| Project
Title |
Development
of an accounting standard for self-generating and regenerating assets |
| RIRDC
Project No.: |
AAR-1A |
| Researcher: |
Robert Keys |
| Organisation: |
Australian Accounting Research
Foundation
211 Hawthorn Road
CAULFIELD VIC 3162 |
| Phone: |
03 9524 3600 |
| Objectives |
-
To develop accounting standards on self-generating and regenerating
assets (SGARAs) that prescribe the recognition, measurement and disclosure
rules to be followed in reporting SGARAs and the related revenue in the
financial reports of both public and private sector entities.
|
| Background: |
Prior to this project being undertaken,
there were no accounting standards that dealt specifically with SGARAs.
Preliminary research identified how important SGARA related industries
are to the Australian economy, and the diverse financial reporting practices
that have emerged within those industries. The lack of accounting standards
for SGARAs was seen by many as leading to non-comparable reporting resulting
in a barrier to investment in SGARA related industries. |
| Research |
SGARAs are defined as non-human
living assets and include livestock including sheep and cattle); trees
in pine planatations, native forests and orchards; vines in vineyards;
and other biological assets held for commercial purposes. The are unique
in that they change in biological form over their lives. Traditional historical
cost accounting was seen as inadequate in dealing with the uniqueness of
SGARAs because the value of biological change that occurs naturally as
a result of costless inputs (for example rainfall or sunlight) is not adequately
reflected in the costs incurred in managing SGARAs. In addressing this,
the project concluded that SGARAs should be measured at current values
(in particular net market values). The Standards that resulted from the
project provide guidance on the determination of net market value whether
or not an active and liquid market for the SGARAs exists.
Measuring SGARAs at net market value gives rise to the
question of how to account for the change in net market value that may
occur during a reporting period. The project considered various alternatives,
including:
-
Recognising the entire change directly in equity
-
Recognising the change attributable to biological change
in the profit and loss statement and recognising the change attributable
to price change directly in equity and
-
Recognising the entire change in the profit and loss statement.
|
| Outcomes |
The project resulted in the issue
of Australian Accounting Standard AAS 35 and Accounting Standard AASB 1037
"Self Generating and Regenerating Assets", applicable to reporting periods
ending on or after 30 June 2000. |
| Implications |
The project concluded in favour
of recognising the entire change in the profit and loss statement on the
basis that it provides more relevant information on the financial performance
of the SGARAs.
Another consequence of measuring SGARAs at net market
value is the question of how to account for the non-living produce of SGARAs.
Because non-living produce is not an SGARA, it would fall within the scope
of existing Standards (particularly those that relate to accounting for
inventories) and would be required to be measured at the lower of cost
and net realisable value. The project concluded that it would be unreasonable
to require SGARAs to be measured at net market value and then to require
the non-living produce extracted therefrom to be measured at cost. To address
this issue, the project concluded that the net market value of non-living
produce immediately after it becomes non-living should be deemed to be
the cost of the non-living produce.
The Standards also prescribe presentation of and disclosures
about SGARAs that provide users of financial reports with relevant and
reliable information to enable them to make resource allocation decisions. |
| Project
Title |
Using
management practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Australian
agriculture |
| RIRDC
Project No.: |
ABA-3A |
| Researcher: |
Ali Abdalla |
| Organisation: |
ABARE
GPO Box 1563
CANBERRA ACT 2601 |
| Phone: |
02 6272 2082 |
| Fax: |
02 6272 2001 |
| Objectives |
-
The aim in this study is to assess the potential impacts
on farm income and emissions in broadacre agriculture of adopting some
emission reducing management practices. A wide range of farm management
practices could potentially contribute to reductions in emissions of greenhouse
gases from agriculture.
|
| Background: |
The agricultural sector is a contributor
to Australia's greenhouse gas emissions but, through changes in farm management
practices, could play a part in reducing the level of national emissions.
Variation of agriculture management practices is viewed by many as a promising
option for achieving this goal. A foreshadowed obligation to curb emissions
has prompted Australian industries to seek ways of abating emissions at
minimum cost
RIRDC commissioned ABARE to undertake this project to
explore this proposition. The impacts on farm income of some farm management
practices, known for their capability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,
if such practices were more widely adopted by farmers, were explored in
this research project. |
| Research |
The effects of practices were
analysed through simulations of a linear programming model. Estimates for
net incomes and emissions were obtained using parameters provided by BRS
and data on private costs and benefits of implementation.. First, a reference
case scenario using low uptake rates for each practice in the production
of broadacre commodities -wheat, summer crops, winter crops, beef cattle,
sheep, lambs and wool was simulated to generate emissions and net incomes.
