|  Our Valuable Native Grasslands, Better Pastures Naturally
Proceedings of the Second National Conference of the Native Grasses Association
Innovation and Development in the Central West
Roadside Conservation Officer, The Rural City of Wangaratta
|  Our Valuable Native Grasslands, Better Pastures Naturally
Proceedings of the Second National Conference of the Native Grasses Association
Innovation and Development in the Central West
Roadside Conservation Officer, The Rural City of Wangaratta, Victoria, 3677.
Former Native Grass Harvester, Native Grasses Inovation and Development Program, Department of Land and Water Conservation, Wellington, NSW.
In recent times there has been a surge of activity relating to the recognition and development of native grasses as valuable, sustainable entities to both production agriculture and habitat conservation/restoration. An important contributing factor in this recent activity has been research (both private and government) into the harvesting and sowing of native grass seed, and the development of a native grass seed industry.
One of the most significant contributors to the development of harvesting and sowing activity was the Natural Heritage Trust funded "Native Grasses Innovation and Development Project" (DLWC). A key focus of this program was to develop machinery that can efficiently and economically harvest and sow a wide range of perennial native grasses.
This project worked closely with the Barney's Reef Landcare Group and Stipa and since the closure of the project this groups has continued to be very active in pursuing the continued development of this technology, and taking the next bold step: commercial and contract harvesting of native grass seed. This paper will provide a background of some of the most up to date native grass seed harvesting technology, and follow the progress of the continued pursuit of improvement.
If there is to be wide-scale acceptance of the use of native grasses in agricultural Australia, there are a number of critical obstacles, which must first be overcome. Of highest priority is the problem of seed supply. The harvesting of native grass seed has, until recently, been a slow and laborious task, usually resulting in small amounts of seed. Such efforts have been useful mostly on a small scale, and the cost of seed gathered in such ways restricting its use on a landscape scale.
Firstly, research has been hampered by the lack of readily available, good quality seed. There is therefore a relative lack of the type of solid information that is needed to persuade farmers to adapt to new species and technologies.
Secondly, re-establishment of native grasslands in a broad acre situation has not been generally successful, even where farmers are inclined to give it a go:
- Use of seed with low levels of germination (often bought untested) has resulted in unsuccessful or poor establishment and has given the impression that it just can't be done.
- Lack of availability of the most appropriate species or provenance type has led to inferior or unsuitable species being sown with poor results.
- The high cost of the seed that has been available has meant that it has been put out of the reach of the general landholder.
Thirdly, the same high cost, lack of reliable supply and most importantly, quality of seed, is a huge stumbling block for the fledgling native grass seed industry. It is also fair to say, however, that there is a huge interest in what native grasses have to offer in terms of sustainable grazing, habitat restoration or aesthetics. The established seed industry has effectively failed to take up the challenge and has been loath to invest significantly in order to overcome these problems.
Clearly, there was a need to develop equipment that could practically and economically harvest large quantities of seed. The Native Grasses Innovation and Development Program had as one of its aims therefore, to remove this important barrier to adoption.
This project resulted in substantial improvements to the accessibility of native grass harvesting machinery as well as increasing the experience and expertise necessary to harvest high quality seed regularly and reliably from natural stands. Two different machines were evaluated: the "Grasshopper" brush harvester, and the "Scorpion" vacuum harvester. It was felt that both these machines fulfilled several essential criteria:
- Both machines were entry-level machines with low initial cost but significant flexibility and development potential should this be desired.
- Both appeared to be easily transportable, sturdy enough to negotiate fairly rugged terrain, and running and maintenance cost was low.
- Both machines were easy to operate, making them suitable for groups of people with a broad range of skill levels as may be experienced in community groups such as Landcare groups.
Parallel to the needs of technological advancement, was the need to locate remnant stands of native grasses of a size and purity suitable for harvesting. The development of best management practices for such areas, with the objective of sustainable yields of high quality seed was also crucial. These stands had to encompass all areas within the region, to ensure that provenance selection for re-establishment could be successfully carried out.
Since the closure of the Native Grasses Innovation and Development Project the Barney's Reef Landcare Group, in co-operation with Rosevale Engineering, has continued the development of the Scorpion Harvester concept. As a result, a new harvester was borne, the "Rosevale Reaper". This new machine has incorporated the basic design concepts of the Scorpion to result in a machine that has far greater versatility due to ease of transport, vastly improves operator comfort and safety and maintains an