Land Water and Wool

Saltland solutions - a guide to saltland restoration

carmelewing — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:40:10 +1100

How to make money out of grass

carmelewing — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:40:46 +1100

Pasture and habitat monitoring for grazing management

superuser — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 18:14:14 +1000

Wool Industry River Management Guide

LWA Web Daemon — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 16:23:50 +1100

Wool Industry River Management Guide

LWA Web Daemon — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 16:23:49 +1100

Managing native vegetation and biodiversity

LWA Web Daemon — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 16:23:46 +1100

Our Research

superuser — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:57:41 +1100

Land, Water & Wool comprised seven major areas of research and development based around the major issues facing sustainable wool production:

Benchmarking Surveys & Sites

The experience, views, attitudes and practices of woolgrowers were crucial to the success of the Land, Water & Wool program. A comprehensive survey of 1500 woolgrowers was conducted at the beginning of the five-year program to determine their attitudes and practices in relation to natural resource management.

Publications and Tools

superuser — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 15:18:56 +1100

Land Water & Wool has produced a range of useful publications and tools over the life of the program. You can explore them all here.

Browse by Broadacre Zone

High Rainfall | Wheat/Sheep | Pastoral

Browse by Theme and Broadacre Zone

Climate

or restrict to: High Rainfall | Wheat/Sheep | Pastoral

Contacts

superuser — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 11:23:10 +1000

You can contact Land Water & Wool by approaching one of the individuals or organisations below.

Program Contacts

Program Manager:

Mr Mike Wagg
Land & Water Australia
Tel (03) 5574 1290

Project Manager:

Mrs Lu Hogan
Australian Wool Innovation Limited
Sustainable Production Systems
Tel (02) 9299 5155

Communications Manager:

Ms Gabrielle Sheehan
Currie Communications Pty Ltd
Tel. (03) 9696 5899

Communications - Publications and Grower Information:

Ms Sandy Brogan
Land & Water Australia
GPO Box 2182 CANBERRA ACT 2601
Tel. (02) 6263 6070

The Issues: Rivers & Water Quality

superuser — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 11:09:33 +1000

The supply of good quality water throughout a catchment is the life blood of a community. Water quality impacts on animal production in the following ways:

High levels of nutrients predispose streams to toxic algal blooms.
Water with high levels of salinity, turbidity or organic matter levels reduces sheep feed intake and thus production.
Dung contamination of water supplies contributes to nutrient levels in streams and is potential source of disease spread between animals.
Where water quality is degraded increased treatment costs are required for urban water use.
High levels of turbidity limit the variety of life in streams by blocking sunlight while salinity has effects in-stream and on the vegetation along streams.

Erosion along stream banks and in gullies has resulted in the loss of deep pools in many of the streams in country Australia. The loss of these pools reduces the value of these streams in dry periods because they have a limited ability to supply water to stock. Erosion also results in the loss of land and creates stock access problems.

The big NRM issues facing woolgrowers

superuser — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 16:01:13 +1000

Land, Water & Wool placed the wool industry at the forefront of investment in environmental sustainability in a commercial context. It invested in research, development and extension of commercial, productive solutions to key natural resource management issues.

The program tapped into a decade of natural resource management research and development by Land & Water Australia and built on the wool industry's own experience and research. Click on the links below to learn more about the key natural resource management issues facing woolgrowers, and then follow the links to the relevant Land, Water & Wool research portfolio.

The Issues: Grazing the Rangelands

superuser — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 15:58:20 +1000

Rangelands cover over 75 per cent of Australia’s land mass and are the largest group of relatively natural ecosystems in Australia. The continued productivity of the Rangelands for wool production depends on the long-term sustainability of their vegetation systems.

Australia’s Rangelands are a mosaic of vegetation types that include grasslands, shrublands and woodlands. The short-term productivity of these systems for wool production is dependent on the annual species and plants that germinate after rains. However the long-term resilience of the production systems relies on the continued persistence of their perennial components. The biggest threats to perennial species persistence are overgrazing and drought.

