Craig Butcher is a rural contractor who also operates a small property at Theebine, 30 km north of Gympie. Craig is a near neighbour to Stuart Volmerhausen and observed what Stuart did to attempt to arrest the advance of pasture dieback across his property 12 months ago. Craig followed suit.

Craig has recently completed his second round of treatment and contacted me to report his observations.

A visit soon showed why he is pleased with the effect of TM Agricultural treatment to date. His property is literally surrounded by paddocks of pasture, all affected to a lesser or greater degree with dieback.

Contrariwise, his pasture to the fence line remains free of any substantial dieback. There are some mild symptoms with the tips of bluegrass leaves showing a purple tinge, but a close inspection shows an active root system and otherwise healthy plant resisting further degradation.

There is no evidence of mealy bug on his side of the fence. Craig indicates that a neighbour has reported mealy bug in the affected pasture.

It must be said that Craig manages his pasture efficiently. He maintains short feed unlike his neighbours but observes that his cattle hold superior condition compared with those across the fence. He mechanically aerates his pasture on an annual basis, one of the services he offers to his clients.

Needless to say, Craig is an advocate for improving soil health and finds TM Agricultural to be an effective and economical medium to achieve that end. Craig is convinced that dieback is not caused by mealy bug, and maintains they are a secondary infestation. TM Agricultural is assisting his dieback management program.

Brice Kaddatz
Macadamia & Horticultural Services
Gympie. Qld,
0438 861198