Rangelands Living Skin

Bringing together producers, researchers and organisations supporting the red meat industry, the Rangelands Living Skin project focuses on regenerating the NSW rangelands to support production now and into the future.

The project aims to identify practical, cost-effective practices that deliver benefits for soil, plants, animals and people – the living skin of the rangelands.

These are practices such as:

• grazing management
• water management (ponding and banks)
• biological inputs
• new or multi-species plantings.

This means more reliability from year to year, improved pasture health, improved groundcover, more feed for livestock and recovery of plants after dry conditions.

Project outcomes

This project will validate and demonstrate rangeland management innovations that rangeland producers can confidently adopt to enhance their grazing businesses.

Looking at production, the environment and economics as a whole, the project will:

• evaluate new ways to diversify farm income in the rangelands, including carbon farming and incentives for maintaining groundcover
• trial and measure different management approaches that aim to improve financial and environmental outcomes for long-term landscape and business viability
• research management practices that are outcomes focused to increase carrying capacity, composition, cover and carbon, in the rangelands.

The collection of data throughout the project will create an evidence-base that can be used by rangeland producers and industry stakeholders in their decision-making going forward.

Project delivery

Collaborative research will be undertaken initially on four rangeland production systems (Producer Demonstration Sites) with supporting ‘observer’ producers involved and wider implementation across the NSW rangelands to follow. The project aims to see increased productivity on up to 1 million hectares.

Demonstration sites

The four R&D sites for this project are:

1. Gus and Kelly Whyte, Wyndham Station and Willow Point (Wentworth, NSW)
2. Andrew and Megan Mosely, Etiwanda (Cobar, NSW)
3. Tony and Meredith Thompson, The Angle (Bourke, NSW)
4. Graham and Cathy Finlayson, Bokhara Plains (Brewarrina, NSW)

Hear from these producers about their involvement in the project.

Get involved

Get involved in this project to get answers through on-farm trials and the sharing of knowledge with other producers and researchers.

We are looking for twenty producers to form part of the project observer group, and other producers or stakeholders who are interested in keeping in touch with the project as it progresses.

Being part of the observer group provides you with the opportunity to obtain new information for your business and develop skills and knowledge in grazing management, soil biology, pasture assessment, carbon farming and soil monitoring.  With the support of other practitioners and researchers, you will test and refine your management goals through training, field days, customised farm business support and networking with project participants.

Find out more about the benefits for producers involved in observer groups and register your interest through the Rangeland Living Skin Expression of Interest form.

Those who want to keep in touch to receive project updates, results, useful resources and information on field days and workshops can register their interest by sending an email to vicki.saville@dpi.nsw.gov.au

Project partners