Miscellaneous Publication 42/93 - Development and dissemination of design methods for rangeland paddocks which maximise animal production and minimise land degradation

Authors

Shane Cridland, Department of Agriculture, Western Australia
Mark Stafford Smith, CSIRO Division of Wildlife and Ecology, P.O. Box 2111, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia

Publication Date

12-1993

Series Number

Miscellaneous publication 42/93

Publisher

Department of Agriculture, Western Australia

City

Perth

ISSN

0725-847X

Abstract

Surveys of rangeland resources in Western Australia to date have shown that 23% of the area surveyed is in poor range condition. Poor condition is characterised by the loss of perennial vegetation allowing wind and water erosion. Approximately another 37% is in only fair range condition (Curry and Hacker 1990).

The loss of range condition is partly due to uneven use of paddocks by sheep and cattle. The areas close to water and the preferred pasture types are often over-utilised, while areas well away from water and less preferred pasture types are under-utilised. The result is that rangeland in good, fair and poor condition often occurs in the same paddock. Better management of the distribution of grazing is necessary to reverse any trend towards the development of more rangeland in poor condition. Therefore, paddock layouts that more evenly distribute grazing need to be designed. These designs should shift grazing pressure from areas that are over-utilised to those that are under-utilised, thus obtaining better utilisation of the paddock; this should help maximise animal production while minimising degradation. Better designs would help maintain the long term productivity of the rangelands and assist in the rehabilitation of degraded areas

The costs associated with range degradation and the income forgone as a result of uneven grazing distribution provide the economic incentive for improved paddock design. Costs attributable to uneven grazing distribution per se are difficult to determine but annual loss of production resulting from range degradation throughout Western Australian rangelands was estimated at $37,000,000 in a submission to the House of Representatives Enquiry into Land Degradation (Anon 1988). A manager who altered access to waterpoints in ways that enhanced even usage reported gains of up to 0.5 kg wool per head per year, while reducing the potential for damage in the more heavily used parts of paddock. If this is confirmed, quite substantial re-development would be financially worthwhile as well as contributing to a reduction in land degradation risk.

As a result of such issues, pastoralists in Western Australia encouraged the Department of Agriculture and CSIRO Division of Wildlife and Ecology to initiate a study of the distribution of grazing impact with a view to improving their ability to plan paddocks. The main study was funded by the Wool Research Council (WRC) in 1990; at the same time an associated project, specifically related to delivering the results in an easily used computer package, was funded by the National Soil Conservation Program (NSCP) - later administered by the Land and Water Resources Research and Development Corporation (LWRRDC). These projects focused mainly on the sheep industry, but complementary work on cattle is also proceeding in Central Australia.

Number of Pages

83

Keywords

Rangeland management, Western Australia, Animal production, Land degradation

Disciplines

Agribusiness | Agricultural Economics | Agricultural Education | Agricultural Science | Agronomy and Crop Sciences | Beef Science | Botany | Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment | Environmental Monitoring | Natural Resources Management and Policy | Plant Biology | Sheep and Goat Science | Soil Science | Sustainability

Comments

Report on a Collaborative Project Between the Western Australian Department of Agriculture and CSIRO Division Of Wildlife And Ecology, supported by the Wool Research and Development Corporation and the National Soil Conservation Program.

Recommended Citation

Cridland, S, and Stafford Smith, M. (1993), Miscellaneous Publication 42/93 - Development and dissemination of design methods for rangeland paddocks which maximise animal production and minimise land degradation. Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Perth. Report Miscellaneous publication 42/93.
https://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/ap_publishedrpts/36

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