Second, a wider adoption scenario was used to generate estimates for income
and emissions under the assumption that the practices would be more widely
adopted. Third, a constrained emission scenario was estimated with uptake
rates of practices the same as those in the reference case but emissions
capped at levels obtained from simulation of the wider adoption scenario.
Given equal emissions under the two scenarios, resultant incomes were compared
to highlight the lower cost of imposing identical emissions if some of
the practices were widely adopted. |
| Outcomes |
The results from the analysis
suggest that application of the practices would be helpful in mitigating
losses in farm incomes when a given reduction in emissions of greenhouse
gases is to be achieved. |
| Implications |
Possible impacts of worldwide
adoption of vaccines on broadacre farm incomes through changes in world
livestock supply and prices were also examined. The implications of a worldwide
uptake of vaccination would be an expansion in world production of livestock
products and, consequently, a fall in world prices. This would represent
income losses to Australian producers. However, the losses would be much
higher if reductions in emissions were to be realised unaided by the wider
adoption of the emissions reducing management practices. |
| Project
Title |
Standard
for the determination of pest status |
| RIRDC
Project No.: |
AQS-2A |
| Researcher: |
Dr Bob Ikin |
| Organisation: |
Australian Quarantine and Inspection
Service
GPO Box 858
CANBERRA ACT 2601 |
| Phone: |
02 6272 5250 |
| Fax: |
02 6272 3307 |
| Email: |
bob.ikin@aqis.gov.au |
| Internet: |
|
| Objectives |
-
To develop a national standard that provides a consistent
framework for documenting pest (including disease) records and quantifying
their reliability as well as providing a framework for categorising pests
as present, absent or transient in a given area.
-
To evaluate the compliance of existing pest records with
this standard.
|
| Background: |
Pest records are principally maintained
at pest collections held by organisations such as State departments of
agriculture and the CSIRO. These pest records form a valuable technical
resource for use in compiling market access submissions for Australian
agricultural exports and for assessing the quarantine risk associated with
agricultural imports. Previously, however, in the absence of an appropriate
national standard for pest records, it has been difficult to establish
the accuracy and reliability of Australian pest records. |
| Research |
The first stage of the project
was to develop the national standard, in consultation with the curators
of major Australian pest collections. The second stage of the project was
to evaluate the conformity of existing pest records with the national standard. |
| Outcomes |
The national standard was finalised.
Existing pest records at pest collections were found to conform well with
the national pest records standard.
Difficulties were encountered with the retrieval and collation
of pest record information from pest collections, as the collections generally
use incompatible electronic databases and one collection uses only a hard
copy database. The situation could be improved through the implementation
of linked or at least compatible electronic databases at the pest collections.
Lack of curation resources at pest collections was also
identified as a problem, particularly with some of the nematode collections.
This threatens to result in the loss of specimens from collections. |
| Implications |
The high degree of compliance
of existing pest records will allow the collation of pest information of
known reliability for import risk assessments and for the support of export
market access proposals. This will facilitate exports and imports of plants
and plant products. |
| Project
Title |
The
impact of soil tillage practice on soil fauna in the N.S.W. wheat belt |
| RIRDC
Project No.: |
CSE 69A |
| Researcher: |
Dr B.C. Longstaff |
| Organisation: |
CSIRO Entomology
GPO Box 1700,
CANBERRA, ACT 2601 |
| Phone: |
02 6246 4181 |
| Fax: |
02 6246 4362 |
| Email: |
bcl@ento.csiro.au |
| Objectives |
-
To produce an account of the effect of tillage and stubble-management
practices on the soil fauna at two long-term wheat-producing trial sites
in NSW.
-
To assess the role of the fauna in processes leading to changes
in soil under reduced tillage.
