Publication Date
1989
Description
agasaste (Chamaecytisus palmensis) was planted in a 60 ha experimental plantation on a merino sheep farm in south-western Australia (see Oldham et al., 1989). From this experimental planting of tagasaste and a subsequent 1000 ha commercial planting, data on the cost and timing of both establishment and management has been collected. Production information using realized grazing by merino sheep has been collected for both the juvenile and adult tagasaste plantations. With both the costs and production information the question addressed in this paper is the value to a merino farmer of establishing tagasaste. Farms in south-western Australian agricultural region usually have a range of soil classes. The productivity of both traditional agricultural species and tagasaste vary between soils classes. The question as to which soil class or classes tagasaste is most profitably established on is addressed in this paper. The availability of pasture feed is related to the rainfall pattern in the agricultural area of south-western Australia (Purser, 1980). Pastures are traditionally annual species that germinate with autumn rains. Pastures grow slowly during autumn and winter, but grow vigorously with the warmer weather in spring. Pastures senesce in late spring, from senescence to the opening rains in autumn sheep graze dry pasture. Occasional summer storms leach nutrients from the dry pastures ; by late summer the pasture feed is inadequate for weaners and pregnant ewes these sheep are normaUy hand fed grain in their paddocks. Unlike annual pastures tagasaste is not detrimentally affected by summer storms and may in fact benefit from the rain. The question as to the most profitable time to use tagasaste is addressed in this paper. A farmer in the agricultural areas of south-western Australia is interested in the role tagasaste could play in increasing farm profitability. The farmer wants to know on which soil type to grow tagasaste and when to use tagasaste to optimize the farm profit. The decision to plant tagasaste requires capital investment in establishment and foregone production during establishment. A farmer is interested in the return he will receive from investing in a plantation of tagasaste. In this paper the internal rate of return on investment is used. The production information reported in this paper is derived from one site in one season ; sensitivity analysis is conducted to determine the yield necessary to achieve two target rates of return.
Citation
Mattinson, B C. and Oldham, C M., "Tagsaste (Chamaecytisus palmensis), An Evergreen Fodder Tree, in Grazing Systems of Mediterranean Type Climates: 3. An Economic Analysis" (2025). IGC Proceedings (1989-2023). 2.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/1989/session11/2
Included in
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Tagsaste (Chamaecytisus palmensis), An Evergreen Fodder Tree, in Grazing Systems of Mediterranean Type Climates: 3. An Economic Analysis
agasaste (Chamaecytisus palmensis) was planted in a 60 ha experimental plantation on a merino sheep farm in south-western Australia (see Oldham et al., 1989). From this experimental planting of tagasaste and a subsequent 1000 ha commercial planting, data on the cost and timing of both establishment and management has been collected. Production information using realized grazing by merino sheep has been collected for both the juvenile and adult tagasaste plantations. With both the costs and production information the question addressed in this paper is the value to a merino farmer of establishing tagasaste. Farms in south-western Australian agricultural region usually have a range of soil classes. The productivity of both traditional agricultural species and tagasaste vary between soils classes. The question as to which soil class or classes tagasaste is most profitably established on is addressed in this paper. The availability of pasture feed is related to the rainfall pattern in the agricultural area of south-western Australia (Purser, 1980). Pastures are traditionally annual species that germinate with autumn rains. Pastures grow slowly during autumn and winter, but grow vigorously with the warmer weather in spring. Pastures senesce in late spring, from senescence to the opening rains in autumn sheep graze dry pasture. Occasional summer storms leach nutrients from the dry pastures ; by late summer the pasture feed is inadequate for weaners and pregnant ewes these sheep are normaUy hand fed grain in their paddocks. Unlike annual pastures tagasaste is not detrimentally affected by summer storms and may in fact benefit from the rain. The question as to the most profitable time to use tagasaste is addressed in this paper. A farmer in the agricultural areas of south-western Australia is interested in the role tagasaste could play in increasing farm profitability. The farmer wants to know on which soil type to grow tagasaste and when to use tagasaste to optimize the farm profit. The decision to plant tagasaste requires capital investment in establishment and foregone production during establishment. A farmer is interested in the return he will receive from investing in a plantation of tagasaste. In this paper the internal rate of return on investment is used. The production information reported in this paper is derived from one site in one season ; sensitivity analysis is conducted to determine the yield necessary to achieve two target rates of return.
