To maintain the 3 pillars of sustainability (remember them?) Farmers cannot just "spray everything", but must use Integrated Pest Management (IPM). This means they use every tool in the shed—biological, cultural, and chemical—to protect their product, food, fibre or plants for sale. To manage a farm, farmers don't immediately react with the most force when things get sick. They use a combination of Prevention (stopping it before it starts) and Control (treating it once it arrives).
PRACTICE: Following on from yesterday, add this information to your notes in a table form, or use some of it to update information you already have.
The Impact: Stolen nutrients lead to weight loss, "scouring" (diarrhea), and poor wool quality.
Prevention: Paddock Rotation. Move sheep to "clean" pastures where no sheep have grazed for months to break the worm life cycle.
Control: Conduct a Worm Egg Count (WEC). If the count is high, use a chemical Drench.
The Impact: Severe lameness (limping). Sheep cannot walk to find food or water, leading to starvation.
Prevention: Biosecurity. Ensure all new sheep are quarantined and their hooves are inspected. Keep sheep out of muddy, waterlogged paddocks.
Control: Foot-bathing. Walking sheep through a trough of zinc sulphate to kill the bacteria.
The Impact: Loss of muscle control. Cows "go down" and cannot stand, leading to death.
Prevention: Dietary Management. Carefully manage the calcium and magnesium intake of "close-up" (nearly calving) cows.
Control: Intravenous (IV) or Subcutaneous Calcium. Fast-acting injections to restore blood calcium levels.
The Impact: These insects suck sap, causing leaves to wilt. More importantly, they act as Vectors, carrying deadly viruses from plant to plant.
Prevention: The Green Bridge. Kill weeds around the crop where these insects hide over winter. Use Blue Sticky Traps to monitor for Thrips.
Control: Biological Control. Release predatory insects like Ladybirds (for Aphids) or Predatory Mites (for Thrips).
The Impact: "Pustules" on leaves stop the plant from photosynthesising, leading to shriveled grain and massive yield loss.
Prevention: Genetic Resistance. Choose to plant resistant varieties of wheat that are bred to fight the fungus.
Control: Foliar Fungicides. Spraying the leaves with chemicals if weather conditions (warm and damp) make a rust outbreak likely.
PRACTICE:
Sort the strategies listed above into biological, chemical and cultural categories.
PRACTICE:
Use the marking scheme to evaluate your work
Scenario: A farmer in the Macedon Ranges notices her sheep are limping after a very wet winter. She suspects Footrot.
Describe the impact this will have on the farm's productivity.
Apply the principle of IPM by suggesting one Prevention strategy and one Control strategy.