Dung beetles
Dung beetles play a critical role in Australia’s grazing ecosystems. By burying dung in the soil, beetles improve the flow of water, nutrients and carbon into the root zones of pastures.
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MLA’s investments in environmental sustainability research, development and adoption (RD&A) aim to provide practical solutions for industry to enhance environmental outcomes alongside red meat production.
Ongoing RD&A ensures that all sectors of the value chain are able to demonstrate their sustainability credentials and respond to changing regulatory frameworks, market requirements and community expectations around the sustainability of their products.
Environmental sustainability RD&A covers soil and landscape health, water, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity, natural capital, climate variability and waste.
Current and recent R&D explores the following areas:
Dung beetles play a critical role in Australia’s grazing ecosystems. By burying dung in the soil, beetles improve the flow of water, nutrients and carbon into the root zones of pastures.
The Australian red meat and livestock industry has set the ambitious target to be Carbon Neutral by 2030 (CN30). Find out about MLA’s approach to achieving CN30 and the benefits to industry, consumers and the community.
Over recent decades there have been consistent changes to the climate. It’s critical that climate variability is considered and managed in the livestock industry as it can have broad-ranging impacts.
Healthy soils are not there simply to support plants and their root systems; soil is a dynamic, living environment and a vital farm resource. Soil health relates to the condition of the soil and its potential to promote plant and animal health, sustain biological productivity and improve the environment.
Remnant vegetation is an important resource with high biodiversity values. For remnant vegetation to persist and provide ongoing habitat, it must be healthy. Protecting existing remnant vegetation is the number one priority for biodiversity.
Developing a better understanding of the science of methane emissions in livestock is critical to helping Australian producers increase productivity and improve sustainability.
The cattle, sheep and goat industries in Australia have had an impact on the Australia's biodiversity. This ranges from the direct impacts of land clearing for conversion to exotic pastures, overgrazing and trampling, to indirect impacts such as the introduction of weeds, changes to fire regimes, altered hydrological flows and major impacts on soil.
This booklet provides an introduction to the grazing land ecosystem and outlines a section on climate and the relationship between rainfall and pasture growth.