Pastoralist involvement

Property owners and managers will gain the benefits of monitoring activities conducted on their properties by being involved and committed to the program.

The benefits centre on having better information for maintaining and ideally improving pasture productivity as well as complying with the requirements of the Pastoral Land Act in maintaining land condition.

Pastoralists review their pasture resource every time they check their stock’s watering points.  They gamble every day against the weather and the markets. They make critical decisions on almost a daily basis about the welfare of both their stock and the natural resource they rely upon for their business.

If the resource is degraded by overstocking over a long period of time, the pastoralist has defeated his purpose of having a sustainable business. The loss of perennial pasture leads to increased soil erosion, woody weed infestation and more pressure on the grazed resource.

The landholder and manager know their land systems, livestock behaviour and management practices on their property better than anyone else.

They are also privy to the favoured grazing areas of cattle and thus are in a position to ensure the native pasture is not over-utilised to the point of degradation.

They are also in the best position to help Rangelands Monitoring Officers choose appropriate monitoring sites as well as observe and interpret the reasons for any change in pasture condition.

Pastoral training courses