Review of project work to date within the Northern Grazing Systems (NGS) initiative including project work related to climate change

Summary

The projects under the Northern Grazing Systems Initiative were independently reviewed to assess learnings, achievements and lessons for future RD&E in grazing land management. The NGS achieved a great deal. The evidence supporting the recommended management strategies was reinforced and documented. Reference information is now available at both general and regional scales. The biophysical and economic models have been validated in six regions. There has been effective producer engagement considering and assessing the management strategies. There is an improved basis for discussing and assessing climate variability and change with producers at a regional level. 
There were significant lessons learnt. The initial expectations of the models GRASP and ENTERPRISE, and their capability were unrealistic. Too much was attempted in a short time and communication was at times less than optimal. The models could not analyse the infrastructure development strategy in any region and the fire management strategy in some regions. The circumstances under which adoption of recommended management practices would improve an individual property's profitability and resilience need to be better understood. Projects which could exploit the findings from this NGS Initiative and benefit property and industry profitability, productivity and resilience have been proposed.