Developing whole farm Integrated Management programs for Unpalatable grasses

Summary

This project was initiated to better understand the true cost of managing unpalatable grasses such as CNG and ST. Previous research into the management of these weeds had identified tactics that could be used. Although these trials formed the basis of national best practice guides, they did not consider how the control strategies could fit in different farming systems, or the economic costs of undertaking such programs. This project aimed to validate the control strategies with producers and also undertake economic analysis of the control programs. 
What was achieved? 
 A lifecycle model, for both CNG and ST, was developed and used as the basis of discussions with technical experts and producers about the effectiveness and cost of control tactics. The model was fine tuned at district workshops and used in conjunction with a financial spreadsheet to calculate the economic cost of undertaking a whole farm weed control program. This exercise highlighted the practicalities of not only managing the weed in different land classes, over multiple years, but also the expected returns and financial implications across the farm system. The information from each district workshop was compiled and validated against the lifecycle model to create the district management plans for the various land classes. These documents have also been used to formulate an in-field Validation/Demonstration proposal. 
When and how industry can benefit from the work 
 The development of district specific management plans will raise the awareness of producers to the costs of uncontrolled infestations and enable livestock producers to forward plan their control strategies for these two weeds thus reducing production costs and further spread of the weed. The district plans represent a pooled knowledge of both technical and production minded land managers, based on producers proven and local knowledge. It is likely that producers will not readily commit to the more costly or risky management options without having first hand experience of the program in their district. For this reason a proposal for a multi site/ multi State validation / demonstration proposal has been developed.