Selection of experimental treatments, methods used and evolution of management guidelines for comparing and measuring three grazed farmlet systems

Abstract

Abstract. The Cicerone Project was a collaborative effort by livestock producers, researchers and extension specialists, which aimed to explore the profitability and sustainability of grazing enterprises on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. A major part of the Project was the creation of a moderate scale, unreplicated farmlet experiment. The process of selecting the farmlet treatments and the design of the experiment involved considerable negotiation over an extended period in order to achieve 'ownership' by all those involved.The farmlets were designed to compare a typical farmlet (B) as the control with a second farmlet (A), which received higher levels of pasture renovation and soil fertility, and a third (C), which employed intensive rotational grazing management with short graze and long rest periods. Management guidelines were developed for all soil, pasture, livestock and grazing management decisions on the three farmlets.Whole-farmlet data are presented for the pastures sown, fertiliser applied, supplement fed, the stocking rates attained and the pattern of graze and rest periods over the experimental period from July 2000 to December 2006. Over the first 4 years of the trial, pastures were renovated on 71% of farmlet A while 8% of each of farmlets B and C were renovated. The rates of fertiliser applied to the three farmlets varied according to soil test values and the different target values for soil phosphorus and sulfur. In the first year of the trial (2000-01), the annual average stocking rates on farmlets A, B and C were 9.5, 7.9 and 9.1 dry sheep eqivalents/ha, respectively, whereas by the fifth year (2005), the stocking rates were 11.2, 7.8 and 7.4 dry sheep equivalents/ha, respectively. This paper provides details of the general methods used in the farmlet trial, of relevance to a series of related papers which explore all aspects of the farmlet experiment and its findings. It also reports on the selection and definition of the farmlet treatments and describes how the guidelines evolved over the duration of the trial in response to the practical realities of conducting this complex, agroecosystem experiment.

Grazing systems and worm control in sheep: a long-term case study involving three management systems with analysis of factors influencing faecal worm egg count

“…On the first of these points, the graze periods on farmlet C were typically less than 5-10 days (Hinch et al 2013a;Scott et al 2013a) and tended to be longer in winter and shorter in summer. Under optimal conditions of temperature and moisture, first development of T. colubriformis and H. contortus eggs to the infective L 3 stage in faeces takes 3 and 4 days, respectively (Hsu and Levine 1977) with appearance on herbage at Days 5 and 6, respectively (Cheah and Rajamanickam 1997).…”

“…The weather experienced during the trial period was mostly drier than average with more severe frost in winter than average (Behrendt et al 2013). The farmlet experiment commenced on 1 July 2000 following the subdivision of the three farmlets, each of 53 ha, which were managed under three different management systems described in detail by Scott et al (2013b). Stock was first introduced just before the start date and the experiment was completed by the end of 2006.…”

Reflections on the concept, conduct and findings of the producer-led Cicerone Project

“…The farmlets were each 53 ha in size thus providing the 'credible' scale sought by livestock producer members. The farmlet treatments have been described in detail by Scott et al (2013d) while the results have been reported in several related papers in this Special Issue.…”

“…This reflected the desire by all participants to see objective evidence from comparisons rather than rely on the claims made by proponents of various, more prescriptive systems (Scott et al 2013d). In addition, the livestock producers wanted investigations to take into account the risk of adopting different technologies compared with their traditional practices.…”

“…Although the treatments in the farmlet experiment remained fixed over time and were explicitly defined (Scott et al 2013d), some adaptive management was encouraged by the management Board, as this reflected realistic farm practices. For example, in the first year of the trial, when it became clear that the initial 17 paddocks on farmlet C were insufficient to achieve long grazing rests for the intensive rotational grazing treatment, permission was given to increase the number of paddocks to 37.…”