAGenerally, an increasing amount of trees reduces grass growth. In many areas of northern Australia where rainfall is strongly summer dominant, or in high rainfall areas, this effect is much less pronounced. In fact, retaining a low density of trees might enhance grass growth. For these and other reasons, e.g. legislation, it may be desirable to retain trees across the entire landscape at a low density.

In these circumstances you would consider the landscape to be in ‘A’ condition at this low tree density. Usually, a tree density of 2 to 6 m2 per ha would be considered low. You can accommodate for this in the database by entering a tree basal area in the box for ‘A’ Condition in the Property Setup details page.

Field assessment


Field assessment – 4. Forage conditionEquipment: Photostandards, recording sheet

PASTURE QUANTITYPasture quantity is visually assessed using comparative photostandards for that particular pasture community.

To use the photostandards, compare the density and height of the grass you see in the paddock to that you see in the photos. Find the picture that best aligns with what you see in the paddock to give you a rough estimate of dry matter (DM) yield.

Tips for assessing standing dry matter:

• The bulk of the weight of a grass tussock is in the bottom half. Tall fine grasses don’t tend to have as much weight as short dense tussocks

• A paddock with many grass tussocks close together will often have more forage than a paddock with lots of bare ground and a few big tussocks

• Grab different species of grass with your hand and get a feel for what is thick and bulky, these grasses will have a higher dry matter weight than fine, thin grasses

As with the land condition assessment, you will make one overall assessment of pasture yield per land type per paddock, however, these need to be averaged over the whole paddock to come up with an Average Accessible Yield. This is entered into the computer as the Start Yield. The Average accessible yield calculation sheet, outlined on page 44, can be used to manually calculate this figure. It steps you through the process of calculating an area weighted, average yield for the paddock.

USEFUL FORAGEWhen forage budgeting, you must take into account that some pasture will not be eaten by animals. This is for a number of reasons: some will not be palatable to the animals (% unpalatable), some of it will simply be trampled, or drop onto the ground (% detachment) or be conserved to provide ground cover over the period (residual).

Black speargrass – 830 kg/ha DM Bluegrass/wiregrass – 850 kg/ha DM

43

% Unpalatable

The unpalatable proportion of the dry matter yield will consist of:

Unpalatable species (e.g. feathertop wiregrass, comet grass, unpalatable broad-leaved weeds such as noogoora burr)

Old, dead rank growth (particularly that which has turned grey).

% Detachment (wastage)

Leaf drop (natural leaf drop onto the ground)

Trampling (the more animals per area, the greater the forage wastage from trampling)

Removal of organic material by insects.

*The standard fi gure that is often given for % detachment is 15%.

Residual

In the forage budget, the residual is the amount of useful pasture you want to preserve to provide ground cover at the beginning of the wet season and to ensure a quick growth response when it does rain. The amount you set will depend on the land type and its capacity to grow grass. For example, you may set the residual on Downs country as 800 kg/ha, however, in Mulga country, you are often lucky to grow that amount in a good season, so it may be more like 500 kg/ha.

When trying to rehabilitate degraded land, it is worth setting the residual at a higher quantity than what you may usually do for that land type. This ensures there is optimum ground cover during the recovery period. Aim to have at least 50% ground cover at all times.

GRAZING AREAThe basic forage budget assumes that the animals within a paddock have no limitations to accessing feed and the paddock is reasonably evenly utilised. Reality is, however, that in extensive grazing systems, paddocks are not uniformly grazed and animals could be grazing in a smaller area with a smaller amount of feed than what you had originally budgeted for. This could impact on land condition and ground cover over time.

A way of accounting for ungrazed areas is to assume that the quantity of forage in that area is not available for grazing, and thus, the average accessible yield in the paddock is lower that the average total yield.

For example, a 1000 ha paddock has four land types: Coolibah on alluvial, Box on duplex; Brigalow with melonholes and Lancewood ridges. The cattle relatively evenly graze the whole paddock, but don’t graze the lancewood

Field assessment

As a rough guide, about 1000 kg standing dry matter/ha gives 40% ground cover in eucalypt country. Any litter on the ground would be additional to this fi gure.


ridges or a small patch of thick regrowth in the Brigalow. Using the Average accessible yield calculation sheet, you can account for the ungrazed areas by deducting the contributing yield from those land types when calculating the total paddock yield. An example calculation sheet is provided here.

