ScienceNetwork WA

RESEARCHERS say an increasing amount of land in Western Australia is being managed for environmental conservation, however mining companies are the single largest lease holder of what was previously pastoral land.

IT’S been described as the missing link in precision agriculture—and it could save the agricultural industry between $500 million and $1 billion annually.

WA has a new hope for drought-tolerant fodder during the dry months after researchers announce the plant tedera holds promise as a new pasture species for sheep and cattle.

WITHIN the context of impending climate variability and the uncertainty of unstable markets, soil experts are speaking up about the necessity to continue focusing on the State’s land management practices.

NEW UWA research looks at the economic impacts of implementing soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration methods into farming practices and shows that these impacts may prove impractical for farmers.

ACCORDING to research from the CSIRO, land administrators should be aware of the substantial ecological barriers and time frames involved in achieving rangelands of a particular composition following changes, as these have a major influence on what they can demand of pastoral leases.

A University of New England (NSW) researcher believes current livestock production methods must change to meet surging global demand for meat.

CURTIN University is developing technology that simultaneously chars and grinds biomass allowing it to be burned with coal in existing coal-powered generators.

ADDING livestock to no-till cropping systems could have benefits, according to new research although it does involve some trade-offs.

LIVESTOCK guardian dogs (LGD’s) provide a way for farmers to protect their stock against predators and new research shows their effectiveness on Australian properties.

IN a continuing bid to control the problematic rabbit population a new freeze-dried version of the Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease Virus (RHDV) bait—also known as Rabbit Calicivirus Disease—is set to be released by June 2013, according to developers the Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre (CRC).

SCIENTISTS in the USA and Australia have revealed in a new study that there is a clear link between rising global temperatures, changing rainfall patterns and oceanic salinity levels.

ALTERNATIVE food networks—those outside of the established international agribusiness model—are gaining momentum as more and more consumers become interested in where and how their food is produced.

A MURDOCH PhD student has investigated the factors affecting glycogen levels in the meat of animals.

THE CSIRO and the Australian Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) have announced a breakthrough in the search for a sustainable source of industrial oils by genetically engineering a Super-High Oleic (SHO) variety of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius).

INSECTS may form a sustainable, nutritious alternative to meat in the effort to keep food production in pace with the planet’s booming population.

AGRICULTURAL research by the CSIRO has found allowing livestock to graze crops in winter can significantly increase farm earnings and efficiency, including in WA’s Wheatbelt.

ACCORDING to Gingin Vermin Action Group, an economic incentive to cull foxes and feral cats is needed to control the impact on farming and native wildlife which is currently under threat.

ADEQUATE food that can be accessed by all West Australians from a safe, affordable, nutritious and environmentally sustainable food supply is a key priority in developing food security for the State.

THE shortfall in supply of noodle wheat last year after a harsh dry season in WA does not spell a need for overseas markets to source their wheat elsewhere, according to Department Grains Industry Genetic and Product Innovation director Robert Loughman.