Mosaic Map: NRM funded projects
Key
site specific
region wide
Ecosystems underfoot in the Northern and Yorke region
Underneath the hooves of sheep and cattle in South Australia are about 98 per cent of the remaining temperate native grasslands, home to the nationally endangered Pygmy Bluetongue, Spalding Blown Grass and the Plains wanderer, a nationally vulnerable-listed bird.
Funding
However grazing and grassland ecosystems can co-exist with help from "Best Practice Grazing Management." This is a project that has been supported with $300,000 from the Australian Government as well as State Government contributions, through the Northern and Yorke Natural Resource Management (NRM) Board. Additional funding has been provided by the Land, Water and Wool program.
Landholders learn how to identify native plants, determine the time they require to recover after grazing and what stock capacity they can support. Those who want to adopt rotational grazing regimes to change the structure of their paddocks are given assistance for fencing and installing new watering points.
Activities
The main experimental site is at Ryves and Tom Hawker's property "Anama", near Clare, while seven demonstration farms from Robertstown up to Carrieton are also involved.
Six different grazing treatment paddocks were established at Anama, which included summer rest from grazing with continuous grazing at all other times (the district grazing practice) and planned grazing based on plant growth rates which can be applied throughout the year.
Achievements
Project Officer Kylie Nicholls said one of the most significant results was the 75 per cent increase in stocking rate achieved in the planned grazing treatment.
"This treatment has also shown the greatest increase in perennial grasses," Kylie said. "Over the five-year period the area of ground covered by perennial plants increased by 72 per cent with planned grazing but did not change with district grazing practice. Visually the individual plants were also significantly larger, healthier and more productive."
On all demonstration farms groundcover increased and was most notable on north-facing slopes, where previously sheep could selectively graze and create stock camps.
For Brinkworth woolgrower Chris Heinjus, adopting a planned grazing approach helped regenerate native grass pastures and boosted stocking rates. His 1,200 hectares of hill country has been fenced into 25 paddocks varying in size from six hectares up to 166 hectares.
Fencing was carried out according to aspect with north and south-facing slopes separated. Previously, the southern slopes were under-grazed and covered by a huge thatch of wild oats; however, once the wild oats were removed by grazing, the perennial grasses gradually re-appeared.
More information
- Kylie Nicholls, Project Officer: 08 8842 3275 or fullbottlemedia@rbe.net.au
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