Rangelands living skin

Summary

The project will engage leading feedbase, climate and environmental scientists from NSW DPI and other agriculture consultants to implement and measure best practice rangeland management, including grazing management and other interventions. The project will initiate with baselines on four sites and then upscaled to a further 20 properties to support implementation and measurement of best practice management over a number of years. Each site will compare and measure improvement in productivity land condition across the Western Division of NSW, between Wentworth and Cobar.

Objectives

By 2025 the Living Skin project will:

1. Demonstrate, implement and measure a range of best management practice (BMP) for rangelands production systems to increase productivity, and business and environmental sustainability.

2. Upscale for further data capture, validation and enable wider practice change

3. Create wider awareness of a range of BMP and support building of a larger rangelands stakeholder network, including advisors for ongoing implementation

4. Validate and develop a framework for assessing and demonstrating improvements in ground cover and soil condition

Progress

Monitoring of replicated trials and demonstrations has continued at all four core producer sites. This involves measures of groundcover, plant diversity and soil properties. Site treatments include various techniques to revegetated degraded areas including water ponding, herd impact, sowing of native perennials and application of biochar and vermicast.  

A number of extension and capacity building activities have been delivered over recent months, including workshops on grazing management and soil health, soil biology, groundcover and general project progress. Observer producers have also been training and provided access to kits and support to conduct soil testing across observer producer properties.