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Research helps farmers plan for autumn

March 29, 2005

scott_thumb.jpgThe Cicerone Project, which aims to help New England farmers make the most of local conditions, has been on show to the farming community.

Participants in a field day earlier this month saw and heard about the progress of experiments on grazing and pasture management being carried out by Cicerone staff with the participation of University of New England researchers. They visited the Project’s three experimental farmlets, located near Armidale, to see whole-farm comparisons of the effects of different levels of inputs and types of grazing management.

One of the UNE researchers, PhD candidate Libuseng Shakhane, spoke about her work which aims at measuring pasture growth rates and establishing the optimum balance between managing for the pasture feed supply and managing for the animals that graze on the pasture.

Titled “Issues for Autumn”, the field day focused on strategies for optimising pasture conditions at the beginning of the annual breeding cycle.

While inspecting the three farmlets, the participants discussed the different amounts and quality of pasture with Colin Mulcahy, a technical consultant for the Project who assesses each paddock every month. They discussed other livestock issues with Bob Marchant from the NSW Department of Primary Industries (who is a member of the Cicerone board) and his colleague Clare Edwards. They also discussed the results of soil tests showing the different nutrient regimes now apparent on the three farmlets.

UNE’s Professor Jim Scott spoke about the history of the Project, which was established in 1999 in consultation with local farmers. The three farmlets covered a total of 150 hectares, and were designed so that each would be subject to the same soil and climate conditions, he said. “We’re trying, here, to understand complex issues of whole farm management,” Professor Scott explained.

While the field day allowed farmers to see some of the trials for themselves as they plan for autumn, there will soon be an opportunity for all to hear a summary of the past four years of results. A full-day symposium, to be held in May, will present farmers, researchers, and other interested people with a great deal of detailed information relating to the Project and its research results. Titled “The Cicerone Farm under the Microscope”, the symposium, at Armidale Bowling Club on Monday 2 May, will be chaired by Ian Rogan of Australian Wool Innovation.

For more information on the symposium, please phone Caroline Gaden on (02) 6778 3871.

Media contact: Professor Jim Scott, School of Rural Science and Agriculture, UNE (02) 6773 2436 or Jim Scanlan, Public Relations, UNE (02) 6773 3049.

The photograph displayed here is available from Jim Scanlan (phone 6773 3049). It shows UNE's Professor Jim Scott with research student Libuseng Shakhane examining pasture growth during the Cicerone Project field day.

Posted by Jim Scanlan at March 29, 2005 10:25 AM