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Abstract
Poorer performing paddocks have plagued farmers often because paddocks tend to be treated
as homogeneous when most are heterogeneous in the response to our current systems. The
treatment of these paddocks requires that knowledge of where yield and quality differences
are occurring. Differences in yield and quality necessitate a response action to occur to
ensure that the management of these paddocks change. The purpose of zone management is
to optimise the yield and quality of produce from the inputs applied to achieve high
output/input ratios across the zones within the paddocks.
The identification of performance differences in paddocks ensures that more efficient zone
management practices can be applied to the paddock increasing the chances to profit. The
benefits to the grower are that they are able to focus at a paddock level, assess change and
viability of change to their practices.