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| Issue3, October 2005 | information about Land, Water & Wool |
Saltland management pride exposed
They are among the 15 winners of the national Sustainable Grazing on Saline Lands (SGSL) ‘Pride in Saltland Management’ national photographic competition, sharing in nearly $30,000 in prizes.
The pride of Australian farmers and researchers in managing dryland salinity has been uniquely captured through the competition, which saw 400 photographs entered across five categories.
The overall winning entry, also the winner of the ‘Farmers in Action’ category, was the image titled ‘…and that’s where I live’, which depicts two farmers discussing salinity management plans.
The image, taken by Peter Garside from Alcoa, was entered by members of the South Yoting Catchment Group (an SGSL Producer Network member group) which is located in the central wheatbelt of WA. Mr Garside subsequently donated the $6000 in prizemoney to the catchment group to help contribute to on-ground salinity management activities. Other major prize winners included:
A travelling exhibition of winning entries from the ‘SGSL Pride in Saltland Management’ photography competition will be on display at numerous natural resource management conferences and other events nationally in coming months. Full story: www.landwaterwool.gov.au/news.asp?news=17 |
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Mike Wagg, Program Manager It’s hard to believe how quickly the season can turn around, particularly given the particularly the extreme dry conditions many of the research sites and woolgrowers associated with Land, Water & Wool were facing as recently as autumn. While there is still a long way to go in many regions, recent rainfall has helped to kick-start some of our research projects that were delayed due to seasonal conditions – and injected a greatly-appreciated ‘positive’ into farming communities. We are now approaching a very interesting phase for the program, with many sub-programs moving toward finalising research results and examining in detail the data, grower experience and other information that will help provide us with a clearer understanding of the interaction between grazing sheep and the bigger natural resource management picture. From this important analysis phase we aim to develop clear recommendations and findings that will have implications for both on-farm and catchment management, as well as being of interest at the policy level within government and across the wool industry My recent travels to Land, Water & Wool project sites and meetings with project teams have reinforced to me the value of researchers working so closely with wool growers and their advisors, ensuring practical, profitable and relevant messages are emerging from our research investment. A number of technical guides, detailed grower case studies and numerous other products currently under development will help the industry to build in improved NRM into day-to-day management of a wool growing business. Supported by our Delivery and Communication Projects, we will start to see a number of flagship Land, Water & Wool products emerge in coming months that will have the dual purpose of being intuitive and practical for farm managers as well as helping to showcase the wool industry’s environmental credentials to the broader community. We have a busy final quarter of the year ahead, with the Sustainable Wool Advisory Group touring our South Australian Rivers and Native Vegetation sites as part of the Stipa Native Grasses conference in Burra, the launch of the SGSL Pride in Saltland Management photography competition travelling exhibition and a number of project field days, workshops and researcher and grower involvement in conferences. See the Land, Water & Wool diary in this edition of Update for more information and keep an eye on our new website calendar for upcoming events of interest. CONTACT: Mike Wagg, Program Manager, Land, Water & Wool, mike.wagg@lwa.gov.au |
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Biodiversity boosts the bottom line |
Many wool-growing properties provide habitat for native plants and animals, including threatened and declining species, research emerging from Land, Water & Wool’s Native Vegetation and Biodiversity sub-program is demonstrating. Research underway in Tasmania, for example, has found that a 2000-hectare property in the northern Midlands running wethers and is 98 per cent native contains the most moss species ever recorded in the catchment, the highest number of vascular plant species recorded in the surveys undertaken to date and the equivalent of 500,000 soil mites per cubic metre. This figure is comparable to the richest sites in the world, and doesn’t include any red-legged earth mites. As much as half the sheep flock (around two million sheep) in Tasmania graze on native country. Healthy native pastures with a diversity of grasses and wildflowers, few weeds and threatened plant and animal species produce some of Tasmania’s most highly valued fine and superfine wool.
New Native Pasture Guidelines being developed by the Tasmanian project detail how choosing the right stocking rate is more important than selecting a particular grazing method. Seven important aspects of grazing systems are outlined in the Guidelines, which will be released by Land, Water & Wool in coming months. Case study data being collected as part of the Native Vegetation and Biodiversity sub-program further shows that both conservation and production goals can be achieved as part of profitable farming enterprises.
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New ProductsA number of new information products are now available from Land, Water & Wool. Hard copies can be ordered by contacting CanPrint (freecall 1800 776 616) and quoting the relevant product number and most products can also be downloaded from the Land, Water & Wool website:
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Land, Water & Wool Diary
Land, Water & Wool researchers and grower networks are involved in a number of information and learning forums in coming months. For further details regarding any of these upcoming events, contact: Kim Mitchell, kim@curriecom.com.au or Fleur Flanery, fleur.flanery@lwa.gov.au October 2005 November 2005
February 2006
March 2006
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Feedback?Get in touch with the Land, Water & Wool Communication Team with any feedback, events, activities or interesting research outcomes that you want to share with the Land, Water & Wool program team. CONTACT: Kim Mitchell, kim@curriecom.com.au or Fleur Flanery fleur.flanery@lwa.gov.au |
Disclaimer The information contained in this publication is intended for general use, to assist public knowledge and discussion and to help improve the sustainable management of land, water and vegetation. It includes general statements based on scientific research. Readers are advised and need to be aware that this information may be incomplete or unsuitable for use in specific situations. Before taking any action or decision based on the information in this publication, readers should seek expert professional, scientific and technical advice.
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What do a catchment management group and an agricultural scientist from Western Australia; a grain and sheep farmer from Victoria, and a wool producer and Landcare group from South Australia all have in common?
