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Dr Meredith Leigh Mitchell an Australian agronomist. She is a senior research scientist with the Victorian Department of Environment and Primary Industries.
Mitchell has worked for the Department of Environment and Primary Industries and been based at Rutherglen for the last 25 years. She is a pasture agronomist and her research has focused on the selection of native grass cultivars for agricultural systems and the management of existing native pastures. Mitchell was part of the successful LIGULE [1] [2] [3] native grass selection project, from which six native grass cultivars have been released.
Mitchell has participated in a number of multi-disciplinary teams, collaborating with agricultural scientists from different state departments and universities throughout Australia. This research has involved national germplasm by environment trials on a range of both native (NLIGN) [4] [5] [6] and introduced species. [7] [8] Mitchell was part of the CRC for Plant Based Management of Dryland Salinity and part of the Future Farm Industries CRC.
Mitchell has published an identification book on native grasses, [9] which is currently in its third edition, and has co-authored two book chapters on native pastures. [10] [11]
Mitchell received her PhD in 2013 from Charles Sturt University. The research focused on Microlaena ( Microlaena stipoides var. stipoides) a native perennial grass that is widespread in native pastures of the temperate high rainfall zone (> 550 mm AAR) of south-eastern Australia. [12] [13] [14] [15] The thesis addressed the underlying ecology of the species and examines those attributes which allow it to be sustained and increased in grazed native pastures. A greater understanding of species ecology will allow better optimisation of its contribution to the provision of feed and ground cover. To undertake this postgraduate training, Mitchell was supported by a scholarship from Charles Sturt University, a top up scholarship from FFI CRC and a DPI postgraduate award. Mitchell also received a Fellowship from AW Howard Memorial Trust.
Mitchell was a Proof site leader on the EverGraze project. [16] [17] EverGraze is seeking to develop new farming systems for the high rainfall zone (>550 mm) based on deep rooted perennial pastures that significantly increase wool and livestock producers' profits, while stabilising or enhancing natural resource management (NRM) outcomes. This research has focused on the effects of grazing management on the production, botanical composition and nutritive characteristics of perennial native pastures using a breeding merino ewes.
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of grasses. According to Britannica, there exists four savanna forms; savanna woodland where trees and shrubs form a light canopy, tree savanna with scattered trees and shrubs, shrub savanna with distributed shrubs, and grass savanna where trees and shrubs are mostly nonexistent.
Pasture is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or swine. The vegetation of tended pasture, forage, consists mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs. Pasture is typically grazed throughout the summer, in contrast to meadow which is ungrazed or used for grazing only after being mown to make hay for animal fodder. Pasture in a wider sense additionally includes rangelands, other unenclosed pastoral systems, and land types used by wild animals for grazing or browsing.
In agriculture, rotational grazing, as opposed to continuous grazing, describes many systems of pasturing, whereby livestock are moved to portions of the pasture, called paddocks, while the other portions rest. Each paddock must provide all the needs of the livestock, such as food, water and sometimes shade and shelter. The approach often produces lower outputs than more intensive animal farming operations, but requires lower inputs, and therefore sometimes produces higher net farm income per animal.
Trifolium repens, the white clover, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the bean family Fabaceae. It is native to Europe, including the British Isles, and central Asia and is one of the most widely cultivated types of clover. It has been widely introduced worldwide as a forage crop, and is now also common in most grassy areas of North America, Australia and New Zealand. The species includes varieties often classed as small, intermediate and large, according to height, which reflects petiole length. The term 'white clover' is applied to the species in general, 'Dutch clover' is often applied to intermediate varieties, and 'ladino clover' is applied to large varieties.
In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible cellulose within grass and other forages into meat, milk, wool and other animal products, often on land unsuitable for arable farming.
Rangelands are grasslands, shrublands, woodlands, wetlands, and deserts that are grazed by domestic livestock or wild animals. Types of rangelands include tallgrass and shortgrass prairies, desert grasslands and shrublands, woodlands, savannas, chaparrals, steppes, and tundras. Rangelands do not include forests lacking grazable understory vegetation, barren desert, farmland, or land covered by solid rock, concrete and/or glaciers.
