This Agricultural Nnote provides information on the use of preservatives for safer storage of hay in Australia. When deciding which product to use, it is important to understand the differences between each of the products and when each can or cannot be used.

The heating of hay results in losses of dry matter, digestible nutrients and energy as a result of a complex chain of biological activities. Palatability will also decline as dust from mould spores develop. If heating continues, chemical reactions can begin, possibly leading to haystack fires due to spontaneous combustion.

Haystack fires have a range of causes such as lightning strikes, sparks from equipment and machinery and deliberately or accidentally started. However, many haystack fires self-ignite for no apparent reason. This is called spontaneous combustion and is the leading cause of haystack fires in Victoria. Spontaneous combustion can occur in a stack of any size...

This Agricultural Note provides information on bioethanol, drivers and barriers for production, markets, and research and development in Victoria, Australia.

Many important diseases of pulses can be seed-borne. Pulse growers can minimize losses from these diseases by using high quality seed. Seed testing is required to establish whether seed is infected. Seed health tests are currently available to detect the most important seed-borne pathogens of pulses. Only seed that is pathogen-free should be used for...