Grazing management to protect water and soils

Walking 10 kilometres for a drink of water is a bit extreme - even for cattle.

That's how far stock on some properties were travelling to get to water before the Bymount sub-catchment group in southern Queensland took a close look at how the cattle grazed.

The problem was not only the impact on cattle condition, but the impact on the land in terms of erosion, soil compaction and the resulting loss of productive pasture.

So when landholders high up in the Balonne catchment north of Roma got together to develop their sub-catchment plan, they focussed on grazing management systems as one of their priorities.

Funding

The Australian and State Governments provided $195,000 funding to the Queensland Murray Darling Committee (QMDC) to help put the sub-catchment plan into action.

Activities

Not only were the cattle wearing tracks in the land by long walks to water, they were grazing the large paddocks very unevenly.

"In one part of the country, the cattle would just flog it, and in another the grass would be up to your knees," said landholder Warren Thomas.

"To overcome these problems we've put in more watering points, so the cattle don't have to walk so far for a drink, and fencing to help us even out the grazing.

"The fencing means we can lock some paddocks up and let the ground cover grow back.

"When the cattle aren't walking so far they stay in better condition, and by managing the grazing better we cut down on erosion. So it works environmentally and economically."

Alexis Wegener, Landcare Coordinator for the sub-catchment group, said the Bymount team was made up of established close-knit grazing families.

"As a result of the sub-catchment planning the group has become involved in grazing management training," Alexis said.

"This involved two two-day workshops covering topics like land condition assessment, short and long-term carrying capacity according to land type, and condition and pasture management.

"The group's efforts have had beneficial impacts on the whole spectrum of natural resource management issues. As well as soil conservation, these include improving water quality, better management of vegetation and of weeds and pests."

More information

• Alexis Wegener, QMDC Landcare Coordinator: alexisw@qmdc.org.au

Australian Government NRM Team
GPO Box 787
Canberra ACT 2601 Australia
1800 552 008 (toll-free)

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