-
To develop further the potential of springtails and mites
as bioindicators of soil condition.
|
| Background: |
Management of soils is vital to
Australian
agriculture to ensure both profitability and sustainability. Reduction
in tillage and increasing retention of residues or stubble are two practices
being advocated for improving soils. Both these practices have effects
on the soil biota that can impact on their relative abundance. This project
reports investigations of the effect of tillage and residue management
on mites and springtails, which are the most abundant of the soil fauna
and can have major effects on soils or crop plants. |
| Research |
The soil fauna was sampled from
replicated plots under different tillage treatments at Cowra and Harden,
NSW, during spring and autumn in each of three years. Diversity, abundance
and trophic structure were analysed. |
| Outcomes |
-
33 springtails and 67 mite taxa were identified, mostly to
species. Many new and undescribed species were found. The abundances of
all taxa were assessed and possible relationships between abundance of
each group and soil biological processes discussed.
-
Differences between tillage treatments in the diversity and/or
abundance of most trophic groups were found that suggested a shift toward
fungal-feeding under the reduced tillage.
-
Potentially useful indicator species for demonstrating change
in soil condition were identified and an assessment of the implications
of this research, together with recommendations for further investigations
are presented.
|
| Implications |
In general, reducing tillage and
increasing input of crop residue has a positive effect on beneficial soil
animals. The types of residues, and the depth in the soil at which they
decompose, may have a major influence on the subsequent mobilization of
nutrients. |
| Project
Title |
Bacterial
toxin genes for engineering insecticidal viruses |
| RIRDC
Project No.: |
CSE-70A |
| Researcher: |
Peter D. East |
| Organisation: |
CSIRO Entomology
GPO Box 1700
CANBERRA, ACT 2601 |
| Phone: |
02 6246 4127 |
| Fax: |
02 6246 4173 |
| Objectives |
-
To support the sustainable production of crops in Australia
through the provision of bacterial toxin genes effective as inserts for
recombinant viruses that will be used to replace environmentally damaging
synthetic insecticides
|
| Background: |
The sustainability of agricultural
systems is threatened by our continued reliance on synthetic chemical insecticides
and the accompanying problems of resistance development and environmental
damage. In the area of insect pest control recombinant DNA technologies
have opened the way for development of transgenic crops expressing genes
encoding insecticidal proteins and for development of bioinsecticides based
on viruses carrying suitable toxin genes. Development of products appropriate
to Australian industries requires new toxin proteins effective against
Australia’s pest insects. |
| Research |
The research involved the isolation
of genes that code for insecticidal proteins using a source material a
collection of insect pathogenic bacteria. Bacterial cultures containing
cloned DNA fragments were assayed to identify toxin genes. The genes were
characterised by DNA sequencing and the activities of the toxins were determined
by bioassays with a range of pest insects. Toxin protein produced by recombinant
DNA techniques was purified and used for quantitative assays of insecticidal
efficacy and cytotoxic activity. |
| Outcomes |
A new toxin gene was cloned from
Photorhabdus and the putative toxin protein was identified by sequence
analysis. The toxin was approximately 80% identical to one we had previously
isolated from Xenorhabdus. Toxins expressed from general purpose cloning
vectors were active by injection against both lepidopteran and dipteran
insects and were orally active against two sucking insect pests.
Recombinant toxins were expressed and purified for quantitative
bioassay of two lepidopteran insects, Galleria and Helicoverpa. The Xenorhabdus
form of the toxin was almost 100 times more potent against H. armigera
compared to the Photorhadus form, whereas the two were almost equipotent
against G. mellonella.
Preliminary screens suggested that these bacteria might
produce more than one class of toxin protein. Additional toxin producing
cosmid clones were identified for both genera of bacteria but toxin activity
was rapidly lost during serial sub-culturing of the clones. This suggested
that the expression cloning strategy originally used to isolate the toxin
genes characterised during this project was not likely to be generally
applicable. |
| Implications |
The new bacterial toxin genes
isolated and characterised in this project have potential use as transgenic
inserts in at least two different crop protection applications, namely
for engineered viral insecticides and for engineering of insect-resistant
crop plants. Further work on toxin potency, host range and oral activity
is needed to determine the potential of these genes for deployment in crop
protection products. |
| Project
Title |
Impact
of climate change on pests and pest management |
| RIRDC
Project No.: |
CSE-76A |
| Researcher: |
Dr Robert W Sutherst |
| Organisation: |
CSIRO Entomology,
Long Pocket Laboratories
PMB 3
INDOOROOPILLY QLD 4068 |
| Phone: |
07 3214 2800 |
| Fax: |
07 3214 2881 |
| Email: |
R.Sutherst@ento.csiro.au |
| Internet: |
www.ento.csiro.au/research/pestmgmt/pestmgmt.html |
| Objectives |
-
To equip our rural industries to respond to the likely impacts
of climate change on pests and Australian pest management strategies.
