Soils4Grazing is a joint project between Southern Gulf Catchments Limited and the Queensland government’s FutureBeef team to assist producers recover pastures on degraded but otherwise productive land types.
The project is investigating the use of mechanical treatments to restore productive grazing land, increase vegetation cover and promote storage of carbon in the soil. It aims to identify the most suitable methods for different land types. Continue Reading…
Fertility rundown in sown grass pastures is a widespread problem in Queensland, with an estimated cost to industry of more than $17 billion during the next 30 years.
It results in less vigorous, less productive pastures with a lower basal groundcover and increased bare ground, leading to increased run-off and soil erosion. The decline in vigour of the pasture also results in lower competitive ability and the subsequent invasion by unproductive grasses and weeds.
In the Maranoa-Balonne, the Queensland Murray-Darling Committee has worked to demonstrate the importance of nutrients on the health, groundcover and production of rundown pastures to local landholders. Continue Reading…
Landholders across the Queensland Murray-Darling Basin have contributed more than $350,000 to on-ground works as part of the Queensland Murray-Darling Committee’s sub-catchment planning process in recent years.
QMDC Chief Executive Officer Geoff Penton said sub-catchment planning (SCP) encouraged landholders to address land, water, vegetation and other natural resource management (NRM) issues at a landscape scale.
“SCP is a local community process whereby we can leverage funding, for example from the Queensland Government’s Q2 Coasts and Country program, into significant on-ground outcomes,” he said. Continue Reading…
When floodwaters in the Condamine catchment broke a creek bank in early 2011, one Darling Downs farmer lost an estimated 34,000 tonnes of soil as it washed away from his 35 hectare cropping paddock. With water 1 metre deep in some areas, up to 75 centimetres of soil was lost in the worst affected areas. Continue Reading…
An innovative model focussed on local land manager experience and world best practice for a positive return on investment has been helping graziers in south west Queensland build landscape and business resilience.
The holistic and integrated program, coordinated by South West NRM aims to improve grazing practices, environment and business sustainability in south west Queensland’s mulga lands. The suite of activities offered to graziers include improving knowledge and skills through training workshops, the establishment of on-property NRM Learning Sites, on-going support from project field staff and seed funding to improve ground cover and business sustainability outcomes. Continue Reading…
