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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-10-15 Daily Xml
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LUCERNE

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (15:13): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries a question about agriculture, and in particular lucerne.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: With the benefit of some excellent rainfall which seems to have painted the landscape green, it is a pleasure, I am sure, for any member of this place to travel to the regional areas. However, I understand that our graziers cannot take for granted that the pastures they rely on to fatten up livestock can withstand grazing pressure. My question to the minister is: can she advise of a new development to assist farmers in this regard?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (15:14): I am very pleased to be able to share with the chamber the result of SARDI's breeding program which has spanned nearly a decade. A new lucerne variety is now available for graziers. The SARDI-Grazer variety which became available this year has been especially bred to create the most grazing-tolerant, winter-active lucerne cultivar available in Australia. Members may be aware that lucerne is used as a long-term pasture for grazing or hay production, as a short-term stand in cropping rotations or as a legume component of mixed pastures. Importantly, as it is a legume, lucerne can affix atmospheric nitrogen, providing nitrogen for its own growth or increasing soil nitrogen levels for subsequent crops.

Lucerne has a very large taproot that can easily grow, I am told, up to three metres or even more to access deep moisture reserves, and I understand that it is this taproot which also acts as an energy store for the plant, making established lucerne very hardy. But the benefits of this commonly used plant do not end there. Lucerne has a moderate tolerance of salinity, which, combined with its ability to dry the soil profile and lower the watertable, makes it a useful tool in managing soil salinity, particularly as an option in aquifer recharge areas.

The main limitations to use in Australia are soil waterlogging and high soil aluminium levels, which inhibit root development and cause difficulties with the establishment of the plant. While there are now a range of modern lucerne varieties suited to Australian conditions, most do not stand up to heavy grazing, so getting the right one, which stands up to heavy grazing, can make a very significant difference in grazing productivity.

So, improving livestock productivity through improved pastures helps enhance our farming sector and particularly the livestock and grains industries, which underpin the state's economy. We are not talking about small change as far as livestock go. In 2011-12, the dairy industry contributed $850 million towards South Australia's gross food revenue figures, while the beef industry contributed $1.02 billion to our food industry. When you add in the $919 million provided by sheep, meat and lamb, these industries alone made up 63 per cent of nearly $4.5 billion in value of gross food in that year's scorecard. So, obviously, developments which help improve the pasture on which our agricultural industries rely is very important.

Lucerne also contributes significantly to exports from South Australia through exported fodder, and lucerne as a seed export industry is one of the most important industries for the South-East and is worth a value of up to $300 million per annum. Seed is used in export destinations to seed new stands of lucerne, but also some specially treated seed is used for food alfalfa sprouts.

We have chosen as one of our seven priorities premium food and wine from our clean environment, and improving our pastures both in their sustainability and their productivity, as well as soil health, certainly adds further to South Australia's achievements in this area. SARDI, which I would like to congratulate for reaching its 21st birthday, manages 21 years of dedicated research, innovation and creativity. I do not think there is anything that we eat or drink that has not in some way been influenced by those 21 years of work that SARDI has done, albeit at times it might be indirectly.

SARDI manages the longest running lucerne breeding program in Australia and is at the forefront of developing new Australian-bred varieties for local conditions. This new variety, SARDI-Grazer, was bred with funding from the Grains Research and Development Corporation and the South Australian government, and while it is a great pleasure to highlight SARDI's achievement in bringing this new variety to market, this is just one of our successes. SARDI's plant breeding and variety development activities include the national oats and vetch breeding programs, as well as a new variety of agronomy and evaluation in grains, pulses and oilseeds.

I am advised that lucerne is performing well in paddock trials at Turretfield and Western Australia, and it is suited to both dryland and medium and high rainfall areas. It also adds to the range of SARDI-bred varieties available to Australian farmers who want to make use and take advantage of lucerne genetics. So I would like to take this opportunity to particularly congratulate Dr Alan Humphries and his team who have worked hard to bring about this important benefit to South Australian and Australian farmers.

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