MEPAAW Pasture Weeds Workshop
MEPAAW Pasture Weeds Workshop
Common and invasive weeds in local pastures - their management and control
Reaching Out -
MEPAAW‐NC‐06
The issue
We have many landholders and many new landholders who are not familiar with the common weeds in our landscapes, in particular our pastures. The purpose of the activity was to support landholders and with the identification of commonly occurring pasture weeds and give them some tools and resources for weed control.
In addition, we chose to introduce some 'sleeper weeds' as well as Tropical Soda Apple which is a high priority notifiable weed.
The solution
In consultation with Nana Glen Landcare Group, we decided to hold a workshop on common weeds in pastures on a local property belonging to new landholders. Participants met in this neglected and unproductive paddock where they could observe a number of the weed species to be discussed during the workshop. The absence of pasture management was also obvious and became an important part of this discussion as a component of weed management.
The workshop continued at the Coramba Community Hall, where identifying features of a range of common weeds and appropriate control methods and strategies were discussed and resources were provided.
We chose to emphasize pasture management as a very important component in integrated weed control and introduced the basic principles for good pasture management strategies for integrated weed management.
The Weedwise app could not be demonstrated, as it was out of action on the day.
The impact
21 participants attended on this cold winter morning and all expressed their appreciation of the workshop. These people had a wide variety of prior knowledge and felt that each was catered for appropriately.
Key facts
- Basic Principles for long term weed control are:
- Integrated holistic approach to weed management involves: Healthy Soil, Healthy Plants and results in fewer weeds.
- Livestock Management includes: Managing grazing pressure, usage of internal fencing and managed grazing through stock rotation.