|
| Background: |
Climate change is uncertain and
there is concern that it may have severe socio-economic impacts on Australian
rural industries. Proposed approaches for estimating impacts of climate
change on pests were to be tested in two case studies. |
| Research |
The report defines the vulnerability
of the horticultural industries to changes in production losses and control
costs associated with two pest species under a changed climate. The pests
were the Queensland fruit fly and the light brown apple moth. It then compares
the impacts and adaptation options for each species. |
| Outcomes |
The current cost of Queensland
fruit fly was estimated to be $30.2M pa. Costs to growers were estimated
to increase by 9-68% with increases of 0.5- 2oC. While growers
in infested Queensland fruit fly areas can expect their control costs to
increase by 40-50%, costs in the Fruit Fly Exclusion Zone are estimated
to increase by 24-83%. Climatic warming threatens the sustainability of
area freedom in the Fruit Fly Exclusion Zone. The current cost of light
brown apple moth was estimated to be $21 M pa. Costs to growers were estimated
to decrease by 4.5-29% with increases of 0.5 -2.0oC respectively.
Australian horticulture should suffer less damage from light brown apple
moth under climate change than at present, but the apple industry in Tasmania
may suffer increases. |
| Implications |
The southern States of Australia
are considered to be very vulnerable to impacts of Queensland fruit fly
under modest projected increases in temperatures. The extent of the likely
cost increases raises doubts about the willingness of the industries to
pay. Australia’s vulnerability will be reduced by appropriate decisions
on infrastructure and planned market access in southern States well in
advance of significant climate change. A comparison of the two test cases
reveals that impact assessments will need to be carried out on a case by
case basis for each of the major pest, disease and weed species in Australia.
In addition, each assessment will need to be made on a national, industry
or at least regional basis to define the different sensitivities of each
area. |
| Publications |
Sutherst, R.W., Collyer
B. S. and Yonow, T. (submitted). The vulnerability of Australian horticulture
to the Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera (Dacus) tryoni, under climate
change. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research. |
| Project
Title |
Sustainable
agricultural systems: indicators for rural industry and community use |
| RIRDC
Project No.: |
CS0-8A |
| Researcher: |
Dr D J Reuter |
| Organisation: |
CSIRO Land and Water
PMB 2,
GLEN OSMOND SA 5064 |
| Phone: |
08-8303 8409 |
| Fax: |
08-83038550 |
| Email: |
doug.reuter@adl.clw.csiro.au |
| Objectives |
-
To establish a means for rural communities in dryland agricultural
areas to use indicators for assessing the impact of farm practice on the
environment.
|
| Background: |
During the 1990s, sustained growth
in property and catchment planning, industry education programs (eg. by
GRDC’s TOPCROP) and the community-based Landcare programs have occurred
These programs are testimony to widespread public interest in the impacts
that present systems of landuse are posing on region environments and the
viability of farming.
There is now an expectation that Australia’s rural industries
must adopt practices that are both ecologically sustainable and profitable.
Challenging resource management issues and problems needs to be identified
and then resolved either by land managers or local community action. |
| Research |
The primary focus of this project
has been to provided rural land holders and communities with practical
tools for benchmarking and monitoring the condition of their local land
and water resources.
With RIRDC financial support, the project’s work was tackled
in three stages, namely:
1. convening the National Workshop on Indicators
of Catchment Health in Adelaide during early December 1996 (see attached
Proceedings). This forum, attended by indicator specialists and leaders
of community action groups from across Australia, developed future directions
for monitoring resource conditions in catchments. Attendees at the Workshop
received a copy of a newly published CSIRO book (attached) entitled: ‘Indicators
of Catchment Health: a technical perspective’(CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne).
2. the development of a user-friendly CD-ROM product,
called PADDOCKCARE (attached) which provides indicator information on how
to monitor and record resource condition on southern Australian farms.
