Inkerman graziers Tracey and Jim Rollinson and one of the two paddocks that were the initial focus of their weed control efforts .
Inkerman graziers , JIM and TRACEY ROLLINSON :
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It was good to have the opportunity to test techniques to improve land condition and production outcomes .
Rather than trying to tackle weeds across the property all at once , which is costly , we focused on two paddocks .
They were stick-raked and cutter-barred and then planted with forage sorghum .
Starting from scratch meant we could restore paddock health and production , resulting in improved cattle weight gain .
Over time , with regular treatment , weed control should get easier . We will now move on to improving the next paddocks .
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PROJECT TRIALS
A number of techniques and pieces of equipment were trialed . These included :
• mechanical control including stick raking , cutter barring , ploughing and re-seeding of chinee apple , rubbervine and prickly acacia across 740ha ;
• basal bark treatment of scattered prickly acacia and chinee apple using Starane and Diesel across 250ha ; and
• aerial foliar spraying of Grazon to treat prickly acacia and Starane to treat chinee apple .
MECHANICAL TREATMENT
In 2021 , a D8T was used to stick rake and cutter bar , and a John Deere 9560RT for ploughing , with offsets and re-seeding , for regrowth chinee apple , rubber vine and prickly acacia , initially in the most productive ( and cleared ) paddocks .