Central Tablelands Research Articles

Investigating Wiradjuri marara (carved trees or dendroglyphs) and dhabuganha (burials) in the Central Tablelands, southeastern Australia

Marara (carved trees, dendroglyphs or tapholgyphs) are a distinct part of Wiradjuri Country in southeastern Australia. Each marara displays a unique muyalaang (tree carving) that a Wiradjuri person carved into the outer surface of a tree after removing bark. Marara mark the dhabuganha (burials) of Wiradjuri men of high standing, representing part of traditional cultural practices that extend into the deep past. Yet, the meaning of these sacred locations is not widely understood due to the lack of Wiradjuri teaching, knowledge and participation in previous studies. Here we present the first Wiradjuri-led archaeological study of marara, muyalaang and dhabuganha, completed in the Central Tablelands. We combine a review of previous studies with new information from interviews with Wiradjuri Elders and knowledge holders, Ground Penetrating Radar survey, and 3D modelling (photogrammetry) – guided by the Wiradjuri philosophy Yindyamarra (cultural respect). The results build new, culturally and scientifically informed understandings of practical and symbolic aspects of Wiradjuri culture, with marara and dhabuganha viewed not as individual objects or ‘sites’ but as connected parts of Wiradjuri Lore, beliefs, traditional cultural practices and Country. Consistent with Wiradjuri Elder requests, this paper is freely available and written in simple language for the Wiradjuri community and beyond.

Molecular and morphological analyses support recognition of Prostanthera volucris (Lamiaceae), a new species from the Central Tablelands of New South Wales

Research into the systematics of Prostanthera recently revealed close evolutionary relationship among P. phylicifolia sens. str., the critically endangered P. gilesii, and a population of uncertain identity from the Central Tablelands of New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Previous analyses were unable to establish whether genetic boundaries separated these taxa. This study assessed species boundaries among these three taxa by using a combination of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) sampled at the population-scale and multivariate analysis of morphological characters. Ordination, model-based clustering, F-statistics, neighbour-network analysis, phylogenetic analysis, and ancestry coefficient estimates all provided support for discrete genetic differences among the three taxa. Morphological phenetic analysis recovered congruent morphological clusters and identified a suite of corresponding diagnostic characters. This congruence of molecular and morphological evidence supports the presence of three independently evolving lineages, two of which correspond with the previously described P. gilesii and P. phylicifolia sens. str. The third taxon, represented by a single population from the Central Tablelands of NSW, is here described as P. volucris R.P.O’Donnell. A detailed description, diagnostic line drawings and photographs are provided. We evaluate P. volucris as satisfying criteria to be considered Critically Endangered.

Social interactions of juvenile rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and their potential role in lagovirus transmission.

Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease Virus (RHDV), which is a calicivirus, is used as a biocontrol agent to suppress European wild rabbit populations in Australia. The transmission of RHDV can be influenced by social interactions of rabbits; however, there is a paucity of this knowledge about juvenile rabbits and the roles they may play in the transmission of RHDV. We aimed to quantify the social interactions of juvenile (< 900 g) and adult (> 1200 g) rabbits in a locally abundant population in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. Twenty-six juvenile and 16 adult rabbits were fitted with VHF proximity loggers to monitor intra- and inter-group pairings. Use of multiple warrens by these rabbits was investigated using VHF base stations at nine warrens and on foot with a hand-held Yagi antenna. Juvenile rabbits were strongly interconnected with both juveniles and adults within and outside their warren of capture, and almost all juveniles were well-connected to other individuals within their own social group. Inter-group pairings were infrequent and fleeting between adults. Both juvenile and adult rabbits used multiple warrens. However, visits to warrens outside their warren of capture, particularly those within 50 m, were more common and longer in duration in juveniles than in adults. The high connectivity of juveniles within and between warrens in close proximity increases potential pathogen exchange between warrens. Therefore, juvenile rabbits could be of greater importance in lagovirus transmission than adult rabbits. The strength of juvenile rabbit inter- and intra-group pairings, and their tendency to use multiple warrens, highlight their potential to act as ‘superspreaders’ of both infection and immunity for lagoviruses and other pathogens with similar lifecycles. Confirmation of this potential is required through examination of disease progress and rabbit age-related immune responses during outbreaks.

