Pastures

Pastures play a major role in agricultural enterprises and contribute over $3 billion annually in Western Australia through animal production, improvements to crop rotations and conserved fodder. In a typical year pastures occupy up to half the land in low to medium rainfall areas and over two thirds of the land in high rainfall areas. Improved pastures are increasingly being used to play a more comprehensive role in farming systems to address emerging challenges for environment protection and food production.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development is a world leader in pasture breeding and selection, grazing systems design and agronomic management of pastures. The department provides information, tools and resources to support the success of the agriculture sector in improving the productivity and profitability of pasture systems under both dryland and irrigated conditions. 

Previous Pause Next

Articles

  • NULL

    Pasture legumes and grasses for saline land

    14 February 2018

    Saline lands in Western Australia (WA) often suffer winter waterlogging, with the levels of salinity and depth to watertable varying markedly both spatially and between seasons.

  • Pasture growth rate map image

    Pasture feed on offer (FOO) and growth rate maps

    5 July 2018

    These maps are generated from Pastures from Space to estimate pasture feed on offer (FOO) as kilograms of dry matter per hectare, and plant (pasture and crop) growth rates (PGR) as kilograms of dry

  • Lamboo Station, Aerial 4 - cattle moving

    Northern Beef Development project

    20 August 2014

    Growing global demand for Australian beef products, driven primarily by Asian countries, presents opportunities to expand livestock production and value add in the Kimberley and Pilbara regions of

  • NULL

    Pasture recovery after fire

    21 March 2018

    Most unplanned fires have a drastic effect on a pasture. Fire changes the plant composition and reduces growth and carrying capacity in the following season.

  • Establishment: plant cotyledons are still present.

    Deferred grazing calculator

    7 April 2015

    Deferred grazing is a tactic where stock are excluded from pasture areas to maximise germination and establishment of annual pasture seedlings.

  • Sheep standing in the middle of a paddock.

    Pasture manipulation - for grass control

    30 April 2015

    Pasture manipulation is the application of herbicides for grass control early in the growing season (autumn or early winter).

    It is often the preferred option for grass control.

  • Trail feeding of ewes in late summer on dry pasture.

    Grazing stubbles and dry pasture

    18 November 2013

    Dry pastures in Western Australia provide good early feed after senescence but rapidly become unable to maintain stock.

  • NULL

    Water salinity and plant irrigation

    8 April 2014

    Irrigating with water of higher salinity than a crop can tolerate results in yield loss and decreased quality.

  • Header harvesting a field of yellow serradella

    Seed harvesting, processing and cleaning of serradella

    8 January 2013

    Cultivars of French serradella (Eliza, Cadiz, Erica and Margurita) and yellow serradella (Charano, Santorini and Yelbini) have been developed with the aim of reducing the cost of seed production.

  • Flowers of French serradella

    French serradella - use and management

    11 December 2012

    Cadiz, Eliza, Margurita and Erica have different characteristics allowing them to be used in different agricultural systems.

Pages

Filter by search

Filter by topic