Livestock are one of our most vital tools:
Livestock play a combination of roles – to regenerate - efficiently convert grass into healthy food & fibre and improve the environment and social well being.
On the downside if livestock (like fire) are not managed at a high level they degrade the landscape - our community - our economic viability
Landscape Function Planned Grazing Management is a keystone foundation factor of Regeneration that you will see in following pages.
I will introduce you to Insightful pioneers in this field such as originator of Landscape Function Analysis, formerly Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems
and
world leading land management and training consultant
Graeme Hand from Hand For The Land
on Landscape Function Planned Grazing Management.
Landscape Function Planned Grazing Management is proving to be a whole grazing system that delivers at the highest level of regenerative outcomes across the triple bottom line factors:
Land-People-Economics
- flow on effects of low risk and improved ecological sustainable profitability.
- flow on effects improved family & community health and well being
- improve pasture, soil health and wider ecosystem health
- increase healthy soil biological community, activity, nutrient and water cycling
- soil water infiltration, retention rehydration of your whole landscape
- soil carbon regeneration and storage
- increase animal health and performance,
- reduce pasture pests and weeds thus reducing input costs of chemical treatments
- reducing fertiliser requirement
- eliminating erosion
- regenerating perennial grasses
- regenerating biodiversity flora & fauna - native animals and habitat which then contribute greatly to Landscape Function, profitability and social factors
The fundamental principle behind management is to use livestock as the most valuable tool to improve the long-term health and resilience of our landscape in a ecological sustainable profitable manner.
Utilising Landscape Function planned Grazing Management as a high level outcomes of a Regenerative grazing system has the potential to not only significantly reduce costs for the farmer, increase sustainable profitability, but also improve the land’s biodiversity and resilience to increasing climate variability.For more information, contact
Key Factors
Profit - People - Land:
1. Profit Increasing
•Low cost, low risk –no inputs
•Eliminate/ Minimise feeding
•Time for planning, monitoring and corrective action
•Designing a process that works for you
•Evidence and data
•Other –what jumps out for you
2. People Increasing wellbeing scores and actively promoting agriculture
•Management is under control –“built not bought”
•Proudly regenerating the land and celebrating
•Everyone can be involved
•Drought proof
•Sleepability –Mark Gardner
•Time for family, exercise, holidays……..
•Other –what jumps out for you
3. Land Increasing landscape function and biodiversity
•This is the most vital factor that underpins profit and people factors
- Designed for convenient management to increase landscape function –flexible fencing and water that is easily automated
•Animals selected so that they are well and thriving
•Time for planning and thinking
•Evidence and data
•Other –what jumps out for you
Writing credits above; Graeme Hand
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Regenerative Factors of Landscape Function Planned Grazing Management
1. Land: Increasing Landscape Function.
2. Profit: Low Risk system with Long Term Profit is increasing
3. People: Increasing wellbeing scores & actively promoting agriculture
Landscape Function Internections
a), Root Driven Recovery, Long Pasture Recovery of 12 to 15 months. Period based on STFPA
b). Safe to Fail Practice Areas (STFPA)
c), Ultra High Stock Density, High Pasture Utilisation - Non-Selective Grazing - High herd Effect
d). Management Livestock Shift based on dung & gut scores & condition scores
e). Suitable Phenotype adapted for grazing & local environment. Continuous selection of breeders - Early Maturing- High Grass Conversion Efficiencies – Parasite resistance – High Fertility
f). Convenient Infrastructure which delivers labour efficiencies, livestock behaviour benefits, increases landscape function
g). Land Monitoring & Corrective Action Form
h). Planned Grazing Steps: Plan, Schedule, Monitor
I). Evidence Ground Cover Satellite and in field Landscape Analysis (data & photo records)
For more information, contact Graeme Hand (world leading consultant)
Website: https://www.handfortheland.com/
We at RGA we produce a new topic each month so tune in.
Grab a cuppa & I hope you enjoy these videos & info from Regenerative Grazing Australia based on requests, seasonal needs, current issues
Regenerative Grazing Australia
A. How? Landscape Function Planned Grazing Management can restore Landscape Function profitably:
Transition Key Points-
1. It’s not how long you graze a paddock that’s important, but how much rest it gets before you come back to it.
2. Move animals based on gut fill or before they start to eat down to the litter layer. (Note: If you are moving your animals based on gut fill or before they start to graze the litter layer (sheep) then you are not going to be leaving them in one place long enough that their grazing of regrowth is going to be a problem, apart from patches here and there. If it is, it just means you are overstocked).
3. Don’t graze a paddock until the grass is at the stage where the lower leaves are decomposing and creating litter. You want to trample this litter onto the soil to build new soil. This is fundamental.
4. Use ‘safe to fail’ practice areas to establish how much time it takes for pasture to recover fully. Rest will allow perennial grasses to come back from the soil seed bank.
5. The idea is to have a high density of animals in a small area for a short period of time and then give paddock a long rest to fully recover. In some regions that's going to be probably a minimum 6 months rest, other regions that can be 12 months or longer- this will be ascertained by the ‘safe to fail’ practice areas.
6. That means you need lots of paddocks. At least 30 is recommended. Then strip graze away from the water point in each paddock if you can.
7. Dung is a good indicator of animal health.
8. Creating a grazing plan by working out how many days you are going to graze each paddock based on its size and productivity and that will allow sufficient rest before you come back to it.
9. The hardest decision you make will be to sell stock when you realise you are overstocked. This must be done immediately. Or you have to make a decision to supplementary feed which is often not economical. Most conventional farms are overstocked.
