In an innovative approach, incentive payments for establishing and improving pastures are being linked to education projects.

Past experience shows that incentive payments not linked to training often fail because there is no guarantee best management practice will be followed to promote pasture establishment.

This is because producers trying to establish perennial pastures face other concerns prior to sowing.

If they are not managed before sowing, impediments like weeds and insects, and important dynamics such as soil pH and soil nutrition, alone or in combination, can lead to establishment failure.

Once a pasture is successfully established, it needs to be carefully managed to get the best economic performance, while ensuring the pasture persists for a satisfactory time.

Under the scheme developed by NSW Department of Primary Industries and the Murrumbidgee Catchment Management Authority (CMA), incentive payments are offered for:

• managing perennial pastures through, for instance, fencing of alternative water supplies for stock,
• managing saline pasture through use of salt tolerant pastures, earthworks and fencing, and
• establishing forests on farms to intercept saline ground water.

In order to obtain payments, producers need to undertake training courses such as Landscan and Prograze, as well as be trained in best management practice for establishing perennial pastures.

The Landscan course aims to help producers determine the best use for an area of land.

For example, some areas may be highly suited to establishing perennial pasture, some are better left as native pasture, while others may be best left as remnant vegetation.

Factors such as topography, soil type, existing vegetation and soil tests all help to determine the role an area of land may have.

Landscan aims to equip producers with the ability to make these judgements, or at least be aware of issues that may require further investigation.

The Prograze course covers all aspects of better management of perennial pastures, such as soil fertility and judging carrying capacity.

Both NSW DPI and the CMA are aware that establishing perennial pastures is an expensive business.

If the area needs to be limed before sowing, establishment costs can be in order of $200 per hectare.
In addition, there will be costs associated with weed control in the years leading up to sowing.

Due to the expense, producers are often reluctant to try perennial pastures even though there are recognised benefits in productivity and efficient use of soil water.

The incentive scheme aims to help producers get started in perennial pastures; the education component seeks to ensure people know why the guidelines for success are important.

Up to $2500 is available per property for on-ground works including sowing perennial pastures in recharge zones, sowing saline pastures, sowing pasture demonstrations and better management of existing perennial pastures.

The project will improve farm profitability, reduce the amount of salt reaching the Murrumbidgee River, improve soil health and reduce groundwater recharge by increasing the amount of perennial plants in the landscape.

Contact Mike Keys, Queanbeyan, (02) 6297 1861, or Janelle Jenkins, Cootamundra, (02) 6942 4957.

This story appears Agriculture Today.