The total accessible yield is the fi gure you would use as the start yield in the forage budget.

The EDGENetwork © Grazing Land Management Workshop teaches participants how to do a more complex forage budget which considers paddock utilisation aspects, such as distance from water, patch grazing, preferential grazing of land types, inaccessible areas of the paddock and the grazing system.

MAKING YOUR OWN SET OF PHOTOSTANDARDSTo train your “eye” and get a better feel for pasture dry matter yields, you can establish your own photostandards. A simple way to do this:

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15/5/2004Paradise DownsWindmill1000

Lancewood ridge

Box on duplex

Coolibah on alluvial

Brigalow melonhole

Thick brigalow regrowth

50

300

200

400

50

0

1500

2800

3500

0

0.05

0.30

0.20

0.40

0.05

0

450

560

1400

0

= 2410 kg/ha

45

1. Take a photo of an area you want to sample. If you only want to cut one quadrat then the photo should be a close up of the quadrat area. If the photo is looking at a larger area, you should cut several quadrats and get an average dry weight for the area.

2. In that area, use a set of hand shears and cut and collect all standing pasture in a ½ x ½m area to about 2 cm above ground level. Place the sample in a large, labelled paper bag.

3. Tare a set of scales using an identical, empty paper bag.

4. Weigh the freshly cut sample after the scales have been tared.

5. If the sample is big and bulky, take a sub-sample from the bag and put into another paper bag of the same size.

6. Weigh the fresh sub-sample with the tared scales.

7. To dry the sub-sample, place the bag in a microwave oven with a cup of water (Ensure that you empty the cup and replace with cool water each time you dry the sample. The microwave can malfunction if the water evaporates and the atmosphere gets too dry). Operate the microwave for two minutes on high. Keep doing this, weighing the sample after each drying cycle, until the sample is dry and brittle to touch, or is not losing any appreciable amount of weight each time it is dried. It may take six or eight repetitions.

8. Record the final dried sub-sample weight using tared scales.

To convert the weight of the pasture sample to a per hectare basis, use the following equation:

9. Record the dry matter weight on the back of the photo you took at the site and take into the paddock for future reference.

PASTURE QUALITYPasture quality is affected by the growth stage of the plant and indicated by the proportion of green in the pasture. Cattle weight gains on pasture are, in turn, affected by the proportion of green material in the animal’s diet. The older the plant, the lower it’s nutritive value. Pasture quality does not directly affect land condition, however, it will affect animal performance and should be considered when estimating liveweight gains over a planning horizon.

Field assessment

Calculating Dry Weight per hectare

% Dry Matter = Sample dried weight (g) / Sample wet weight (g) x 100

Dry weight (kg DM/ha) = whole sample wet weight (g) x % dry matter x 40

100


Noting the stage of pasture maturity and the proportion of green in the pasture will give you an indication of cattle performance on these pastures. Refer to the fi rst section of the manual, ‘Notes’, for more details on this topic. The EDGEnetwork™ Nutrition EDGE Workshop covers, in detail, these aspects of pasture quality and how they affect animal performance.

MANUAL CALCULATION SHEETSThere are three other calculation sheets available for you to use. These are called:

Land Condition Manual Calculation

Basic Forage Budget Calculation

Advanced Forage Budget Manual Calculation

Forage Budget Rotational Manual Calculation

These sheets are a guide for those people who would like to manually work out their land condition and forage budget fi gures, rather than using the database. These sheets are located on the accompanying CD. Necessary equations are noted on the right-hand side of the page. Calculators that let you convert animal class numbers to Adult Equivalents and Adult Equivalents to animal class numbers are also provided for your convenience on the CD.

47

Database instructions


IntroductionThe Stocktake Database is a tool to use in the Stocktake monitoring program. It provides a way of recording and accumulating large amounts of information in a system that will both store the information for future reference and analyse your information to provide reports that can be viewed and printed.

To start, there will be an example property loaded (which may vary from the name displayed below) or you can start entering your own property data straight away by clicking on the Setup New Property.

49

Choose propertyIn the Choose property window you can either create a new property or open an existing property.

OPEN AN EXISTING PROPERTY FILETo look at the list of existing properties, press the arrow on the right-hand side of the existing property box.

OPEN A NEW PROPERTY FILETo create a new property, type in the property name. The typed name will be checked against existing properties to check whether it is a new name. Stocktake will only let you enter a new name. You must also select the region where the property is located, for example, the Inland Burnett. When you select the region, it ensures that the land types offered to you in the property set-up section are from the Inland Burnett region.

