Cultivating the next generation of pasture scientists in Australia

Current students coming through agricultural faculties in Australian universities have grown up in an era of low wool and meat prices, the introduction and acceptance of no-till farming as the norm and a general decrease in mixed farming landscapes in favour of continuous cropping. Since the collapse of the wool reserve price scheme in 1991, wool prices declined and income on wool producing farms followed suit. R & D during this period has also declined from 5-4% agricultural GDP in 1986 to only 3% in 2005 and has favoured research related to cropping rather than that related to pastures and livestock. How then do we convince students that mixed-farming enterprises provide the sustainable future of farming? This paper provides a background to farming practises over the last 20 years, along with the economic, environmental and social basis for the decisions that have been made. In view of a changing climate, peak oil, food security issues and changing trends for global food consumption, it will then set the scene and discuss why pastures and livestock should be an integral component of future farming systems. Finally, it will discuss how we can change a whole generation of future farmers and researchers to see the value of livestock and pastures in their farming landscapes. Current price increases for wool and meat, and the value of spreading risk on-farm in an increasingly variable climate will provide a basis for this decision

Cultivating the Next Generation of Pasture Scientists in Australia

Current students coming through agricultural faculties in Australian universities have grown up in an era of low wool and meat prices, the introduction and acceptance of no-till farming as the norm and a general decrease in mixed farming landscapes in favour of continuous cropping. Since the collapse of the wool reserve price scheme in 1991, wool prices declined and income on wool producing farms followed suit. R & D during this period has also declined from 5-4% agricultural GDP in 1986 to only 3% in 2005 and has favoured research related to cropping rather than that related to pastures and livestock. How then do we convince students that mixed-farming enterprises provide the sustainable future of farming? This paper provides a background to farming practises over the last 20 years, along with the economic, environmental and social basis for the decisions that have been made. In view of a changing climate, peak oil, food security issues and changing trends for global food consumption, it will then set the scene and discuss why pastures and livestock should be an integral component of future farming systems. Finally, it will discuss how we can change a whole generation of future farmers and researchers to see the value of livestock and pastures in their farming landscapes. Current price increases for wool and meat, and the value of spreading risk on-farm in an increasingly variable climate will provide a basis for this decision

Threshold Learning Outcome 3: Inquiry and problem-solving

The Threshold Learning Outcomes (TLO) 3 Inquiry learning and problem-solving closely references TLO 3 for science (Jones et al. 2011). TLO 3.1, identifying contemporary issues and opportunities in agriculture is unique to agriculture TLO3. The Good Practice Guide for TLO 3 for science (Kirkup & Johnson 2013) provides a comprehensive review of the literature supporting inquiry learning and problem-solving, its development, successful delivery and implementation within higher education. This chapter highlights the main similarities and identifies the key differences between TLO 3 for science and TLO 3 for agriculture by: 1. providing background information on the role of inquiry learning and problem solving in professional agricultural practice. 2. a discussion of learning strategies and activities that could be used to develop TLO3 3. providing case studies that are working examples of the development and implementation of learning strategies and assessment across year levels of undergraduate programs in agriculture and agribusiness 4. highlighting the challenges and opportunities that exist for the implementation ofinquiry learning and problem-solving in an undergraduate program

Predictions of watertable depth and soil salinity levels for land capability assessment using site indicator species

Salt-affected land varies spatially and seasonally in terms of soil salinity and depth to the watertable. This paper asks whether native and naturalised species growing on saltland can be used as ‘indicators’ of saltland capability. The percentage cover of native and naturalised species was recorded in spring 2004 and 2005 across saltland transects on three sites in Western Australia. The presence of these plants was related to average soil salinity (ECe) at depth (25–50 cm), and depth to the watertable in spring. Eight naturalised species occurred with ≥40% cover on the sites. Species preferences varied, with some such as samphire (Tecticornia pergranulata) and puccinellia (Puccinellia ciliata) only occurring with shallow watertables (16 dS/m. Other species such as capeweed (Arctotheca calendula) and annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum) were dominant where watertables were deeper (>1.3 m) and salinity levels lower (ECe values 2–8 and 4–16 dS/m, respectively). Our data suggest that some of the species recorded can be used as indicators of saltland capability and, further, can predict the most productive species to sow in that area. Other species were found not to be good indicators as they displayed more opportunistic habitat requirements

Mapping the spatial and temporal stability of production in mixed farming systems: an index that integrates crop and pasture productivity to assist in the management of variability

