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18 May 2024

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The national feedbase imagery from the 18th of May shows the continued accumulation of biomass across the northern portion of the Northern Territory and Northwest areas of Queensland.  It is evident that the drawn-out wet season and milder conditions in the recent months have allowed growth to continue, which has extended to the southeast of Queensland and along the NSW coast.  However, Western Australia, Tasmania and parts of South Australia still lack the conditions to support meaningful biomass growth. 

TSDM

Nationally TSDM images are dominated by the high levels of biomass across the VRD, Barkly and Top End regions of the Northern Territory. This accumulation extends across the Gulf Regions of Queensland and into the lower cape. More broadly in Queensland and NSW, TSDM levels remain largely above 1200kg DM/Ha. However, across the central and western parts of the nation, TSDM levels continue to average well below 1000kg DM/ Ha. This is also evident in south-west Victoria and into the Bass Straight islands.

GSDM

Green standing dry matter levels replicate the growth noted in Fractional Cover. Eastern NSW has generally average to high amounts of Green Standing Dry Matter, as does eastern, central, and northern Queensland.

Ground Cover

Ground cover levels remain largely similar to previous observations with no significant alternations noted.

FC

Active growth events, as represented by Fractional Cover are largely confined to the eastern and northern areas of the continent. High levels of soil moisture, average temperatures have combined to allow growth events to continue in these regions. Some growth activity in the southwest of Western Australia is now noticeable and should see increases in TSDM over coming weeks.

DSDM

Dead Standing Dry Matter imagery identifies areas of northern and central Queensland which now have significant bodies of dead standing dry matter. In some areas north of Mt Isa and east of Longreach, these areas have amounts exceeding 1500kg/DM/Ha. Further south the amounts of dead material on offer is well below 800kg DM/Ha.

DecileTSDM

The Seasonal Ranking (based on the past 8-year average reflect these growth patterns. The Bass Straight islands continue to be in the lowest decile when compared to this point over the past 8 years. Western Australia and South Australia are also considered to be largely in the lowest decile bands. However eastern states and particularly Queensland the trend is for most regions to be above the long-term average for this point in the season.

For more localised information including regional level overviews, users are encouraged to explore the Cibo Labs Regional Comparison. This tool provides regional data that may show the impact of localised weather or fire events. A further level of detail for individual properties is available for users who have created an Australian Feedbase Monitor account, which can be accessed both through the MyMLA portal or through the Cibo Labs website.

The Cibo Labs National Comparison can be used to freely access these layers (https://www.cibolabs.com.au/products/national-comparsion/) to view the most recent images from a national, state or catchment level. Users can also access past images to compare national changes in Pasture Biomass or Ground Cover.  This tool can complement the Australian Feedbase Monitor which can also be created within the Cibo Labs Web Site www.cibolabs.com.au

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