DELETING PROPERTY FILESProperties cannot be deleted by the user. Contact the person you got this program from to ask about deleting a property.



Property detailsThe Property Details window is for entering property resource and stock details including:

Paddock names

Paddock areas

Land types in each paddock and the land type areas

Photo site locations

Whether the photo site is a primary site or not

The tree basal area (TBA) when the land type is in “A” condition

Stock numbers, classes and weights for each paddock.

PADDOCK NAMES AND PADDOCK AREASClick on the Add button and type in the paddock name and its area in hectares.

51

PHOTO SITE/LAND TYPES SETUPIn order to calculate paddock carrying capacities later, and produce land condition reports, the paddock needs to be subdivided into representative areas of relatively uniform pasture growth. This is best done by dividing the paddock into areas by land type. Land types should sometimes be further subdivided if they contain significant areas of differing tree densities that are not going to be cleared in the future (check later explanation for “A” condition tree basal area), or, ungrazed areas such as escarpments.

Each subdivision should contain a photo site. To enter a new Photo Site / Land Type click on the Add button and type in a photo site name and an area for the land type. For each photo site, indicate whether it is a primary site by clicking on the Primary Site button. Try and give the photo site an easily identifiable name, such as the land type name. If there is more than one photo site in the land type, give each site the same name but with a number suffix at the end (e.g. Box 1, Box 2 etc…).

Photo site locations

If you have a GPS, enter the reading for the site as either Eastings and Northings or Longitude and Latitude.

Land type

Choose a land type from the drop down list that best describes that area of the paddock.

Tree basal area when the land type is in ‘A’ condition

If there is a significant area of a land type that has trees and you intend to retain those trees, the wooded area is best treated separately to the rest of the land type that is to be kept relatively clear. Set up the treed area as



another land type/photo site and indicate what tree basal area you consider is reasonable when it is in ‘A’ condition. This is necessary so that the potential carrying capacity for the land type area with trees is not set above realistic expectations and calculated with a tree basal area of zero.

STOCK NUMBERS

The Stock Numbers section of the Property Setup is where you can keep a record of the total grazing pressure in each paddock at the time of assessment.

Stock numbers are entered by choosing an animal class from the drop down menu, then entering a number of animals. If you don’t put a weight into the average weight column, then the adult equivalents (AEs) are calculated by a preset AE per head value from the database. If you enter a weight the AE is calculated from metabolic weights, which are different for cattle and sheep. This option is not available for horses and kangaroos. If you choose “wet’ animal (an animal with offspring) then the metabolic weight calculation is multiplied by 1.34 for cattle and 1.4 for sheep.

Changing paddock size

Sometimes you might have two or more paddocks with the same stock running in both e.g. gates open between paddocks. In this situation it would be best to allocate stock to the two paddocks in proportion to their areas i.e. if one paddock is 70% of the total, combined area of the paddocks and the other 30%, allocate stock in the same proportions.

53

Land condition inputThe Land Condition Input window is where all the land condition field data for each paddock is entered into the database. Paddock areas, land type areas and photo site details should already have been set up on the database in the Property Details window. The land condition input window will not function unless this background information has been provided.

ADDING NEW DATAFirst, choose a paddock and photo site from the list in the top box. Click on the Add button and enter a valid date. Land condition data can only be added to primary photo sites. If it is not a primary photo site, then only a photo can be added to the input page.

Using the drop down menus and the spaces provided, enter:

1. Pasture condition rating (1-4)

2. Soil condition rating (1-5)

3. Percentage of the total area of the land type that is covered by trees

4. Tree basal area

5. Ground cover %.

PHOTOSIf you have a landscape or trayback photo for the site it can be saved in the database and will be used for reports you make later. To enter a saved photo, press Change Image button and insert from the appropriate file.



TREE BASAL AREA CALCULATORYou can either enter the tree basal area directly from paddock estimates, or, by using the Calc button; enter stem numbers and diameters from a 10 m2 or 100m2 area and have Stocktake calculate the tree basal area. The calculator allows field calculations of saplings to be converted to tree basal area.

If saplings are very dense, in a 10 m strip, 1 m wide, count the number of saplings and get a rough idea of their average diameter at approximately 30 cm from the ground. To work out saplings per hectare, multiply the number of saplings you counted in the 10 m strip by 1000 and write the figure down on the recording sheet. If sampling density is not very high, then you may need to go to a bigger area e.g. 10 m x 10 m square and count the saplings in that area. To work out the number of saplings per hectare now, only multiply the count by 100.

