The high price of failure

  • Resowing after a pasture or crop failure caused by pest or disease damage is costly in itself. But loss of valuable dry matter is the largest cost for a farm system.


Farmers rely on new pastures or crops being available for grazing by a certain time, and plan accordingly. If anticipated feed yields are not achieved, the implications can be serious.


The cost of establishment failure may be $3350/ha or more. These examples show the loss in DM production is often 80-90% of the total cost of establishment failure. Resowing is a significant, but lesser, additional cost.

 

Example: Cost of a pasture failure

 

Example: cost of a brassica crop failure

 

Insect damage on establishing pasture - bare seed (left) vs treated seed.