The Issues: Native Pastures

superuser — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 15:55:08 +1000

We used to set-stock our native pastures. Grazing them for a short period and then resting them has rejuvenated the perennial component of our pastures. I can see that grazing management has the potential to double my stocking rates. We also get less bare ground and less erosion because we have better control of our stock.
Bill Hoffman, Jamestown, SA

Significant areas of the high to medium areas of Australia’s grazing land still contain native pastures and are a significant feed base for wool production.

Native pastures can provide a green pick through out the year, which is important in maintaining the high tensile strength often found in wool grown from these pastures.

The Issues: On Farm Biodiversity

superuser — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 15:49:42 +1000

The changes brought about by European settlement have profoundly affected native ecosystems. This is particularly evident in the sheep/wheat and the high rainfall zones (the intensive land-use zones). The biological diversity (biodiversity) of native systems has declined markedly since settlement and will continue to decline without active management. The decline will be seen in the loss of our unique bird and animal species and in the loss of icons of the landscape such as old trees and wildflowers.

The maintenance and improvement of biodiversity is being seen by both urban and rural Australians as an increasingly important goal for our farming systems. Woolgrowers can play a vital role in helping restore some of the balance.

The Issues: Climate Risk Management

superuser — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 14:58:39 +1000

The critical strategies in planning drought strategies are to protect the key breeding stock and our soil fertility. We have invested heavily in our pastures and we protect them by confining stock to small areas once pasture cover reaches a critical level.
Charlie and Marie Crocker, Violet Town Victoria

The periodic droughts experienced by woolgrowers have the potential to destroy farm profitability and the long-term resilience of the land. Strategies to manage droughts need to be developed by woolgrowers during non-drought periods to manage these adverse seasons.

The Issues: Salinity

superuser — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 10:13:23 +1000

We’ve quadrupled our stocking rate to more than eight Dry Sheep Equivalents per hectare (DSE/ha) and gained an extra $52 gross margin/ha by planting saline areas to productive salt tolerant species.

Michael Lloyd, Lake Grace, WA.

The area of agricultural land affected by salinity is estimated to increase by 30 per cent by 2020. Not only does salinity affect agricultural production, it impacts on roads, railways, buildings and streams and domestic appliances such as hot water services. The cost to the community of these effects outweighs the cost of salinity to agriculture. The loss in agricultural production associated with the area currently affected by dryland salinity and the area estimated to be affected by salinity in 2020 is as follows:

Program Report Image

superuser — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 16:26:28 +1000

Land Water & Wool Update - Issue 6

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 14:51:58 +1000

Land Water & Wool Update - Issue 5

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 14:50:11 +1000

Land Water and Wool Update - Issue 4

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 14:47:04 +1000

Land Water & Wool Update - Issue 3

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 14:44:57 +1000

Land Water & Wool Update - Issue 2

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 14:42:00 +1000

Pasture and Biodiversity Monitoring Field Guide

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 14:12:57 +1000

Productive native pastures in the high and medium rainfall zones

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 13:45:51 +1000

Land, Water and Wool - Program Management Report

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 13:40:27 +1000

Land, Water and Wool - Managing for Sustainable Profit

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 13:30:45 +1000

Managing Riparian Lands in the Wool Industry:

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 13:26:56 +1000

Productive Resource Management for wool growers

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 13:07:09 +1000

Shaping the future Land Water & Wool - a snapshot

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 11:09:40 +1000

Land, Water & Wool : Project Guide

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 11:04:35 +1000

Drafting Gate

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 11:19:13 +1000

Conversations about climate

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 11:07:20 +1000

Climate risk seasonal outlook

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 10:53:24 +1000

Working with woolgrowers

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 09:24:30 +1000

Over 1300 woolgrowers and their families were directly involved in Land, Water & Wool research, on 230 properties across Australia, with a further 6000 receiving information regarding the sustainability of the land, water and vegetation resources that underpin their businesses.

A series of case studies were developed profiling some of the woolgrowers involved in Land, Water & Wool.

Click on the links below to read how they reaped the rewards from improved environmental management and by striving toward greater balance in their production systems.