Exploring Causal Relationships for Geoheritage Interpretation \u2014 Variable Effects of Cenozoic Volcanism in Central European Sedimentary Tablelands

Modern conceptual approach to geointerpretation and geoeducation emphasizes the holistic understanding of the environment and attends to linkages between various abiotic, biotic, and cultural components. In this paper, we highlight multiple relationships between Cenozoic volcanism and host sedimentary rocks, mainly sandstones of Cretaceous age, which can be explored in the context of geotourism and geoeducation in several Central European geoparks (Bohemian Paradise UNESCO Global Geopark, Land of Extinct Volcanoes Aspiring Geopark, Ralsko National Geopark) and their surroundings. These include the effects of magmatism on sandstones, with further consequences for landform development at different spatial scales, the origin of mineral resources, underpinning of biological diversity, and specific land use contrasts. Existing interpretation provisions are reviewed, and a three-tiered framework to show these different linkages is proposed. It is argued that different, but complementary themes can be addressed at the landscape, landform, and individual outcrop (geosite) level.

Molecular phylogenetic analysis of the Prostanthera phylicifolia (Lamiaceae) assemblage resolves relationships of the ‘Critically Endangered’ P. gilesii and other putative new species

Prostanthera gilesii is a critically endangered species from the Central Tablelands of New South Wales. A conservation management strategy is currently underway for this species, whose phylogenetic affinities are not known. Morphologically, P. gilesii resembles P. phylicifolia and a population of uncertain identity from Evans Crown Nature Reserve in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales (P. sp. Evans Crown). The taxonomy of P. phylicifolia, however, is unclear. Prostanthera phylicifolia was described from populations in the Victorian Alps and Monaro; however, populations spanning from Victoria to southern Queensland have been variously identified as either P. phylicifolia or P. scutellarioides despite substantial geographic disjunctions and morphological dissimilarity. To examine the relationship between populations identified as P. phylicifolia, P. gilesii and P. sp. Evans Crown, nuclear (external transcribed spacer, ETS) and chloroplast (trnH-psbA intergenic spacer) regions were sequenced and combined with an existing Prostanthera dataset and analysed with maximum-likelihood and Bayesian-inference methods. Prostanthera gilesii and P. sp. Evans Crown were recovered as sister taxa within a clade consisting of populations morphologically similar to the type of P. phylicifolia from the Victorian Alps and Snowy Mountains, Monaro and Southern Tablelands of New South Wales. Populations from northern New South Wales and southern Queensland identified as P. phylicifolia or P. scutellarioides were recovered as an assemblage of unrelated clades. The molecular phylogeny supports P. gilesii and P. phylicifolia as closely related as hypothesised based on morphology and supports P. sp. Evans Crown as a population which requires additional study to assess its taxonomic status.

A survey of ewe mortality on the Central Tablelands of New South Wales in 2010, a year of above-average rainfall.

Sheep producers reported elevated ewe mortality following a wetter-than-average season on the tablelands of New South Wales in 2010. We conducted a survey of local producers to determine the extent and cause of ewe losses, as well as associated risk factors. A questionnaire was designed and posted to sheep producers running at least 1000 sheep. Data from questionnaires were analysed using linear mixed models to identify risk factors associated with ewe mortality. Data on the likely causes of deaths, particularly those associated with foot abscess, were analysed by ordinal generalised linear mixed models to determine the most prevalent causes of ewe death. The mean annual ewe mortality was 5.4% (range 0.1%-28.6%). Higher mortality was associated with older ewes and lambing in paddocks with longer pastures. The two most important causes of ewe death reported by farmers were 'died during lambing' and 'foot abscess'. Mortality due to foot abscess was more commonly reported in adult ewes than maiden ewes (odds ratio and 95% confidence interval: 5.61; 3.52, 8.94), when lambing on pasture longer than 5 cm than ≤5 cm (2.96; 1.54, 5.70) and when lambing in spring than in autumn (4.87; 1.36, 17.41). The level of ewe mortality observed was at the upper end of that reported previously in Australia. Risk factor analysis suggested that, in wet years, losses due to foot abscess could be reduced by lambing older heavier ewes in autumn on pasture swards less than 5 cm high.