55

Forage budgetThe Forage Budget window calculates basic forage budgets for each paddock of a property. When you first use a forage budget there will be a lot of default values already set. Before doing a forage budget enter your property details for each paddock; enter paddock names, areas and the stock you have in the paddocks. This must be entered before you can do a forage budget!

At the top of the Forage Budget window is an area with several cells showing information already entered for a particular paddock. Select the paddock on which you wish to do the forage budget from the drop down list in the top cell. Other cells will indicate the paddock area, numbers and types of stock, and the adult equivalents in the paddock.

There are four other sections of the screen:

DATESEnter a starting and finishing date for your forage budget, i.e. a starting date for the grazing period and when the pasture has to last to before you expect sufficient rain for pasture growth, and the database will calculate the number of days for the period.



PASTURE1. Enter Start Pasture Yield from your paddock estimations.

2. Determine how much pasture you want to leave to provide for ground cover and enter that in the Residual Yield cell.

3. From your paddock estimations enter the proportion of Unpalatable pasture.

4. Detachment of pasture during the dry season can vary between 10% and 40%. Generally detachment is about 15% which is the default value given.

5. If you expect rainfall during the budgeting period, you may want to Estimate Pasture Growth and enter the appropriate value.

6. Stocktake automatically calculates the amount of Useable Pasture that is available for stock during the nominated period.

ANIMALS

1. Using one of the toggle buttons at the top of the Animals section, select a type of animal. This relates directly to the wet stock and chooses the appropriate AE conversion factor. At present, the only option for wet stock is cattle or sheep. The forage budget does not allow combinations of animal types.

57

2. If you have wet stock in the paddock, enter in a description of the class of animals in the paddock and the Number of Wet Stock in the paddock in the spaces provided. You can enter combinations of wet and dry stock. The dry stock details are entered in the next section.

3. A description of the class and Number of Dry Stock in the paddock is entered next (if there are any in the paddock). You also need to enter the average weight of the animals at the start of the budgeting period (Start Weight) and the expected average weight of the animals at the end of the budgeting period (End Weight). These figures will be used to automatically calculate an AE rating. If you have a few different classes of dry stock in the paddock (e.g. weaners, bulls and steers) put in the total number of animals in the paddock and calculate the average weight of all the different classes.

4. Enter in an estimate of Dry Matter Intake (DMI) for stock within the paddock. A default setting of 2.2% is given but you can adjust accordingly for feed quality. Stock on poor quality feed will eat as little as 1.5% of their body weight each day. On high quality feed, such as in a feedlot, they may eat up to 3% of their body weight per day.

5. When feeding some supplements, intake can increase significantly. DMI increase with supplement allows you to account for increased intakes. Unless you have better information, 15% is a generic figure commonly used.

6. Once all the information is entered into the Animals section Stocktake calculates the Amount of Pasture Eaten for the period in kg/ha.

Accounting for different types of animals

At present, the forage budget doesn’t specifically allow you to account for multiple types of animal (e.g. cattle, sheep, horses and kangaroos) in the paddock when working out the demand for pasture. It can be done, but instead of entering the actual number of animals in the paddock into the Dry Stock Numbers box, use your AE calculator provided on the Stocktake CD and work out the equivalent number of AEs and enter that figure instead. Because the animals have already been converted to AEs, then the standard AE weight of 450 kg needs to be entered into the Start and Finish Weights of the Dry Stock section.

For example, if you had a paddock with 100 1YO heifers, 2 horses and 100 kangaroos, this works out to be approximately 77 AEs. You would enter 77 into the number of Dry Stock section and enter 450 kg as the Start Weight and Finish Weight.



RESULTSAs data is entered into any of the white input cells the grey results cells at the bottom of the window are progressively updated.

Stocktake calculates and displays three sets of results in this section:

Pasture consumption rate

What proportion of usable pasture is eaten over the budgeting period. The proportion of pasture eaten has a bearing on the diet quality of grazing stock. Consumption rates of 30% or less will allow stock the best diet selection that can be expected from the available pasture. Consumption rates greater than 20% to 30%, depending upon the type of pasture, will reduce the stock’s ability to select from pasture and diet quality is compromised. If consumption rates are greater than 30% then it is likely supplements will be required.