3. a publication describing a perspective for the
challenges facing the development and adoption of indicators of catchment
health in Australia.
|
| Outcomes
& Implications |
The above products provide significant
outcomes from this project, which involved close collaboration between
staff in CSIRO Land and Water, Primary Industries and Resources, South
Australia and the University of Adelaide. |
| Project
Title |
New
methodology for lime requirements and use in decision support systems |
| RIRDC
Project No.: |
CSO-9A |
| Researcher: |
RH Merry and LJ Janik |
| Organisation: |
CSIRO Land and Water
PMB No 2
GLEN OSMOND SA 5064 |
| Phone: |
08 8303 8422; 08 8303 8444 |
| Fax: |
08 8303 8505 |
| Email: |
richard.merry@adl.clw.csiro.au;
les.janik@adl.clw.csiro.au |
| Objectives |
-
To investigate the application of infrared spectroscopy to
the prediction of a number of soil chemical and physical properties, particularly
properties that are related to soil acidity and lime use.
-
It also investigated some aspects of soil preparation, potentially
one of the most expensive parts of the methodology, on the results obtained.
|
| Background: |
Soil analysis is generally considered
to be under-utilised in Australian agriculture, but is likely to develop
greater demand with intensification and the introduction of precision agriculture.
A major disincentive to its wider use is the cost of individual analyses.
Soil "analysis" using infrared spectroscopy is a new technology for many
soil chemical and some physical properties, as well as potentially being
fast and relatively simple to perform.
We used sets of hundreds of soils from different parts
of Australia that had been analysed with various laboratory methods to
test ways of predicting these properties using infrared analysis. This
required soils to be dried, ground, their spectra scanned and then calibrated
with conventional soil analysis data. This enabled the prediction of the
properties of other soils. |
| Research |
In this research we have confirmed
that soil analysis using infrared techniques is capable of simultaneously
estimating many soil properties, including some such as lime requirement,
pH, cation exchange capacity, carbon content and clay content.
The spectrum of a small soil sample can be obtained and
stored on a computer in less than one minute. Near infrared and mid infrared
were compared and mid infrared found to be superior, though near infrared
had the advantage of field portability.
The fineness of grinding, has a significant effect on
how representative the soil sample is and how well its properties are measured.
Soil samples from fields and larger regions were analysed
using infrared and their properties mapped spatially. |
| Outcomes |
The main implications from the
study are that:
-
low cost, rapid, simultaneous soil analysis using infrared
is capable of predicting soil properties that range in quality from effectively
quantitative, semi-quantitative, or indicator precision,
-
high spatially-dense soil data is easily acquired leading
to practical soil mapping of often expensive data
-
field portability has implications for more timely decision
support in the field, especially for precision agriculture, indicator technology
or resource inventory.
|
| Publications |
Janik, LJ, Merry, RH, and Skjemstad, JO (in press) Can
soil analysis make soil analysis redundant? Aust. J. Exp. Agric.
Merry, RH, Janik, LJ, and Aitken RL (1998) The potential
of mid infra-red for analysis of acidity-related soil properties. Conference
Proceedings, National Soil Acidification Conference, Coolum, Queensland,
15-17 July 1998.
|
| Project
Title |
Emerging
opportunities in agriculture – Tamworth 9 October 1998 |
| RIRDC
Project No.: |
MS989-22 |
| Researcher: |
Gordon Stone |
| Organisation: |
the BIG EVENT company,
PO Box 7642,
TOOWOOMBA MAIL CENTRE QLD. 4352 |
| Phone: |
07 4639 3366 |
| Fax: |
07 4639 3828 |
| Email: |
gstone@bigpond.com |
| Objectives |
-
The objective of the 1998 Emerging Opportunities in Agriculture
event was to showcase new industry opportunities for broad scale rural
producers and small scale irrigators in the Tamworth area and encourage
interaction and the exchange of ideas.
|
| Background: |
The Emerging Opportunities in
Agriculture one day event was a Tamworth Irrigators Council initiative,
with input from NSW Agriculture. A grower Organising Committee, principally
consisting of irrigation and dairy farmers from the Tamworth region, directed
the project. The Project Managers for the project were Gordon Stone and
Associates of Toowoomba – now known as The Big Event Company.
