Helping farmers with property management

Farmers need to manage their properties sustainably and to do this they have to make decisions based on the best available advice and information.

In southern Queensland the Queensland Murray Darling Committee Inc. (QMDC) has taken steps to underpin the technical advice it provides to regional landholders.

Together with CSIRO it developed the SAGE project - an acronym for Scenario Analyses of Grain-grazing Enterprises - to look at the impacts of existing management on natural resources. The project examined the condition of soils, pastures, native vegetation, watercourses and wildlife habitat to come up with options for more ecologically-directed management.

Funding

The Australian Government and State Governments provided $136,000 for the project, with equal funding coming from the CSIRO.

"We wanted to help our staff become even better at what they do and ensure we're able to make good solid recommendations to landholders," said QMDC Project Coordinator Darren Marshall.

Activities and achievements

In 2005 two mixed livestock and cropping properties on different soil types in the Maranoa-Balonne and Border Rivers sub-catchments were chosen as a basis for collecting data.

"We looked at a number of different scenarios to see what we could do to make the properties both more environmental and more productive," Darren said.

"As part of this we examined different areas on the properties to see, for instance, what might happen if grazing areas were put to cropping and vice versa.

"We also explored environmental and economic impacts of taking steps like linking vegetation corridors and protecting waterways."

Four scenarios were developed for the participating landholders to choose from. These ranged from continuing with existing management practices, managing with a greater emphasis on environmental objectives and managing with a greater focus on production.

"When we spoke to the landholders to see their views on these options, they were really happy with the scenario which took them one step towards a greater emphasis on environmental objectives," Darren said.

"To some extent this was where they were already trying to go."

QMDC Regional Coordinator for Land and Soils, Bob Walker, said findings from the project showing a short-term decrease in profit for participating landholders were not surprising. Environmental management can sometimes involve a short-term decrease in income.

"However, the long-term benefits of improving a property's sustainability are well accepted by landholders," he said.

"We hope to use the findings from the SAGE project to begin managing risks posed by the current drought, helping landholders to find the best balance between conservation and production to ensure the future longevity of their properties."

More information

• Darren Marshall, QMDC SAGE Coordinator: darrenm@qmdc.org.au

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

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Caring for our Country is an Australian Government initiative jointly administered by the Australian Government departments of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts