Producers dealing with problem pasture species that cause seed contamination and production losses in lamb production systems

Previous research has shown that the seed shed by some prevalent pasture species during spring and early summer in the Central West slopes of NSW, have a substantial negative effect on lamb health and production (Campbell et al. 1972). The problem is particularly severe in young sheep and results in production losses on-farm from reduced live weight gain, wool contamination and carcass contamination reducing returns to the producer (Little et al. 1993). Animal health and welfare issues that also cause major concerns includes abscess formation from seed penetration, flystrike and reduced mobility which impacts upon feed and water intake. Within the supply chain processors experience reduced efficiency due to the trimming required for heavily seed contaminated carcasses. In 2008, a group of producers came together with the aim of forming effective networks where information could be distributed and discussed on relevant sheep industry issues (titled the Central West Sheep Producers group). With the supervision of private and government researchers, the group aimed to discover effective ways of managing problematic pasture species in their district. The group identified two stages that would be used to investigate the problem. This paper reports the outcomes from the first stage of experimental work and introduces the proposed methodology for the second stage.