Wala-gaay Guwingal: A twentieth century Aboriginal culturally modified tree with an embedded stone tool

Aboriginal culturally modified trees are a distinctive feature of the Australian archaeological record, generating insights into Aboriginal interactions with wood and bark, which rarely survive in archaeological contexts. However, they are under-studied, in decline and typically presumed to pre-date the 20th century. Here we investigate the origin of a scar with a stone tool embedded in the scar overgrowth, located in the Central Tablelands, New South Wales, on Wiradjuri Country. We consider three datasets for this purpose: the tree and scar features; macroscopic and microscopic characteristics of the embedded stone; and chronology and age of the tree and scar. The origin of the scar and its relationship with the stone tool are unclear. However, the results, together with documentary and oral evidence, suggest that Aboriginal people quarried the stone and probably used it as a wedge to lever bark from the tree, or to make a sign. The results provide a rare glimpse into the continuation of Aboriginal cultural practices and knowledge transmission in the second half of the 20th century.

Understanding patterns of information sourcing and motivations to collaborate among absentee landholders: A case study of the Central Tablelands, NSW

The population of absentee landholders, in rural areas of Australia and worldwide, has risen over recent decades, underpinning the need to better understand how to effectively engage this stakeholder group, especially from natural resource management (NRM) agencies. Prior research argues that these often difficult-to-reach rural actors play an important role in environmental management, biodiversity conservation and cross property collaborations. Therefore, this paper investigates the ways in which absentee landholders access information on land management practices, the extent of their engagement with government NRM agencies, and the potential for absentee landholders to engage in cross-property collaboration.Focusing on a case study in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, the results indicate that absentee landholders in the case study region access a range of government and personal sources for information, with Local Land Services (a regional NRM agency) and neighbours being the two most commonly used sources amongst survey respondents. Reasons behind the frequent use of Local Land Services include the awareness and trustworthiness that absentee landholders have of this source of information. As for collaborations, most absentee landholders expressed a preference for non-commercial collaborations related to conservation and amenity, as opposed to production-related or other commercial activities. Motivations to collaborate included knowledge-sharing and a collective effort to manage cross-property conservation issues. Hence, it is recommended that NRM agencies recognize the role they can play in adaptive co-management by providing information to absentee landholders, facilitating collaborations around knowledge-sharing and conservation, and continuously adapting their outreach to accommodate for the growing heterogeneity in values and interests.

Engaging absentee landholders in ecosystem service delivery in south-eastern Australia

As absentee landownership continues to increase in many regions of Oceania and the world, there is a growing need to better understand the behaviours and values of this landholder group. The increase in absentee landholdership can impact the provision of ecosystem services, as well as alter the rural socio-cultural fabric; the values, beliefs, knowledge types and social connections amongst landholders in rural communities. Consequently, this presents challenges to natural resource management (NRM) practitioners seeking to implement better resource management strategies across property boundaries. This case study research on the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, aims to better understand the characteristics of absentee landholders, including their motivations for holding land, their existing levels of knowledge concerning land management practices, and their views and preferences for cross-property collaborations and, in turn, explore the role they could have in the delivery of ecosystem services.Our results show that recreation and amenity relating to private cultural services are the main drivers of land acquisition and motivation for land use by absentee landholders in the region. Cross-property collaborations that absentee landholders are most interested in are related to the maintenance of supporting and regulating services, particularly through weed management and pest animal control. An important implication of these findings is that the facilitation of cross-property collaboration, by accommodating for the growing heterogeneity in values and beliefs, can become a mechanism for enhancing the delivery of public-benefit ecosystem services from absentee-held land.

