In what should be a win for cattle producers and the environment, work is underway to develop a sterile form of the legume tree known as leucaena.

Leucaena is regarded as a high-value fodder crop and is grown across a number of areas in Queensland, but is not allowed to be grown on pastoral leases in Western Australia because of its weed status. Listen Duration: 4 minutes 35 seconds 4 m 35 s Listen Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Senior research officer Clinton Revell explains the sterile leucaena project ( Matt Brann ) Download 1.1 MB

The sterile leucaena project in Western Australia has just received $2.3 million in funding from the WA Government, Meat and Livestock Australia Donor Company, and the University of Queensland.

WA's Minister for Agriculture Alannah MacTiernan, said the development of a sterile leucaena could strengthen WA's beef industry and "drive new jobs in the north".

"Providing northern beef producers with a highly productive, cost-effective fodder that poses no risk to the rangelands environment presents real opportunities for finishing off our cattle here in WA and creating jobs across the north," she said.

"The development of a sterile leucaena would have an application far beyond WA — both nationally and internationally — putting our industry back at the forefront of research and development."

Cattle graze on leucaena near Rockhampton, Queensland. The fodder crop is not permitted on pastoral leases in WA because of its weed status. ( Supplied: DEEDI )

Cattle industry excited by new leucaena opportunities

Kimberley Pilbara Cattlemen's Association chairman, David Stoate, said the prospect of being able to grow leucaena without the environmental concerns was exciting.

"Leucaena has been talked about for a long time as having great potential for pastoralists in the north of WA," he said.

"So we've heard about it for a long time, but nothing much has happened because of troubles with diversification permits and the likes, so hopefully this can reinvigorate the whole push for leucaena in the north."

Senior research officer Clinton Revell said conventional breeding technology would be used to develop the variety, and the research project would include several field trials at controlled irrigated and dryland production sites across the Kimberley and Pilbara.

He said plant breeding took time, but researchers were hopeful of being able to successfully develop a sterile leucaena that would deliver results for the northern cattle sector.

"Leucaena is highly regarded in Queensland. It is regarded as one of the higher-value fodder options," he said.

"It's got a number of important attributes that we're keen to pick up on and see if we can get this species to contribute to WA pastoral businesses."

The last commercial plantation of leucaena in Western Australia's north was grown on freehold land near Kununurra by the Consolidated Pastoral Company, but was cleared to make way for Indian sandalwood trees in 2008.