Industry programs > Collaborative programs

Grain and Graze

Grain & Graze is a research program that is working with producers and catchment groups in Australia's wheat-sheep zone to improve on-farm profitability and productivity while also achieving local catchment management targets. Grain & Graze is a joint initiative between MLA, Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), Australian Wool Innovation Limited and Land & Water Australia.

The key objectives of Grain & Graze are more profit for broadacre farmers (especially from the pasture phase of rotations), better water quality (eg, reduced recharge through using deep-rooted pastures) and enhanced condition and diversity of plants and wildlife on farms and across catchments. The Grain & Graze partners are working together to share the huge amount of information and knowledge that is already available about the best ways to manage farming systems within a catchment context.

Producers, researchers and catchment planners will design and implement on-farm trials to improve the understanding of the financial and environmental impact of broad acre management. Grain & Graze aims to increase profitability of livestock production by 10% and of crop production by 5%.

Story telling helps decision making in mixed farming

As part of the Grain & Graze Program, 40 mixed farms from nine regions across Australia have been analysed and, from these, 26 stories of success and challenges have been published in an inspiring booklet Insights into mixed farming in Australia.

The booklet is a collection of stories about families, businesses and environments from farms across Australia. It outlines a wide range of approaches farmers have attempted to improve profitability in livestock and cropping while addressing sustainability issues.

By providing generous amounts of time and sharing sensitive information, the mixed farmers revealed how they made appropriate decisions, taking into account their financial, social and environmental sustainability. And with many regions enduring years of drought, some share their drought management strategies too.

More information

Insights into mixed farming in Australia is available through Land & Water Australia: To order, contact CanPrint on 1800 776 616 quoting product code PK071331 or go to http://products.lwa.gov.au/products/pn20689 to order or download the publication.

Free Food for Thought - Grazing Winter Crops Roadshow

A series of Grain & Graze workshops are on the road to provide farmers with an understanding of how a winter crop could change the amount of feed available for grazing. The free workshops are part of the Free Food for Thought - Grazing Winter Crops Roadshow making its way across the mixed farming zones of southern Australia. They will help farmers apply the collected wisdom of researchers and collaborating farmers who have investigated the risks and benefits of grazing winter crops under the Grain & Graze Program.

At the workshops farmers can listen to speakers and discuss their ideas, and collect materials on grazing winter crops. The organisers are determined that with the information and comprehensive notes provided, farmers can walk away with the confidence to make decisions to embark on a 2008 winter crop for grazing.

Workshops will be held in the following locations. Those interested in attending should contact their Grain & Graze regional coordinator for more information about the workshops in their region.

Workshops

Cowra, NSW - Date, Venue & Time TBC