Soil acidity and nutrient deficiency cause poor legume nodulation in the permanent pasture and mixed farming zones of south-eastern Australia

Pasture legumes must be adequately and effectively nodulated in order to reach nitrogen-fixation targets. Of 225 pasture paddocks sampled across the Central Tablelands, Central West, Monaro and Riverina regions of New South Wales, 93% had inadequate legume nodulation. Legume content was significantly higher in the mixed faming zone (&amp;gt;50%, Central West and Riverina) than the permanent pasture zone (26%, Central Tablelands; 28% Monaro). Available phosphorus (P) was below critical levels in 40% of paddocks sampled and sulfur (S) in 73% of paddocks; &amp;gt;35% of all paddocks had soil pHCa &amp;lt;5.0. Deficiency of P was more prevalent in the Central Tablelands (63% of paddocks), whereas S deficiency occurred more frequently in the Central West (95% of paddocks). Legume nodule scores were associated with host legume species, soil pH, available P and/or S, and cation exchange capacity, which collectively accounted for 73% of variation. For Trifolium spp., at soil pHCa &amp;gt;5.55, nodulation was predicted to be near adequate (score 3.95, where adequate = 4). At pHCa &amp;lt;5.55, higher available S resulted in a higher nodulation score (2.42) than in paddocks where S was deficient (score 0–1.97). These results suggest that improving the capacity of legumes to supply nitrogen should focus on addressing soil acidity and plant nutrition, specifically P and S.

Agriculture, brolgas and Australian sarus cranes on the Atherton Tablelands, Australia

Flocks of brolgas (Antigone rubicunda) and Australian sarus cranes (A. antigone gillae) congregate in cropping areas of the Atherton Tablelands in north Queensland, Australia, during the non-breeding months of May to December each year and sometimes come into conflict with farmers. The central part of the region has been declared a Key Biodiversity Area, largely because it is the only well known non-breeding area for the Australian sarus crane. We investigated spatial and temporal patterns of use of this landscape for foraging by the two species to determine how they might be affected by changes in cropping. Abundances of the species were positively correlated with each other over both time and space. Sarus cranes were nevertheless markedly more abundant on the fertile volcanic soils of the central Tablelands, whilst brolgas were more abundant on a variety of soils in outlying cropping areas close to roost sites, especially in the south-west of the region. Both species used a wide variety of crops and pastures but occurred at highest densities on ploughed land and areas from which crops (especially maize) had been harvested. In addition, brolgas were also strongly associated with early-stage winter cereals with volunteer peanuts from the previous crop. We conclude that maize and peanut crops are important as foraging sites for both species during the non-breeding season, a situation that requires management in the interest of both cranes and farmers, especially as cropping patterns intensify and agricultural technology changes. However, we also note that flocking on the Atherton Tablelands indicates that brolgas and sarus cranes are likely to be adaptable to change and able to take advantage of newly created cropping areas.

Predation risk for reptiles is highest at remnant edges in agricultural landscapes

Abstract Preventing biodiversity loss in fragmented agricultural landscapes is a global problem. The persistence of biodiversity within remnant vegetation can be influenced by an animal's ability to move through the farmland matrix between habitat patches. Yet, many of the mechanisms driving species occurrence within these landscapes are poorly understood, particularly for reptiles. We used scented and unscented plasticine lizard models and wildlife cameras to (a) estimate predation risk of reptiles in four farmland types (crop field, pasture paddock, restoration tree planting and areas with applied woody mulch) relative to the patch edge and remnant vegetation, and (b) examine how predation risk was influenced by temporal change in the matrix (crop harvesting). Birds (55.1%), mammals (41.1%), reptiles (3.4%), and invertebrates (0.5%) attacked models, of which 87% were native species. Mammalian predators were 60.2% more likely to attack scented models then unscented models. Bird predators were not influenced by scent. We found predator attacks on models were highest at edges (49%, irrespective of adjacent farmland type, with a reduced risk within farmland (29%) and remnant patches (33%) (p &lt; 0.01). Both mammal and bird predators contributed to high numbers of predation attempts at edges. Removal of crops did not increase predation attempts in crop fields or other farmland types, although predation attempts were significantly lower along the crop transect after harvesting, compared to the woody debris transect. However, numbers of predation attempts were higher in edge habitats, particularly prior to harvesting. Synthesis and applications. Reptiles are at risk of predation by birds and mammals in both remnant patches and the farmland matrix, particularly in edge habitat. Our results demonstrate that edge habitats are potentially riskier for lizards than the farmland. Vulnerability to predation may be increased by a lack of shelter within edge habitats such as by increasing visibility of reptiles to predators. Therefore, to benefit reptiles, land managers could provide shelter (rocks, logs, and grasses), particularly between remnants and linear plantings which could improve landscape connectivity.