Case studies:

There are no items for this query.

Vegetation Management Boosts Grazing Productivity

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 16:43:38 +1000

_This project is complete. Click on the following link to view the case study [Wool production and biodiversity The Hill](http://landwaterwool.gov.au/index.php?q=node/126)_

Planting 400,000 trees over 25 years has been a key success factor for New England fine wool and beef producers Jon and Vicki Taylor, and has made them a case study for a major research project now underway in the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales.

Over a quarter of a century, the Taylors have planted trees on more than 15 per cent of their Kentucky district property 'The Hill' while maintaining production capability from the 650-hectare farm

Program Objectives and Partners

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 15:31:49 +1000

Land, Water & Wool program objectives were:

To identify key natural resource management issues from woolgrowers' perspectives and understand their perceptions, needs, priorities and practices.
To increase woolgrowers’ awareness of and motivation to tackle natural resource management issues.
To provide woolgrowers with the knowledge and practical tools to address key natural resource management issues through productive and profitable solutions;
To increase the capacity of woolgrowers to apply natural resource management innovations within their commercial enterprise.
To position the wool industry to reduce its environmental impact and to use environmental performance as a strategic marketing asset it if so chooses.

How Land, Water & Wool worked towards these objectives:

Land & Water Australia

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 15:26:41 +1000

Land & Water Australia is responsible for research and development aimed at the productive and sustainable management of the land, water and vegetation resources underpinning Australia's primary industries and regional communities.

Funding Australia’s best and brightest researchers, Land & Water Australia possess a wealth of knowledge on our natural resources. Its mission is to provide national leadership in generating knowledge, informing debate and inspiring innovation and action in sustainable natural resource management.

Working with Australian Wool Innovation Limited, Land & Water Australia provides woolgrowers both access to existing information and the opportunity to guide new research. Land, Water & Wool actively demonstrated this approach by investing in research that focused on the key natural resource management issues facing woolgrowers, to help them achieve sustainable wool production.

Australian Wool Innovation

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 15:24:58 +1000

Australian Wool Innovation Limited's mission is to drive research, development and innovation that will increase the long-term profitability of Australian woolgrowers.

Australian Wool Innovation Limited (AWI) is a fully independent public company limited by shares and owned by Australian woolgrowers. It invests wool levy funds paid by woolgrowers and R&D (research and development) contributions from the Australian Government for the benefit of Australian woolgrowers and the Australian community.

AWI also exists to serve woolgrowers' clear call for major change in the processes by which industry funds are invested. AWI intends to reshape the way wool industry research, development and innovation is delivered. Working with Land & Water Australia, AWI's aim with Land, Water & Wool was to ensure woolgrowers are informed by researchers and can inform researchers in return.

About Land, Water & Wool

cskene — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 15:23:50 +1000

Managing Australia’s Natural Resources

Woolgrowers in Australia manage over 85 million hectares of the country’s land and water resources, from the high rainfall areas on the coastal fringe, to the wheat/sheep belt and inland to the saltbush and mulga of the pastoral zone. Across this vast area, the industry faces many environmental challenges - dryland salinity, protecting waterways and looking after native vegetation — all within a variable climate and the desire to balance production with good environmental outcomes.

Land, Water & Wool was the wool industry’s nation-wide program to develop better management to improve profit and create a healthier environment. It provided Australian woolgrowers with research and information resources for high priority natural resource management (NRM) issues, driving awareness and adoption of improved management practices at the farm and regional scale. Woolgrowers have been key partners in steering its research, contributing knowledge and interpreting its findings.

Better farm management with Quickchecks

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 00:29:00 +1000

Want a quick an easy way to measure what is going well on your land to clearly identify any issues that may need action?

Quickchecks - a useful new guide for woolgrowers, will provide you with the tools to measure the health of your pastures (including ground cover), soils, woody vegetation, farm watercourses, paddock production levels and birds.

Quickchecks will assist you to:

* Track the changes which occur over time on your land
* Improve land health from whatever the starting point
* Use this valuable information as part of normal decision making to improve business performance