How long the feed will last?

This section reports on both the number of days the feed will last and the date to which the feed will last, given the current stock numbers.

Number of adult equivalents that could be carried for the budgeting period

This number is calculated assuming that 100% of the useable pasture was consumed i.e. still allowing for a residual of pasture for ground cover.

PRINTForage budgets that you want to keep a record of should be printed out each time you change the parameters. A forage budget summary is not included in the Report section.

59

ReportsLAND CONDITIONThe Land Type / Site Condition Report produces a web page with land condition reports for the chosen land type. It lists:

Overall land type condition (A, B, C, or D)

Soil condition (1-5)

Pasture condition (1-4)

Tree density (m2/ha)

Ground cover (%)

Annual pasture growth (kg/ha)

Long-term carrying capacity (AE/yr for land type or management area)

Observations

Trayback and landscape photo.

When you click the produce report button, a chronological list of all land condition reports for that particular land type/site is presented. You may need to scroll down to fi nd the one you are looking for. The reports may be printed and stored as a hard copy.

PROPERTY CARRYING CAPACITY REPORTThe Property Carrying Capacity Report produces a web page which summaries for the selected property:

Area (ha)

Pasture production (kg/property)

Potential pasture production (kg/property)

Current carrying capacity (AE/property)

Potential carrying capacity (AE/property).

This information is then broken down further and details for both individual paddocks and property land types:

Area (ha)

Land condition (A, B, C or D)

Pasture production (kg/ha)

Potential pasture production (kg/paddock and land type area)

Current carrying capacity (AE/paddock and land type area)

Potential carrying capacity (AE/paddock and land type area).



Printing Property Carrying Capacity Reports

The Property Carrying Capacity Report is presented in landscape format (width-ways), but the printing page, by default, is orientated in portrait (length-ways) format. When you print the page, you need to change the page orientation from portrait to landscape to ensure that the whole report fi ts on the paper.

This is done by:

On the toolbar at the top of the page, click on Files

Choose Page Setup

At the bottom of the Page Setup window, in the Orientation area, click the Landscape button

Press the OK button

Print the page.

TRENDSThe trend report produces a graph of either stock numbers, land condition or pasture yield for a chosen paddock. For the property scale you can only plot total grazing pressure (AEs). There is a legend (not shown in picture below) that lists all the land types. This graph can also be printed.

Property ReportProperty Name Paradise DownsReport Date 17 Jun 2005Area (ha) 7282Pasture Production (kg/year) Current 29,426,267 Potential 40,253,060Carrying Capacity (AE) Current 2,501 Potential 3,414Current Stocking Rate (AE) 4312

Paddock Area

(ha)

Condition Pasture

Production

(kg/ha)

PotentialPasture

Production

(kg/ha)

Current CC(AE)

Possible CC(AE)

House & yards 40 A 4470 4470 15 15Bull 110 B 1827 2436 14 18Horse 150 B 6227 8303 77 102Bore 360 B 6227 8303 184 246Creek 1450 B 4239 6466 456 683Windmill 430 B 4790 6386 194 258Tank 465 C 2174 3938 83 151Bladeplough 1265 B 3534 4436 410 537Scrubby 905 B 4160 5547 344 459Ferals 512 C 2011 4470 85 188Road 880 B 4160 5547 324 433Bullock 475 A 6355 6355 248 248Dip 240 A 2955 3328 67 76

Land Type Area

(ha)

Condition Pasture

Production

(kg/ha)

PotentialPasture

Production

(kg/ha)

Current CC(AE)

Possible CC(AE)

Brigalow & Softwood Scrub (Gayndah) 1030 B 5902 8303 506 702Narrow-leaved ironbark on granite (Monto) 110 B 1827 2436 14 18Spotted gum ridges (Gayndah) 200 A 2483 2483 27 27Silver leaved ironbark on clay (Gayndah) 1292 B 3242 4470 296 475Blue gums on granite (Gayndah) 375 B 2419 3406 67 105Rundown phase of brigalow melonhole(Gayndah)

300 B 3554 4739 87 117

Box on clay (Gayndah) 800 B 3022 4739 199 312Newly developed brigalow melonhole(Gayndah)

3175 B 5084 6355 1305 1658

Any discrepancies between paddocks, land types and total values are most likely caused by incorrect areas entered into the photo site setup.

