Case Study: Control Made Easy

Brad Wooldridge, Western Australia

The need to rebuild a bank of clover seed depleted after a poor spring in 2006 and two false autumn breaks is the deciding factor in Brad Wooldridge’s plan to reuse the Timerite® program to control redlegged earth this spring.

Mr Wooldridge has watched the clover base of his pasture decline as a failed spring cut short flowering and seed set.

Spring was  followed by late autumns, marred by false breaks, where clover germination failed.

“After two tough years we need to give the clover that’s remaining every chance to set seed,” he says.

Mr Wooldridge runs 3,000 Merino ewes and a small Suffolk stud on 550 ha of pasture and crops a further 650 ha. Half the ewes are joined to Merinos and half are joined to Suffolks, with all ewes lambing in July.

One of the challenges on the farm, apart from the weather, has been dealing with mites in crops and pastures.

“We started using the Timerite® program to control redlegs about five years ago and treated every pasture on the property three years in a row, “ Mr Wooldridge says

“We got on top of the earth mites so two years ago we switched from Timerite® to using a winter control program of two sprays a month apart.

“The winter spraying program turned out to be a nightmare – it involved twice as much spraying, it was hard to get on wet paddocks and the weather wasn’t always ideal. We also had to destock paddocks at a time when we were short of feed to observe withholding periods and there was the added pressure to get crops sprayed.

“It made me realise just how good the Timerite® system is because it involves one spray, the weather is better, there’s less pressure of paddock feed and the days are longer so you manage the work load.

Last year Mr Wooldridge leased some extra land in March which had redlegged earth mites and also required winter spraying.

“I had planned to use Timerite® in October 2006 but our spring cut out extremely early. We were under a lot of stress to get jobs done in the lead up to the drought and missed the Timerite® spray date," he says.

“We are now at the point where we need to take control again and cut numbers to a manageable level”

Mr Wooldridge will be ensuring a Timerite® spray this spring is a management priority, especially for paddocks where pastures have been resown.

“Timerite® controls the redlegged earth mite before they damage the clover going into seed set and before the mites have a chance to lay eggs.

“We’re hoping for a better seed set and a reduced redlegged earth mite hatching in pastures next autumn when the clover germinates.”