Why renew, A sheep farm example
Renewing under-performing or weedy paddocks with high quality cultivars can give significant financial gains. In this example an investment of $1420 can give a net return of $4830 - one few other investments can match!
In this example after a crop, herbicide is sprayed to kill weeds prior to cultivation. Full costs are presented, but these should be partly attributed to the cost of the crop.
Typical costs of renewal
Cost benefit example
This financial returns from renewal in this example come in two ways. First, the new pasture increases growth by 4 t DM/ ha, which is often achievable, but depends on the situation. The extra yield increases carrying capacity by 2.8 ewes/ha in year one, while the new pasture is still establishing, and by 4.5 ewes/ha once the pasture is established.
Second, new pastures typically have higher feed value, as you replace weeds with quality forage. This means lambs grow faster (e.g. 200 g/day) than on old pasture (e.g. 120 g/day). This sets up the opportunity to trade and finish an extra 15 lambs/ ha. This would vary year to year depending on rainfall and availability of store lambs.
Gross margin from extra productivity