10. Use Holistic Management to integrate your planned grazing into the big picture of what you are trying to achieve. What is key however is to monitor and adjust your plan on a continual basis based observation of gut fill, dung scores and monitoring your biological & landscape function.
11. Dig deep, learn and understand the art and science of regenerative grazing management - soil health- ecosystem function. Then Do - Change - Thrive.
We produce a new topic each month so tune in.
We at RGA we produce a new topic each month so tune in.
Grab a cuppa & I hope you enjoy these videos & info from Regenerative Grazing Australia based on requests, seasonal needs, current issues
Fresh yellow litter is an important indicator for Landscape Function. Litter feeds biology in soil which in turn biology feed the plant. Litter is never wasted.
Perennial grass recovery scale. 1 to 5. Image supplied by Graeme Hand.
One major regenerative principle of Landscape Function Planned Grazing Management is
a) root driven recovery and leaf driven recovery
Decomposing litter is the common link to cropping & perennial pastures.
One major regenerative principle of Landscape Function Planned Grazing Management is
a) root driven recovery and leaf driven recovery) via management of long rest of 12 to 15 months in most regions. Rest period frequently assessed with simple yet essential monitoring by Safe To Fail Trial areas utilising simple yet highly effective Landscape Function Analysis
Image supplied by Graeme Hand
Exposed: Secret Life of Roots
Question: How does this relate to we land owners and land managers and how do we do it????????.
Landscape Function Planned Grazing Management is keystone management factor that delivers cohesive outcomes
From an:
- Economical standpoint of improving farm profitability, low inputs, low risk
- Ecological. A management system based on Root Driven Recovery of long rest (12 to 15 months) & UHDG ultra high density grazing system (just to name a few), that improves biodiversity of native flora & fauna, sequestration of carbon into the soil, a vital tool to adaptively balance woody & grassy species habitat to desired needs
- Social benefits of profitably enabling People Back on Country to Care For Country
Recommend you dig deep and look further into the practical application and the supporting science of Landscape Function Planned Grazing Management
Evidence
A new report shows that regenerative grazing practices can be very profitable and improve farmer wellbeing, at the same time as increasing the health of Australia’s grassy woodlands.
For some decades, regenerative land managers have claimed that their production practices have led to regeneration of the environment and biodiversity, and that this has enabled them to generate a strong and stable level of farm profit and increased wellbeing.
Individual case studies have supported this. However, a unique study released in March, titled Graziers with better profitability, biodiversity and wellbeing has now examined the differences in profitability between 15 commercial-scale regenerative wool and/or beef graziers (in regions of eastern Australia where box gum grassy woodlands are found) and conventionally farmed sheep, sheep-beef and mixed cropping- grazing businesses in their regions. In summary, the study concluded that regenerative grazing can be at least as profitable, and at times more profitable, than other methods, whilst increasing the graziers’ wellbeing.
The study found that the regenerative graziers are often more profitable than comparable contributors to the ABARES Farm Survey, especially in dry years; that their average levels of farm profit were similar to the Holmes Sackett AgInsights average benchmarks, although less profitable than the top 20%; and the regenerative graziers experience significantly higher than average wellbeing when compared to other NSW farmers that have contributed to the University of Canberra regional wellbeing survey.
The average profit levels of the regenerative graziers were consistently higher (12 out of 14 years) than the average ABARES Farm Survey participants and showed less variability over the study period. The average profits of regenerative graziers were consistently better in years where there was low rainfall.
The study noted that 11 of the past 15 years had some degree of deficit in rainfall from long term averages and were classed as “unfavourable”.
The regenerative managed farms had substantially lower cost structures, in key areas such as supplementary feed costs/DSE, pasture costs/DSE and animal health and breeding costs/DSE.
When the regenerative graziers ranked their goals, the most important financial goal was to “achieve a satisfactory level of income”, as opposed to the goal of “maximizing income” that scored significantly lower. Interestingly, the regenerative graziers were able to achieve a level of profit comparable to industry benchmarks as a by-product of their approach to land management. STUDY RESULTS: FARMER WELLBEING
The regenerative graziers had significantly higher well being than other comparative farmers. They had significantly higher levels of general health compared to other farmers of similar age.
They had greater confidence in their ability to achieve farming goals, cope with difficult conditions on farm, and were more satisfied with their future security. When they self-assessed their farm’s financial performance, they were more likely than other farmers to report being satisfied with their farm financial performance, and to report having very good cash flow.
Graziers with better profitability, biodiversity and wellbeing This survey, conducted by Vanguard Business Services, has found that regenerative graziers are often more profitable and have significantly higher than average wellbeing compared with other NSW farmers. These findings verify the claim that regenerative graziers are able to be profitable whilst maintaining and enhancing the biodiversity on their properties.
This project was supported through funding from the Australian Government’s National Environmental Science Program and was conducted by the Australian National University, University of Canberra and University of Queensland researchers and economists, Vanguard Business Services’ agricultural consultants and economists from NSW State Government and ABARES.
View Full Report: Link https://www.vbs.net.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Graziers-with-better-profit-and-biodiversity_Final-2019.pdf
For more information, contact Graeme Hand (world leading consultant)
Website: https://www.handfortheland.com/
We produce a new topic each month so tune in.
We at RGA we produce a new topic each month so tune in.
Grab a cuppa & I hope you enjoy these videos & info from Regenerative Grazing Australia based on requests, seasonal needs, current issues.
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