NACC NRM was a proud sponsor of the Southern Rangelands Pastoral Alliance (SRPA) Pastoral Industry Forum on Monday, the 24th of October. Our RALFs, Belle and Shannah, had a very informative day learning about what has been happening in the Southern Rangelands and the research involved. It was great to be able to engage with some of the pastoralists who are involved within the Northern Ag Region.
The Southern Rangelands Pastoral Alliance encompasses all the land areas south of the Pilbara, excluding the Southwest Land Division Agricultural Zone. The alliance was formed to provide leadership and support for sustainable pastoral production and diversification in the Southern Rangelands.
SRPA is responsible for providing results for multiple projects that they are working on, including Bullseye 2 Livestock Productivity (MLA), Rehydrating the Southern Rangelands of WA (FDF), Showcasing our Resilience- Sharing our Stories Across the Southern Rangelands (FDF), Developing Automated Technology to Assess Natural Capital on Pastoral Leases (FDF), and the Drone- Mounted Species Recognition Program (FDF).
The forum gave landholders within the Southern Rangelands a chance to learn about issues and new innovative techniques relevant to their production practices and share information with other local landholders. There were many educational speakers throughout the day, all providing informative presentations to showcase the research that they have been conducting and what they have learned from it. All the speakers were engaged with the audience, and there were plenty of discussions following each speaker. The speakers included:
- Enoch Bergman (Swan Vet Services, Esperance) talking about Herd Health
- Phil Vercoe (UWA/ Beeflinks) talking about Methane Emission and Cattle
- Susan Orgill (Select Carbon) talking about Soil Health
- Matt Wolcott from Northern WA Beef Breeding Project
- Fleur Coaker (DWER) talking about Ground Water Access and Rights
- David Beaty (MLA) talking about Livestock Markets
- Felix McQuistan (DFES) talking about Seasonal Bushfire Outlook
- Alys McKeough talking about Climate tools and pastoral business planning
- Mayne Jenour & Nigel Brown talking about Drones and their application in pastoral areas
- Darren Cousens talking about biosecurity on pastoral leases- weed and seed inspections
- Wes Laurence/ Debbie Dowden talking about Automated technology to access natural capital
- Jack Carmody talks about Connectivity and what you can achieve once you have it
- Hon Alannah MacTiernan MLC
On Tuesday, it was out to the paddock to see Pip Bain talk about all the fantastic work the Bain family have been doing on their property in Walkaway to improve their pasture and increase the weight gain for the pastoral cattle on their property. Pip informed us about the cattle’s induction process and what they have done to increase the cattle’s weight gain over time.
Seeing all the amazing work in the Southern Rangelands was great, and we were so grateful to see such enthusiastic speakers. Congratulations to Margi and the team, you are all doing a fantastic job, and we are excited to see what else you have in store for the coming years!
To see more about what the SRPA do, click on the following link: https://srpa.org.au/
The NACC NRM RALF project was happy to support this event with the inclusion of the soil health, biosecurity and climate planning presentations directly linking to the National Landcare Programs Regional Landcare Partnership Outcomes, including increasing the awareness and adoption of land management practices that improve and protect the condition of soil, biodiversity and vegetation, and increasing the capacity of local landholders and agricultural systems to adapt to changes in climate and market demands for information of provenance and sustainable production.
This event was supported by the Australian Government’s Regional Landcare Partnerships initiative of the National Landcare Program.