Panicum virgatum, commonly known as switchgrass, is a perennial warm season bunchgrass native to North America, where it occurs naturally from 55°N latitude in Canada southwards into the United States and Mexico. Switchgrass is one of the dominant species of the central North American tallgrass prairie and can be found in remnant prairies, in native grass pastures, and naturalized along roadsides. It is used primarily for soil conservation, forage production, game cover, as an ornamental grass, in phytoremediation projects, fiber, electricity, heat production, for biosequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide, and more recently as a biomass crop for ethanol and butanol.
Soil salinity and dryland salinity are two problems degrading the environment of Australia. Salinity is a concern in most states, but especially in the south-west of Western Australia.
Andropogon gerardi, commonly known as big bluestem, is a species of tall grass native to much of the Great Plains and grassland regions of central and eastern North America. It is also known as tall bluestem, bluejoint, and turkeyfoot.
Festuca arundinacea (syn., Schedonorus arundinaceus and Lolium arundinaceum) is a species of grass commonly known as tall fescue. It is a cool-season perennial C3 species of bunchgrass native to Europe. It is an important forage grass throughout Europe, and many cultivars have been used in agriculture. It is also an ornamental grass in gardens, and a phytoremediation plant.
Scottsdale Reserve is a 1,328-hectare (3,280-acre) nature reserve on the Murrumbidgee River in south-central New South Wales, Australia. It is 79 kilometres (49 mi) south of Canberra, and 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) north of Bredbo. It is owned and managed by Bush Heritage Australia (BHA), which purchased it in 2006. The purchase was supportive of projects aiming to connect existing fragmented remnant habitat such as K2C. Since the 1870s up until 2006, the land was used for agriculture – primarily sheep grazing with some minor cropping. A significant component of the Reserve has been cleared of native vegetation.
Lolium multiflorum is a ryegrass native to temperate Europe, though its precise native range is unknown.
Panicum decompositum, known by the common names native millet, native panic, Australian millet, papa grass, and umbrella grass, is a species of perennial grass native to the inland of Australia. It occurs in every mainland state. The seeds can be cultivated to produce flour typically used in Aboriginal bushfood. The species is also considered to have relatively high palatability by livestock, making it suitable for grazing pastures.
Megathyrsus maximus, known as Guinea grass and green panic grass, is a large perennial bunch grass that is native to Africa and Yemen. It has been introduced in the tropics around the world. It has previously been called Urochloa maxima and Panicum maximum. It was moved to the genus Megathyrsus in 2003.
Microlaena stipoides, synonym Ehrharta stipoides, is a species of grass. It occurs naturally in all states of Australia as well as in New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and the Philippines. It has also been introduced into Hawaii and Reunion Island and has been reported as invasive in both. Common names used include weeping grass, weeping rice grass and weeping meadow grass.
Desmanthus virgatus is a species of flowering plant in the legume family that is known by many common names, including wild tantan, prostrate bundleflower, dwarf koa, desmanto, acacia courant, acacia savane, pompon blank, adormidera, brusca prieta, frijolillo, ground tamarind, guajillo, guashillo, huarangillo, langalet, petit acacia, petit cassie, petit mimosa, virgate mimosa, and slender mimosa, as well as simply desmanthus. It is native to the American tropics and subtropics but is present elsewhere as an introduced species. In some areas it is cultivated as a fodder and forage crop.
Derrick Thomas was a British agricultural researcher with special contributions to grassland and forage research in the tropics.
Rangeland management is a natural science that centers around the study of rangelands and the "conservation and sustainable management [of Arid-Lands] for the benefit of current societies and future generations". Range management is defined by Holechek et al. as the "manipulation of rangeland components to obtain optimum combination of goods and services for society on a sustained basis".
A pasture wedge graph or feed wedge is a farm management tool used by dairy farmers for the purposes of managing pasture. It takes the form of a bar graph, that shows the amount of feed available in a pasture over time, and is therefore shaped as a declining wedge.
Eragrostis setifolia, commonly known as neverfail grass, is a species of perennial grass in the family Poaceae native to Australia, where it is widespread and common throughout the range lands and is commonly utilized as a pasture grass. According to IUCN classification it is listed as a least concern species throughout most of its range with the exception of Victoria where it is classified as vulnerable. It is capable of C4 photosynthesis.
