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Abstract

Coastal pastures on King Island perform below their potential mainly because of the lack of nitrogen,
due to the absence of legumes. This demonstration was therefore initiated to assess the potential
for productivity improvement from ensuring nitrogen sufficiency. This was achieved by applying
nitrogen fertiliser and measuring live weight responses by grazing cattle.
Pasture production increased in response to the addition of nitrogen fertiliser. However the cattle
live weight response was less than that observed in other similar areas of Tasmania making the
application of nitrogen uneconomic. A possible explanation is the absence of companion legumes
with the consequence of reduced pasture quality.
Given there is about 16 000 ha of coastal legume deficient pasture on King Island, the results of this
project can be directly translated to improve productivity of this part of the island. Increased stocking
rate arising from adoption of these results will increase the throughput of animals through the local
abattoir with associated increases in processing efficiency and benefits to the local island economy.

Item Type:	Report (Technical Report)
Authors/Creators:	Williams, P
Publisher:	Meat and Livestock Australia Limited
Additional Information:	© 2007 Meat & Livestock Australia Limited
Item Statistics:	View statistics for this item

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