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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-09-23 Daily Xml
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PASTURE RESEARCH

Ms BREUER (Giles) (15:09): My question is to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries. What is the significance of the government's support for pasture research in our state?

The Hon. P. CAICA (Colton—Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development) (15:09): I thank the member for Giles for her question and acknowledge her keen interest in pasture and pasture research.

Pasture research has been conducted by South Australian agencies for the past 60 years, with many new pasture varieties being developed. Many thousands of hectares of these plants are grown across our state each year, and they make a vital contribution to the success of our primary industries, especially the creation of jobs and wealth in our regional areas.

The South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) leads the critical research into pasture varieties. It is important to note that this type of research is not a quick process. It involves considerable time and considerable investment. A new pasture variety may take up to 10 years to produce but, importantly, a successful variety will have a life of 20 years or more and continue to make a valuable contribution to improving agricultural productivity. Increasingly, we need new pasture varieties that can cope with more variable weather conditions and reduced water availability, new perennials that can help us manage the carbon balance and groundcovers that safeguard our soils from environmental damage.

Adaptation to longer term climate change, reduction in methane emissions, drought tolerance and heat shock are key traits that are being developed in the next generation of pastures. I am proud to say that this is an area in which SARDI is leading the nation. I recently had the most interesting and pleasurable task of opening what has been referred to as an 'inside out birdcage' at the Waite Campus of SARDI.

This bird-proof enclosure was constructed at a cost of around $70,000 and will protect a major research program that is assessing the attributes of 80 different varieties of Australian native shrub with the aim of developing a drought-proof native shrub for our livestock industry. Left unchecked, the birds eat the plants and seeds (which is understandable), but that means that the researchers are unable to evaluate accurately the performance of the plants.

Until now, on occasions our pasture team had to resort to staying on location overnight in a caravan so that they were there at first light to shoo off and ward off the local birdlife; they no longer have to do that because of the construction of this new enclosure. It is no small matter when we consider that pastures underpin the annual $21 billion grazing industries in South Australia and add some $1 billion in value to South Australia's farming systems.

This enclosure also serves another no less valuable purpose in that it has been named in honour of Eric Crawford, who was South Australia's first plant introduction officer. In fact, I am sure that the member for Stuart will remember the outstanding work of Mr Crawford as South Australia's first plant introduction officer. He made a great contribution to pasture improvement over 40 years until his retirement in 1989.

I am advised that his two most successful varieties—Paraggio and Parabinga—have been sown across more than 250,000 hectares of South Australia, and seeds from these varieties are still sold locally and internationally. It was my absolute pleasure to meet Eric and his family at the opening and thank him for his services in advancing agriculture in this state.

The enclosure will play an important role in securing a sustainable future for agriculture in our state. I think that the house will agree that this project is yet another example of the world-class research conducted by SARDI that helps to give South Australia the edge in many fields of endeavour.

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