Site/Land Type Condition ReportPaddock CreekSite Brigalow TreedLocation Easting 253957,

Northing 1514428Land Type Brigalow & Softwood

Scrub (Gayndah)Site Area 200 hectaresReport Date 05 May 2004

Land Type Condition BSoil Condition 2Pasture Condition 2Tree Density (m2/ha) 2Area Covered by Trees (%) 80Ground Cover (%) 35Pasture Growth (kg/ha)

Current Condition 5571A Condition 8303

Carrying Capacity (AEs/yr for site) Current Condition 92

A Condition 136

Observations

New growth on suckers. Paddock hasn't been grazed since last November.

Trayback Photo

Landscape Photo

Trayback Photo

Landscape Photo

61

Regional land typesThe regional land types window lists all available land types for your region, their ‘safe’ utilisation rates and pasture productivity at different tree densities. This information is pre-set and cannot be adjusted in Stocktake.

IMPORT AND EXPORTThe import and export feature allows you to import and export land type pasture growth files and database as a text file.

When new land type pasture growth files become available, they will be placed on the Stocktake web site (www.dpi.qld.gov.au/stocktake) where you can copy them to an easily retrievable location on your computer, and then use the Import Land Type to import the file from that location into the Stocktake database. When importing the new land type files you will be asked if you would like to replace the existing records with imported records; press ‘yes’ to import the new files.

The import and export database option is only relevant if you need to move data between computers. It is unlikely you will ever need to use this option.



Import and exportThe import and export window allows you to export land types and the entire database to a text file without the photos to allow you to email them to other people.

Export entire database to a text file

The Export entire database to a text file feature allows you to export the entire database and it’s contents to a text file. At present this cannot be imported into another database, but we envisage this feature will be available in an updated version in the near future.

Export a land type file

The Export a land type file feature allows you to export land types from the database to a text file (this does not include any of the land type photos).

The Import land types feature will allow you to import land types from a text file without the photos allowing you to download land types from the web to update production values and add new land types.

63

Glossary of termsAdult Equivalents a system that allows livestock of different ages, weight and metabolic state to be compared equally according to their relative intakes (definition taken from Nutrition EDGE for consistency).

Amount Eaten is the amount of pasture consumed by the number of animals stocked during the budgeted season.

Animal Class is the type of animal that is consuming the pasture.

Class of Animal is a label for your use.

Current stock numbers from records is the number of adult equivalents taken from the stock numbers entered on the property details screen.

Detachment is the percentage of the pasture that will detach during the season you’re budgeting.

DMI increase with supplement is the percentage increase in the dry matter intake that occurs with supplementation.

Dry Matter Intake (DMI) is the percentage of liveweight of pasture that is being consumed per day.

Estimate Pasture Growth is the amount of pasture estimated to grow during the season you’re budgeting for.

Finish Weight is the weight of a single animal at the end of a season.

Grazing Days is the number of days between the start date and target date inclusive.

Ground Cover is the percentage of the ground with cover. Cover is regarded as anything that will intercept the fall of a raindrop and stop it from reaching bare soil. Examples of cover include plants, litter on the ground, manure, sticks and rocks. Definition in Nut EDGE is: the proportion of the soil surface that is covered by herbage, litter and manure, usually expressed as a percentage.

Land Condition Photo is a photo taken either as a landscape or trayback photo. The photo is a record of easily recognised changes occurring in the landscape.

Pasture Available is start pasture yield - unpalatable - detachment - residual yield + estimated pasture growth.

Pasture Condition is the capacity of the pasture to capture solar energy and convert it into palatable green leaf, to use rainfall efficiently, to conserve soil condition and to cycle nutrients.

Residual Yield is the standing pasture yield (green and dead) that you aim to have at end of the season you’re budgeting.



Soil Condition is the capacity of soil to absorb and store rainfall, to store and cycle nutrients, to provide a habitat for seed germination and plant growth and to resist erosion.

Start Date is the beginning of the budgeted season.

Start Pasture Yield is the standing pasture yield (green and dead) at beginning of the season you’re budgeting.

Start Weight is the weight of a single animal at the beginning of the forage budget.

Stock Numbers is the number of animals consuming the pasture during the budgeted season.

Target Date is the end of budgeted season or period.

Tree Basal Area (TBA) is a guide to tree density and is measured in m2/ha. It accounts for both tree stem size and number and is the best index of the competitive effect of trees with pasture.