El trabajo de los paños, elaboración y transformación en el siglo XV: modelos de producción y jerarquización en el eje Burgos-Madrid-Toledo

Las manufacturas textiles y del vestido tuvieron en el siglo XV en Castilla un importante desarrollo en las ciudades del camino real de Burgos que ponía en contacto las mesetas y Andalucía, como centros de reelaboración de paños en función del mercado y la demanda, con diversos modelos productivos y una jerarquización en función de ciertos criterios, siendo Toledo el referente de algunas industrias que alcanzaron su mayor expansión.

Opportunities for adaptive online collaboration to enhance rural land management

Cross-property cooperation has the potential to enhance the effectiveness of environmental management actions that cut across property boundaries. Online tools can facilitate this and overcome barriers to landholder engagement in collaborative management. However, collaborative online tools need to be designed and tailored to users' needs and values, and landholder participation in the development process is critical to ensuring uptake and long-term use.This article presents a case study from the Central Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia, where landholders have been involved in participatory development of a new online collaboration tool. The case study results highlight the significance of issues such as internet access, privacy, technical proficiency and differing stakeholder objectives. A landholder survey identified mapping and the uploading of monitoring data as important functions for the online tool, but these were not rated as highly as functions relating to data security, sharing settings and key term searches. Consequently, we recommend that a future online collaboration tool for the region is not framed specifically as a mapping or citizen science tool, but rather as an adaptive collaboration and communication tool that can incorporate a variety of data types and formats and be modified over time in line with changing landholder needs.

The Keepit arc: provenance of sedimentary rocks in the central Tablelands Complex, southern New England Orogen, Australia, as recorded by detrital zircon

ABSTRACTDetrital zircon from the Carboniferous Girrakool Beds in the central Tablelands Complex of the southern New England Orogen, Australia, is dominated by ca 350–320 Ma grains with a peak at ca 330 Ma; there are very few Proterozoic or Archean grains. A maximum deposition age for the Girrakool Beds of ca 309 Ma is identified. These data overlap the age of the Carboniferous Keepit arc, a continental volcanic arc along the western margin of the Tamworth Belt. Zircon trace-element and isotopic compositions support petrographic evidence of a volcanic arc provenance for sedimentary and metasedimentary rocks of the central Tablelands Complex. Zircon Hf isotope data for ca 350–320 Ma detrital grains become less radiogenic over the 30 million-year record. This pattern is observed with maturation of continental volcanic arcs but is opposite to the longer-term pattern documented in extensional accretionary orogens, such as the New England Orogen. Volcanic activity in the Keepit arc is inferred to decrease rapidly at ca 320 Ma, based on a major change in the detrital zircon age distribution. Although subduction continues, this decrease is inferred to coincide with the onset of trench retreat, slab rollback and the eastward migration of the magmatic arc that led to the Late Carboniferous to early Permian period of extension, S-type granite production and intrusion into the forearc basin, high-temperature–low-pressure metamorphism, and development of rift basins such as the Sydney–Gunnedah–Bowen system.

