mitchell grass

To anyone living in Mitchell grass country, the impact of severe drought conditions on this most hardy of grasses is as plain as the nose on your face.

Vast areas of this icon pasture species appear to have little or no live tussocks to take advantage of rain, when it finally comes in falls good enough to promote growth. The big questions are: are there enough viable seeds in the soil to fuel regeneration; and will these ‘sunlit plains extended’ return to their former glory as the engine-room of western Queensland ’s pastoral production?

One who has a close affinity with, and a deep concern for, Mitchell grass is Jundah district grazier, Peter Douglas. He says that in his 32 years of experience, he has never seen the like of the current die-back.

“It’s so bad at the moment that a lot of country is now totally destocked and will need time to recover.

“What we need is the right combination of seasons, and the financial and mental strength to wait and give the pasture time to fully recover before restocking.

“And that combination of seasons,” he adds wryly, “could be a long time coming.”

According to the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries’ Principle Scientist, David Phelps, the Mitchell grasslands of Queensland have suffered major pasture loss during drought conditions which began in 2000.

“There has been wide-spread death and weakening of Mitchell grass plants,” he says.

“We’re working, in partnership with Meat and Livestock Australia, and Land Water and Wool, to get a handle on pasture loss across the region, assess the impact on profitability, and to help graziers in the recovery of their Mitchell grass pastures.”

Preliminary studies have shown that approximately one third of Mitchell grass pastures are in poor condition, suffering reduced tussock density (from death) and poor response to rainfall. These studies were conducted in September 2005 and further study is planned to follow rain to gain greater understanding of the state of the Mitchell grasslands.

Dan Forster, Ian Houston and Leilani Weier inspect the recovery of Mitchell grass tussocks

Mitchell grass scientist with DPI&F, Lyndal Rolfe says that like graziers, she and her fellow researchers are hanging out for some decent rain.

“In January this year we sent out Mitchell grass information kits throughout the Central West and North West ,” she says.

“Hopefully we’ll get some decent falls and people can use these kits to guide their grazing management to help drought-affected Mitchell grass plants recharge and make the best use of summer rain.”

Future work includes an economic analysis, soil seed bank surveys and collation of historical property records and producer experiences. Lyndal Rolfe says that the results of their research will be made available to landholders through information and training packages such as Grazing Land Management.  The Grazing Land Management project is managed and jointly funded by Longreach-based community group, Desert Channels Queensland.