While precision agriculture (PA) technologies are widely used in cropping systems, these technologies have received less attention in mixed farming systems. Little is known about the nature, extent, and temporal stability of spatial variability of pastures in mixed farming systems and the feasibility of managing this variability. This paper describes a technique to create a Stability Index based on both crop grain yield and pasture total green dry matter (TGDM) production over time, using high resolution spatial data in two climatic zones of Australia. Four productivity zones were used to characterise the Stability Index: high and stable, high and unstable, low and stable, and low and unstable. Mapping the indices shows the location and size of the spatial and temporal features of each paddock. The features of the stability zones generally corresponded with soil texture classes. Testing the Stability Indices with a Kruskal–Wallis one-way ANOVA showed significantly different medians for high and low production categories for both grain yield and pasture TGDM (p < 0.01). Crop grain yield stability showed significant differences between medians. In pasture TGDM, the differences between stability medians were not significant, but the technique still separated medians into stable and unstable groupings. This production Stability Index has the potential to be used by farmers to manage spatial variability in mixed farming systems by identifying homogenous areas within a paddock for investigation/amelioration and can also separate out areas of either spatial and/or temporal instability for specific management strategies

Using Group Collaborative Investigations to Develop Pasture Biomass Prediction Equations

Graduates from agriculture/agribusiness courses need to understand the multidisciplinary nature of agriculture, to think critically and solve problems in the role of an agricultural advisor. Producers are being exposed to new technologies developed for integration into agricultural production systems. Producers require technical support from external sources such as advisors and consultants, to identify relevant technologies, identify potential constraints of the technology and to support adoption. Information from such technologies may not be relevant to the production system, potentially resulting in information that has limited relevance. It is important that students develop an understanding of the processes used to develop predictive relationships between data generated by technology and the production system. In this study, students worked as collaborative teams, to design and implement an investigation aimed at developing prediction equations for pasture biomass using NDVI and a range of measurable agronomic parameters. The investigation provided students with the opportunity to gain an understanding of the importance and relevance of information to build prediction equations, to develop critical evaluation skills, to identify limitations to the process, propose solutions, and to work as a team to achieve the desired outcomes

The Value of Student-led Field Trials for Agronomic Industry Training

Maximising student employability on graduation by ensuring they have the discipline knowledge as well as the ‘soft skills’ required by employers is an important focus of university courses. Following completion of an Agribusiness or Agricultural Science degree, many students enter the workforce in industries where they are required to run their own field trials to test new products or varieties, or to research agronomic best practise. One of the approaches highlighted in this paper is to incorporate Work Integrated Learning (WIL), including authentic assessment, into unit learning outcomes where the practical component of a unit is focused on developing industry required skills, such as field trial management, data collection, analysis and report writing, as well as embedding core discipline knowledge. Students, working in small groups, are required to run their own research field trial over a semester, having been guided to develop their research question based on a current industry issue on a pre-sown crop, identify the measurements required to answer the question, and then plan their semester. At the end of the semester, the students present their work to the class and submit a conference-style research paper. Success is measured in relation to a clear hypothesis, measurements and analysis that addresses their hypothesis, and results related to the industry issue. Anecdotal feedback from students is that they enjoy the experience and responsibility of running their own trials, are able to add a skill to their curriculum vitae, and have increased confidence in their ability when entering the industry. The aim of this paper is to present an example of unit-level WIL, including authentic assessment that contains the application of discipline skills in crop science

Using a systems approach to investigate the efficacy of a disease rating system for Sclerotinia stem rot in canola

Sclerotinia stem rot (SSR), caused by the necrotrophic fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, is a major, but unpredictable disease of canola in Australia. However, there is no disease rating system for current canola varieties. Over the last four years the most common varieties of canola grown in Western Australia were assessed in the field using natural disease occurrence, and in glasshouse experiments using manual inoculations, to determine their susceptibility to SSR. The results highlighted the complexity and unpredictable nature of SSR with infection levels and varietal response varying depending on seasonal conditions and time of infection, despite limited levels of genetic resistance to SSR in current varieties. It is suggested that a disease rating system should not be based purely on inseason plant infection, but should also include potential for future infections through the contribution of sclerotia from infected plants to the system

Adaptive significance of within-site variation in morphological and reproductive traits of naturalized wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum) populations in South-Western Australia

Genotypic variation between and within populations of the outbreeding wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum L.), was studied using seeds collected from 55 sites across the West Australian wheat belt along 2 transects in December 1999 and February 2000. The seeds were grown at the University of Western Australia field station at Shenton Park, Perth, WA over the 2000 growing season, and 14 morphological and phenological characters were scored. A high degree of variation was present in all traits, and within site variation was greater than between sites. The greatest variation was recorded in the reproductive traits such as time to flowering, seed weight, and pod weight. Variation between sites was associated with geo-clusters based primarily on rainfall and temperature. Populations from sites with a high annual rainfall and low average temperature had longer and wider pods, larger seeds and pods with more segments, compared to populations from sites with a low annual rainfall and a high average temperature. These plants also tended to flower later than those from hotter, drier sites. The results show that wild radish in the wheat-belt of Western Australia has formed genotypically distinct populations in the 150 years since it was introduced, that are adapted to the climate at the site of collection