Turning knowledge into practical benefit: a producer case-study increasing the return on investment in science

The present paper addresses turning knowledge into practical benefit; acknowledging a critical emphasis of the career of John L. Black. Average efficiency of pasture use by beef enterprises in southern Australia is historically ~35%. Two projects established in 2002 showed that the efficiency of pasture use could approach 90% and the conservative rates observed were due to a low adoption of existing knowledge and the perceived risks from intensification. A risk-control management system, ‘More Beef from Pastures’, was developed from these projects, to identify management practices that had the largest impacts on productivity and profitability, the variables that needed to be measured and the upper and lower limits for those measurements to optimise enterprise performance. The principles from that system were incorporated into a productivity and economic spreadsheet model for a beef enterprise near Blayney on the Central Tablelands of New South Wales. The present paper reports the effects on productivity and profitability of several management scenarios, including current practice with 180 breeding cows and progeny sold in the second year after birth; buying and selling steers; making silage; or combinations of steers and silage, to maintain pasture availability between 1200 and 2600 kg DM/ha. Simulations were conducted for rainfall and growth of a phalaris–subterranean clover pasture predicted for the Blayney climate by the Sustainable Grazing Systems model for the Years 2000–2011. The simulations covered eight consecutive years from 2002 to 2009, when mean pasture growth was only 70% of the average. Results from the simulations for current practice were similar to those observed for the enterprise. The simulations showed the importance on profitability of utilising excess pasture in years of high pasture growth. The highest average profitability across years resulted from the scenario involving purchase and sale of steers, but year-to-year fluctuations were large and significant capital was required. The silage and steer-silage scenarios were intermediate in profitability, and depended on initial silage reserves and numbers of breeding cows. The exercise demonstrated that a simple spreadsheet model based on principles of animal nutrition, pasture management and economics was needed to fully evaluate alternative management strategies for practical benefit on existing beef enterprises.

Seasonal diet selection by ewes grazing within contrasting grazing systems

Grazing management systems seek to control the relationship among animals, plants and soil by regulating the number of animals and the duration and location of animals. A greater understanding of the diet selection and activity of livestock within grazing systems will assist producers to make informed management decisions about their management within complex pastures. In the present paper, differences in the diet quality, selection and activity of ewes managed within contrasting systems (continuous-grazing (CG) and an intensive (20-paddock) rotational-grazing (RG) system) within a native pasture in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, using non-invasive methodologies, are described. During two time periods (late spring and early autumn), the animals grazing within the CG system consumed a diet of higher quality and spent less time active than did those within the RG system. These differences resulted in higher individual animal production of CG animals that were able to maintain the herbage of preferred areas in a vegetative and highly nutritious state. The grazing animals selected the green herbage of higher quality than the average pasture and adjusted their selection seasonally. An underlying mechanism driving selection is the green : dead ratio of the herbage. Practically the results indicated that the green : dead ratio (or greenness) of herbage may provide a management trigger to enhance the production of animals grazing within a RG system, in particular during periods of higher requirement.

Assessing the profitability of native pasture grazing systems: a stochastic whole-farm modelling approach

Grazing enterprises on the Central Tablelands of New South Wales employ a range of different strategies to manage temperate native grassland pastures common in the high rainfall zone of southern Australia. This paper uses a stochastic whole-farm simulation modelling approach to assess the impact of grazing system and stocking rate (SR) on the long-term profitability of a representative case-study enterprise. In particular, the impact of infrastructure costs, debt and downside risk, on whole-farm performance are examined over a 10-year planning horizon. In total, 12 different strategies were modelled under both price and climate risk, with a matrix of three paddock systems (1-paddock, 4-paddock and 20-paddock rotations) and four stocking rates (SR of 3, 4.2, 5.3 and 7 ewes/ha). Profitability was primarily driven by SR. In general, higher SR increased total farm output and annual profits under favourable conditions, although they were also associated with higher costs and greater downside risk in poor seasons, which in turn was magnified by the compounding effect of accumulating debt over time. When SR increased above 4.2 ewes/ha, it had a negative impact on lamb sale weights, resulting in lower prices due to lambs not meeting the ≥40-kg liveweight specification. Although this was offset by increased whole-farm production volumes at 5.3 ewes/ha, declines in profitability occurred at 7 ewes/ha as a result of significant increases in supplement feeding costs, and lambs not meeting sale weight specifications. The analytical scale of the analysis also had an impact on the relative profitability between alternative treatments. When assessed using a partial measure of economic analysis (gross margin per ha), there was little difference between paddock system treatments at the same SR. When the cost of additional fencing and water infrastructure were accounted for at the whole-farm analytical scale, the 20 paddock system was markedly less profitable than the 1- and 4-paddock rotations. This highlights the need for assessing production systems at an appropriate analytical and temporal scale to better understand the relationship between the key drivers of long-term profitability and risk. Overall there were relatively small differences in whole-farm performance between the four best performing strategies in this study. Given the trade-offs between profitability, downside risk, ground cover and feedbase sustainability, the lower risk 1- and 4-paddock systems with a SR of 4.2 ewes/ha are proposed as being optimal.