The event was an information exchange (technology transfer)
process, targeted at farmers, to provide the results of research and development
work on new industry opportunities. The aim of the day was to provide growers
with up-to-date information in a "one stop shop" setting, to improve their
future business planning. |
| Research |
The Emerging Opportunities in
Agriculture event was held in Tamworth on Friday 9 October 1998, at the
Carinya Christian School. The Organising Committee developed the program
for the event, with input from various researchers and the Project Managers.
The Committee identified a detailed list of alternative industries that
they expected would be of interest to the farmers in the Tamworth area.
From these topics, a program was developed and speakers for each topic
were identified, contacted and briefed.
The program for the day included a series of concurrent
speaker sessions with the majority of time allocated to informal discussion
between growers, speakers and exhibitors in a trade show setting. The event
was funded by a combination of commercial sponsorship and industry funding.
A total of 154 people attended the event.
Responses to participant evaluations
Participants considered the day very interesting, offering
valuable information in an effective format, and were impressed by the
enthusiasm of the presenters. Participants were very enthusiastic about
the process to actively establish new industries in the region. They indicated
a desire to see further workshops conducted on a range of topics, including
Boer Goats, Viticulture, Asian Vegetables and Paulownia trees |
| Outcomes |
The Emerging Opportunities in
Agriculture event proved to be an effective means for the transfer of information
to Tamworth region growers, about new industry options. The opportunity
to present R&D results directly to growers, proved an excellent incentive
for speakers to attend. The process used to coordinate the event was based
on the Project Managers’ prior experience with similar agricultural events
and worked well.
However, the event proved not to be commercially viable
because of low numbers of attendees, lack of sponsor support and higher
than expected workload for the Project Managers to locate and brief suitable
presenters. The general lack of grower participant numbers can be attributed
to a number of factors, including poor timing (school holidays), recent
poor weather conditions, ineffective use of the grower networks available
to publicise the event and incorrect projections of grower interest in
new crop options. Sponsors indicated that it was not commercially viable
for them to fund such an event, as it featured new and alternative crops
which provided an unknown return for their sponsorship dollar.
Overall the event must be rated a success for those who
attended, whilst recognising the commercially unviable nature of the event. |
| Implications |
Although the overall event was
a success, the future funding of the event through sponsorship, is questionable.
The Project Managers recommend that if the event was to run again, majority
funding should be sought from industry sources. Increased participation
in the event might be achieved by having a broader range of industry groups
represented on the Committee, in order that grower networks are used more
effectively to publicise the event. |
| Project
Title |
Nematodes
as biocontrol agents of helicid snails |
| RIRDC
Project No.: |
UA 31A |
| Researcher: |
Dr KA Davies |
| Organisation: |
Department of Crop Protection,
Waite Campus,
University of Adelaide,
GLEN OSMOND 5064 |
| Phone: |
08/8303 7255 |
| Fax: |
08/8379 4095 |
| Email: |
kdavies@waite.adelaide.edu.au |
| Objectives |
-
Helicid snails cost the grain industry up to $10 million
annually. Present methods of control are based on the combined use of chemical
and physical methods. Biological control would not be cheaper but would
provide farmers with an environmentally sound tool. Nematodes have been
used successfully as biocontrol agents of various insect pests all over
the world. Several rhabditid (bacterial-feeding) nematodes will attack
slugs or snails.
|
| Background: |
A survey to identify Australian
nematodes with potential for control of helicid snails was carried out
in 1994/95. Twenty five nematode isolates were found which would attack
snails. Two isolates (a cephalobid and a rhabditid, XM13) showed reasonable
levels of pathogenicity in the laboratory at nematode densities suitable
for field application. XM13 killed 100% Cochlicella acuta, and up to 80%
Cernuella and Theba. Mass culture techniques for the nematodes were established. |
| Research |
The effectiveness of XM13 against
Cernuella was tested in mini-plots at Mallala and Warooka, but did not
increase snail mortality. XM13 persisted in the field for 5 weeks. Similar
results came from a trial in irrigated pastures infected with the conical
Cochlicella barbara in the South East. |
| Outcomes |
In the laboratory, XM13 affected
breeding of C. virgata, decreasing the number of egg clutches per snail
and eggs per clutch. Newly hatched snails are very susceptible to XM13.
