Determination of Benefits from Pasture Improvement

Summary

A collaborative project to assess the current status of temperate pastures in southern Australia was initiated by the National Pasture Improventent Coordinating Committee in 1993. The project entitled "Determination of Industry Benefits from Pasture Improvement" involved the consulting company Greenwich Group as manager, all State departments of agriculture, CSIRO Division of Animal Production and the National Resource Infonnation Centre. The project was made up of three parts, a survey, biogeographic modelling and economic modelling.
A survey of pasture types, their composition and associated attributes was carried out throughout southern Australia from June - October 1994. The census used Local Government Areas as the base geographical unit. Data were based on "desk estimates" by trained agriculturalists and answers to 18 questions were recorded on forms for each of 559 LGAs.
The survey database was completed and checked for accuracy and consistency. Outstanding or missing data were entered, errors in digitising corrected, and the consistency was checked by mapping answers for all questions.
The survey provides estimates of the percentage of each LGA occupied by particular pasture types. These pasture types are then described in terms of species present, their botanical composition, sown cultivars, purpose of pasture, main degradation issue if for Landcare, enterprise type, carrying capacity, irrigation percentage, ground cover in autumn and spring, condition of pasture, factors inducing decline, contribution to land degradation, and nutrient application and frequency.
​Potential adaptation zones for the major temperate pasture species were modelled for southern Australia using climate data and knowledge-based logical rules.
The value of the survey data for economic analysis was demonstrated by using subterranean clover data and related animal production for three regions of Victoria - N and S of North Central, and South West for four modelling scenarios.
This report presents a summary of: the structure of the survey database;
the infonnation available within the survey database;
the results of biogeographic and economic modelling;
the comparison of modelled and actual distributions;
a complete reference set of maps describing the distribution of major species;
examples of maps based on answers to other survey questions;
complete tables of estimated actual and potential areas of the major pasture species; and examples of integration with other spatial information to refine and enhance the survey data.​

The interpretation of the data acquired in this project and summarised here is for the user and reader to undertake. The survey data lend themselves to quite exhaustive analysis, and it is to be hoped that they will be put to good use.
Users of the survey database should be aware that
errors may still exist in data fields for any pasture type or species not mapped in this report;
the database is made available in Microsoft Access export files which should be readily imported into any database system; and the data constitute the infonned opinions of professional agriculturalists but should not be mistaken for objective measurements.