Upgrade for Vasse Research Centre benefits beef and dairy industries

17/06/04
Upgrading of the Department of Agriculture's Vasse Research Centre will ensure the State's dairy and beef industries benefit from future advancements in research and development.
Agriculture Minister Kim Chance today officially opened office space at the research station, which has been refurbished at a cost of $220,000.
Mr Chance said the progressive research facility provided producers with world class outcomes from practical projects with both local and national importance.
The station would accommodate additional staff relocated from the nearby Busselton office, which closed in April.
In total, 21 were now stationed at the Vasse Research Centre servicing dairy and beef research activities, natural resource management, biosecurity and animal health programs.
Mr Chance said the Busselton staff would boost the Vasse research team and help with new dairy projects as part of the successful Vasse Milk Farmlets (VMF) demonstration which provides new benchmarks for the dairy industry.
"The Department of Agriculture is continuing its animal production, pasture utilisation and fodder conservation research as part of the Vasse Milk Farmlets and applying it to the industry," the Minister said.
"New fodder sources and their use will be examined in detail as part of the Department's fodder utilisation strategy. New projects are currently being developed in partnership with industry to address these issues."
Mr Chance said environmentally responsible farming strategies would also be included in the next round of demonstration dairy systems in the VMF project.
The environmental focus reflected increasing concern about nutrient run-off in intensive agricultural production and the impact on the wider environment.
"In 2005, the department will be starting a major new dairy project to assess options for farmers to improve profitability and environmental outcomes of future dairy farming systems," the Minister said.
"The new work will investigate a variety of strategies to manage nutrient loss, while at the same time maintaining a highly productive and profitable dairy farming system.
"New demonstration farmlets will include some innovative paddock-scale approaches, such as low phosphorus grass-based production systems and the use of nitrate-formation inhibitors.
"This work will be the most comprehensive water and nutrient monitoring yet at the Vasse Milk Farmlets."
The department has already undertaken some preliminary research at the farmlets to quantify the amount of nutrient loss.
The major source of nutrient run-off in intensive dairy systems was not just fertiliser or dairy effluent, but also nutrients contained in imported feed that supported high production per hectare.
By monitoring the nutrients in run-off and ground water, department researchers have been able to quantify the extent of nutrient losses under different dairy systems.
Mr Chance said the results highlighted the importance of taking a whole-of-farm approach to managing nutrient losses and moving beyond just thinking about dairy effluent ponds.
Minister's office: 9213 6700