Unpalatable is the percentage of the pasture that is usually not eaten by stock.

Useable Pasture is the quantity of pasture available for consumption over the budgeting period after discounting for unpalatables and detachment.

65Evaluation

Evaluation


Review Grazing Land Management PlanThe monitoring information you collect should be used for future property management planning. Actions may include such things as spelling a paddock that has low standing dry matter or ground cover, burning a paddock with an increasing prevalence of wiregrass, or, implementing a weed control program. The EDGEnetwork©, Grazing Land Management Workshop is a 3 day workshop that will help landholders gain a more in-depth knowledge about local grazing systems and management options. Topics covered include:

Understanding the grazing ecosystem,

Managing grazing,

Managing fi re,

Managing sown pastures,

Balancing trees and grass,

Managing weeds, and

Developing a grazing land management plan.

All local management scenarios used in the workshop are tested for economic viability. A few topics covered include:

SPELLINGAll paddocks should be either spelled, or at least conservatively stocked, at some time during the growing season to allow root stocks to develop and plants to set seed. As most pasture plants are dormant during the dry season, more damage can actually be done to pasture condition via overgrazing during the growing season than the dry season. Strategic spelling during the growing season can improve land condition and is critical to ensure current condition is maintained.

PASTURE IMPROVEMENTPasture productivity can be improved by sowing more palatable and higher yielding species, however, management is critical for ensuring successful establishment and longevity of your investment. To maximise establishment, pastures should be sown into a fallowed seedbed with a full soil profi le of moisture. Weeds and grazing should be avoided during establishment. Rundown in productivity from sown pastures over time is examined and options for stopping or slowing the rate of rundown are discussed.

Another option for pasture improvement is via deep ripping of established pastures to improve water infi ltration and mobilise nutrients. Unless the paddock is managed to sustain the improved condition this is usually only a short-term solution.

67

BURNINGBurning can be used for weed control, improving evenness of pasture use, improving pasture quality and for timber management. Burning requires a dry body of grass and should be done at a time of year when there is either good soil moisture, or a high probability of follow-up rain to ensure ground cover is quickly recovered. Most pasture burning is done in late winter or spring following rain.

WEED CONTROLWeed control can be given a priority order using the following table:

Urgent Not Urgent

Impo

rtan

tN

ot Im

port

ant

Urgent/Important

New infestations of recently germinated weeds (vegetative stage) which are easy to control and have not yet seeded

Not Urgent/ Important

Established populations of problem weeds which may have a significant effect on productivity

Urgent/ Not Important

Easy to control weed which are at the most economical growth stage to control (minimal labour/cost/chemical)

Not Urgent/ Not Important

Weeds that don’t have a big impact on productivity, but are unsightly and have other minor annoyances

TIMBER MANAGEMENTThe easiest and most economical time to control woody vegetation is while it is young. Management options include fire, chemical control, mechanical control and grazing. Managers can prioritise timber management using the weed control table outlined above.

COMPLETING THE CYCLEHaving implemented a range of strategies to improve land condition and productivity, the cycle of monitoring, recording and analysing starts over again. This is a cycle that will lead to continual improvement.

Evaluation


References:(2003) Chilcott, C.R., McCallum, B.S., Quirk, M.F. and Paton, C.J. Grazing Land Management Education Package Workshop Notes - Burdekin, Meat and Livestock Australia Limited, Sydney.

(2004) Chilcott, C.R, Oxley, T.J., Dyer, R.M. and MacDonald, R.N. Grazing Land Management Education Package Workshop Notes - Katherine, Meat and Livestock Australia Limited, Sydney.

(2003) Chilcott, C.R., Paton, C.J., Quirk, M.F. and McCallum B.S. Grazing Land Management Education Package Workshop Notes - Burnett, Meat and Livestock Australia Limited, Sydney.

(1997) GRASS Check – Grazier Rangeland Assessment for Self-Sustainability, 2nd Ed. DNR, Brisbane.

(1997) Littleboy, M. and McKeon, G. Subroutine GRASP: Grass production model. Appendix 2 of Evaluating the risks of pasture and land degradation in native pasture in Queensland. Final Project Report for RIRDC project DAQ124A. DRN, Brisbane.

(2002) Nutrition EDGE Workshop Notes, Meat and Livestock Australia Limited, Sydney. (Contact DPI&F, Qld).

stocktakestocktakeplus.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/stock...iii acknowledgements stocktake...

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