In a field trial to assess effects of XM13 on snail reproduction, there
was no effect on snail mortality, but numbers of young snails found were
much lower than expected in both control and treatment plots. A naturally-occurring
unknown rhabditid nematode was found attacking young snails, which confounded
the results of the trial. |
| Implications |
The nematodes tested in this project
are unlikely to provide adequate control of adult snails, and the costs
of a biomolluscicide would be uneconomic for broad-acre cropping. However,
newly-hatched snails are very susceptible to nematodes, and practices which
promote numbers of bacterial-feeding nematodes (eg increasing soil organic
matter) are likely to increase their mortality. |
| Project
Title |
The
Rural Adjustment Scheme and wool, grain and mixed farming in Victoria |
| RIRDC
Project No.: |
UM-20A |
| Researcher: |
Bill Malcolm, and Ed Vandenberg |
| Organisation: |
University of Melbourne
Department of Food Science and Agribusiness
Institute of Land and Food Resources |
| Phone: |
03 9344 5015 |
| Fax: |
03 9344 4665 |
| Email: |
b.malcolm@landfood.unimelb.edu.au |
| Objectives |
-
The key question investigated in this study was ‘what is
the role of the Rural Adjustment Scheme (RAS) in dealing with farm businesses
experiencing difficult financial circumstances?’
-
Related questions concern the nature of managing farms in
sustainable ways in the risky environment which characterises agriculture
in Australia, and
-
What does the empirical evidence about agriculture in Victoria
tell about the state of the financial affairs of graingrowers in the Wimmera,
woolgrowers in the Western District and mixed cropping-grazing operations
in North-East Victoria.
|
| Background: |
Attempting to answer these questions
requires an understanding of questions such ‘what do concepts such as low
net incomes, business viability, appropriate gearing, and household net
cash flows mean in terms of practical farm business management, in the
context of the traditionally relatively small-sized farming operations
in much of Victoria?’ |
| Research |
Contemplating the main question
about the role of the Rural Adjustment Scheme (hereafter RAS) involved
drawing on the history of low incomes in agriculture, the ‘farm problem’,
adjustment, and the RAS in Australian agriculture; the theoretical arguments
surrounding the RAS; and the practical application of components of the
RAS. |
| Outcomes |
The main conclusion derived from
this investigation is that the RAS role in facilitating adjustment is limited.
The RAS assists very few farmers.
In theory and practice the RAS is likely to hinder the
opportunities of at least as many, and maybe more than are helped, and
there is little theoretical justification for the existence or continuation
of the RAS. Further, apparent low farm net incomes may or may not be of
economic and social significance, depending on
(i) the significance of off farm income,
(ii) the rate of adjustment which is appropriate and which
is occurring, and
(iii) the opportunity costs of the resources involved.
A characteristic of the relatively small scale farming
in a relatively small area state such as Victoria, has been the relatively
significant off farm income earned by farm households, which reflects the
phenomenon of
(i) opportunities
(ii) resource mobility and
(iii) movement over time in an economy towards equilibrium
in labour and other factor markets.
This phenomenon, along with the imprecision of measurements
of farm and non-farm incomes for comparative purposes, plus the net wealth
of most farm owners relative to the general population and other small
business people, combine to add weight to the conclusion that apparent
low income problems in the ‘tail’ of the distribution of farm net incomes
is unlikely to be a significant social problem of long term poverty (social
inequity), nor a problem of inefficiency of resource use. |
| Implications |
In the relatively small scale
farming in a closely settled and relatively densely populated State of
Victoria, farm family household cash flow, not net farm income, is a critical
determinant of returns to farm family labour and business ‘viability’.
And, as in the past, most adjustment in agriculture continues to be in
response to commercial forces, and almost all farm families who move out
of farming do so with a net worth and lifestyle prospects at least commensurate
with most others in society. |
| Project
Title |
Managing
the plant protection aspects of the rural/urban interface |
| RIRDC
Project No.: |
UQ-48 - Jointly funded by Sugar
R&D Corporation |
| Researcher: |
S G Hallett and J Harden |
| Organisation: |
University of Queensland
School of Land and Food
GATTON COLLEGE QLD 4345 |
| Phone: |
07 5460 1280; 07 5460 1295 |
| Fax: |
07 5460 1283 |
| Email: |
J.Harden@Mailbox.uq.edu.au
S Hallett@Mailbox.uq.edu.au |
| Objectives |
-
To develop a user-friendly computer-based package to support
decision makers in the rural/urban interface in the management of pesticide
hazards.
