Grazing Management

The potential cattle carrying capacity of Kimberley rangelands has been reduced from an estimated potential of around 1 million cattle units by as much as 30 to 40% as a result of declining range condition. However, while cattle numbers were undoubtedly excessive in some areas, the area of severely degraded and eroded rangeland in the region is relatively small. While some pasture types are defined as being in poor range condition, others pasture types remain in close to pristine condition. An analogous situation exists in parts of the Northern Territory, particularly the Victoria River District. Uneven cattle grazing patterns are commonly associated with reduced carrying capacity. Some preferred pasture types are constantly overgrazed, other pasture types are only lightly used. Concentrations of feral animals exacerbate the problems associated with this preference for one community or species over another. Therefore the impact of this localised degradation is often a symptom of more fundamental problems associated with uneven grazing patterns. Yet, since localised areas of degradation occur within larger good condition areas its impact is wider, and severely reduces the ability to graze the total area. Moreover, isolation of degraded areas merely moves the problem to another locality, as the fundamental problem of spatially uneven grazing pressure remains unresolved. Under extensive grazing systems, stocking large paddocks at the carrying capacity is only the most preferred pasture type, foregoing the carrying capacity of the often much larger but less preferred types avoids the problem. This strategy has a high opportunity cost in a large proportion of seasons. Another alternative is to fence along pasture type boundaries, and so permitting each pasture type to be stocked at its own capacity. But, both initial capital expenditure on fencing and on-going maintenance are expensive. Since the gross value of per unit area of the rangeland is low, neither of these options is readily adopted by land managers. Concurrently, in terms of its future potential productivity, the rehabilitation of very poor condition or degraded rangeland is often uneconomic. This encourages prevention of degradation rather than rehabilitation. A preferred option to addressing this problem, and one that may be more commercially acceptable to managers, would be modify the cattle grazing distribution to the extent possible by low cost means, and so making forage use more uniform across the landscape, while concurrently monitoring the grazing impact on the more preferred pasture types to ensure that they are not being overused. By partially mitigating the effects of spatially uneven grazing pressure and strategically spelling areas based on identified soil and vegetation indicators, a more uniform and sustainable grazing pattern would exist, permitting more profitable and sustainable production. Moreover, a more uniform cattle grazing pattern could improve cattle diet, and hence cattle performance. Therefore, the long-term economic sustainability of the extensive cattle industry could be improved through the better management of the rangeland resource.

A project to characterise and assess rangeland resources conducted a biophysical and socioeconomic inventory of the Ord River catchment in the East Kimberley WA. The tools and capacity developed during the project provide a basis for implementing monitoring programs to assess future trends in rangeland resources. The socioeconomic profile can be used to assist in regional land use planning and management. An assessment of current biodiversity data serves as a precursor to a regional conservation plan and enables the identification of gaps to target future resource allocation. The project also developed a methodology for mapping land units that produces maps of high quality and resolution more cost effectively than traditional field-based methods. Interactive computer-based software, Vegmachine, was also developed to monitor rangeland condition using remote sensing. The results of the project provide a sound basis for an improved understanding of the East Kimberley?s rangeland resources, and the impact of intensified production (A).

1. To develop practical systems of large scale, humane control of total grazing pressure (domestic stock, macropods, feral goats) in extensive grazing rangelands; 2. To evaluate the condition of vegetation, and levels of pasture utilisation and animal production achievable in multi species grazing systems; 3. To determine the critical management practices which influence the economic development of the kangaroo resource and which are compatible with sustained wool and beef production and reduced land degradation

Commercial beef producers often rely on the condition of their cattle as a guide to the condition of their land and the appropriate stocking strategy. An investigation of the validity of this approach focused on the relationship between animal productivity and pasture condition at Mount Sanford Station in the southern Victoria River District of the Northern Territory. The results imply that short-term animal production is not, by itself, an adequate guide to pasture condition and it is recommended that producers should assess pasture conditions directly before determining stocking rates (A).