Post-weaning growth of beef heifers drenched with long- or short-acting anthelmintics

To determine whether (i) the drenching practices of beef producers in the Central Tablelands of NSW utilising short-acting anthelmintics limit the post-weaning growth of heifers and (ii) a single weaning treatment of a long-acting anthelmintic improves post-weaning growth. Commencing at weaning, 20/100 heifers in each of five herds were injected four times at 90-day intervals with long-acting moxidectin to suppress gastrointestinal nematodes. In year 1 the balance was drenched using the owner's usual commercial practice with short-acting anthelmintics (5 herds) or left undrenched (1 herd). In year 2 the balance was drenched with long-acting moxidectin within 3 months of weaning (4 herds) or with short-acting drenches only (2 herds). At each visit live weight (LW) was recorded and a subsample tested for worm egg count (WEC) and plasma pepsinogen. In year 1 by 3 and 6 months' post weaning, suppressed heifers were significantly heavier than the undrenched and short-acting groups, and by 12 months were 40 and 28 kg heavier, respectively. In year 2, the LW of the suppressed and long-acting heifers was not different, but by 3 and 6 months both groups were significantly heavier than the short-acting group and by 12 months were 22 kg heavier. The post-weaning growth of beef heifers treated with short-acting drenches as adopted by Tablelands beef producers was slower than heifers drenched suppressively or with a single long-acting drench at weaning.

Foot abscess in sheep: Evaluation of risk factors and management options

Foot abscess of sheep is a painful, suppurative and necrotic infection of the phalanges and interphalangeal joints. Sheep affected by foot abscess may be acutely lame and pregnant ewes may die with secondary pregnancy toxemia when they fail to maintain their required level of nutrition. We conducted a cross-sectional observational study to identify and quantify possible risk factors for foot abscess.A questionnaire was designed and used to conduct telephone interviews with 115 sheep farmers in the Central Tablelands of NSW in November 2012. They were asked to provide information on their farm, the animals, and management-related information for the lambing period of a selected cohort of ewes. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted using two outcome variables: (a) the presence of foot abscess, and (b) low (<1%), medium (between 1% and 5%) or high (>5%) levels of foot abscess.High levels of clover in the paddocks grazed by sheep was associated with increased odds of foot abscess in both the models (binary model odds ratio [OR]: 3.18; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.22, 8.77 and ordinal model OR: 2.92; 95% CI: 1.35, 6.54). High risk was also associated with the farmer’s observation that it had been a wet season (ordinal model OR: 7.89, 95% CI: 2.72, 24.43) and moving sheep during lambing (binary model OR: 14.15, 95% CI: 2.30, 296.61). Similarly, farms with shale/slate type soils had lower odds of the disease compared to farms with basalt-derived soils. Farmers who used foot-baths (binary model OR: 4.05, 95% CI: 1.15, 19.34) and antibiotics (ordinal model OR: 3.16, 95% CI: 1.38, 7.66) had higher odds of foot abscess, as might be expected as they adopted these measures to deal with an increased prevalence of foot abscess. The findings from this study can be used to provide extension advice to farmers and for designing further confirmatory studies.