|
| Background: |
Australia is a highly urbanised
country whose cities are constantly increasing in size, and encroaching
on areas of rural land use. At the fringes of cities, hazards and conflicts
occur as a result of plant protection practices, particularly those involving
the use of pesticides. Conflicts are fuelled by misinformation and exaggeration
by the popular press. It is necessary to provide a tool which can accurately
assess pesticide hazards in this rural urban interface. |
| Research |
1. The Hazard Score package was developed
as a tool for the assessment and teaching of the nature and extent of pesticide
hazards in the rural/urban interface. Large amounts of data relevant to
pesticide parameters (human toxicity, physical properties), human population,
weather effects, application equipment and nozzles, buffer zone effects
are stored within the programme, and are accessed automatically during
hazard assessments.
2. Preliminary validation of the programme parameters
has been performed with data collected from site visits to 15 farms in
SE Queensland. The ability of the programme to perform complex calculations
in a wide range of situations has been established.
Ongoing liaison with the industry/community has been ongoing,
and representatives of each sector expect the package to be of direct relevant
to their needs in managing pesticide hazards in the rural/urban interface. |
| Outcomes
& Implications |
A draft version of Hazard Score
will
1. allow land planners to understand the pesticide hazards
prior to subdivision of land in rural areas
2. help producers to find logical ways of reducing
the impact of off site pesticide movement
3. provide regulators with a means of studying pesticide
hazards, and
4. provide a tool for resolution of pesticide related
conflicts in the rural/urban interface.
The use of Hazard Score will promote the harmonious co-existence
of rural and urban land users in the rural/urban interface and assist the
steady and sustained growth of Australia's rural industries. |
| Project
Title |
A
new scientist and a new approach to control of nematodes in roots of woody
plants |
| RIRDC
Project No.: |
US-26A |
| Researcher: |
Brian J Deverall |
| Organisation: |
Department of Crop Sciences,
University of Sydney,
NSW 2006 |
| Phone: |
02 9351 2531 |
| Fax: |
02 9351 4172 |
| Objectives |
-
To train a research scientist to PhD level in plant nematology
and to investigate relationships between nematode and root activity in
woody perennial plants with a view to developing disease management procedures
based on biological methods.
|
| Background: |
Great concern was held about the
small number of trained nematologists in Australia, the decreasing number
of scientists with practical experience in nematology and the limited encouragement
of young scientists into the discipline. This was heightened when viewed
against the evidence of serious nematode problems in Australia and the
increasing restrictions against the use of chemical nematicides. |
| Research |
A program was designed to train
a research scientist to PhD level in plant nematology through four steps.
One was to learn basic techniques from the last remaining plant nematologists
at NSW Agriculture before the closure of the laboratories at Rydalmere.
A second was to use the controlled environment facilities at Rydalmere
for experiments on effects of high temperature on resistance of grapevine
roots to nematode infection. Another was for the student to attend an intensive
course in plant nematology at Clemson University, USA. The fourth in The
University of Sydney was to assess a new procedure of activating resistance
throughout plants for its possible benefit in minimising nematode infection
of grapevine roots. |
| Outcomes |
Ms K J Owen has been trained to
PhD level in plant nematology and is submitting her thesis for examination
at The University of Sydney. She will commence work in April 1999 as a
plant nematologist in a research project entitled "Cropping Options to
Limit Root Lesion Nematodes" under the supervision of Dr John Thompson,
Leslie Research Centre, Queensland Department of Primary Industry, Toowoomba,
Queensland.
High temperature (30oC) did not break the resistance
of roots of the grapevine cultivar Ramsey to root knot nematode.
Application of the activator benzothiadiazole (CGA 245704,
Novartis AG) to the foliage of cuttings of grapevine cultivar Cabernet
Sauvignon affected the roots so that root knot nematodes were less able
to develop into egg-laying adults. The activator had no direct effect on
nematodes, but it caused increases in at least one plant enzyme in leaves
and roots. It was concluded that systemic resistance was activated throughout
grapevine cuttings and that the development of nematodes in the roots was
thereby minimised.
Novartis AG filed UK and International Patent Applications
for the effects of the activator in minimising nematode development in
plants. |
| Implications |
Plant nematology in Australia
is strengthened. A new approach for minimising nematode-caused plant disease
is available for assessment under field conditions. |
