Case Studies

Find out more about what the Spooners are doing

On his property in Avocet, south of Emerald, Hugo Spooner first realised the value of lower stocking rates after he culled cattle numbers during the 1986 drought. In the following years he has seen the pasture improve and the fertility of his herd increase by 15 percent.

More than 20 years later, taking a holistic approach to managing his farm, Hugo has set aside 1150 hectares as a Nature Refuge and established a colony of endangered Flashjack (Bridle Nailtail) wallabies. He is now fighting to ensure that they do not become the victims of mining development.

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Find out more about what the McGregors are doing

The McGregor's storing carbon and supporting sustainability

For over 30 years Jim and Pat McGregor have been dedicated to ensuring the health of their land by taking a holistic approach to managing their 1400 hectare property near Kojonup in Western Australia.

They have increased the number of paddocks to introduce cell grazing which has reduced the use of fertiliser and encouraged healthy native pasture and carbon storage.

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Find out more about what the Keynes are doing

Long term outlook rewards environment of fifth generation property

The fifth generation of his family to farm Keyneston, Joe Keynes has a long history of careful environmental management and is keen to see a proper system in place to reward farmers for doing this kind of work.

Joe, an advocate for an officially recognised system of accreditation to reward farmers for environmental work, is running drought lots for sheep and cattle, using rotational grazing and reducing stock rates to improve the environmental sustainability of his property.

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Grazing strategy spells success in the Northern Territory

The first pastoralists to fully implement cell grazing in the Northern Territory, Chris and Marie Muldoon have seen outstanding results on Midway, the property they mange for Marie's family.

Half of the 3000 hectare property was converted four years ago, and since then the need for herbicide has plummeted and fertilisers have been abandoned. The pastures have also improved, with less competition from weeds and better soil health. The system allows high, targeted stocking rates during the wet season while also giving the paddocks time to rest.

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Find out more about what the Brays are doing

Gippsland sheep & cattle farmer sows seeds for a greener future

South Gippsland sheep and cattle farmer Bill Bray is a leader in environmental management and at the forefront of agricultural change on 600 hectare farm at Walkerville. He was the first Australian farmer to be officially granted quality assurance accreditation for his sheep flock and cattle herd and was one of the founding members of the Gippsland environmental beef group, Gippsbeef.

Over the past 20 years Bill together with his wife Deb and family have planted ore than 30,000 native trees, fenced off 10 percent of their property to protect remnant vegetation and begun fencing off water courses to establish wetlands with native species.

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Find out more about what the Archers are doing

Gundagai sheep & cattle producer has visions of greener pastures

Gundagai sheep and cattle producer Sam Archer is a visionary in Australian agriculture who is lobbying for a national, voluntary scheme for farmers to help drive environmental gains for Australia and the general public. The scheme proposes that farmers produce food from their sustainable land and set aside marginal land for environmental outcomes such as carbon credits, wildlife habitat or bushland protection.

Sam and his wife, Sabrina, are implementing many management activities on their 1500 hectare farm to make the land more sustainable and deliver environmental, social and financial benefits.

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Farming for the future at Fossil Downs

John and Annette Henwood owners of Fossil Downs, one of the larger private cattle stations east of Fitzroy Crossing in the West Kimberley region of Western Australia, have every reason to be proud of their environmental credentials. On their 40,000 hectare property they have made native plant regeneration and fencing off rivers a priority to control erosion and nurture the soil even in the face of devastating drought and floods.

By focusing on soil health and native plant regrowth the Henwoods are caring for their environment and producing healthier more productive cattle.

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Find out more about what the
Little River Landcare group is doing

Little River Landcare Group- Big picture

Started by a handful of dedicated people in the Little River catchment in 1997, the Little River Landcare Group has made swift progress with a membership of 380 people and 175 businesses. The group is currently running 14 different enterprises which have attracted $200,000 in funding from the Australian Government and $10,000 from Qantas.

On member's farms, annual pasture and fertiliser regimes have been replaced by perennial pastures and these are grazed on a rotational basis, while conservation practices, such as minimum tillage, are protecting soil health.

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Find out more about what the Dunbabins are doing

The Dunbabin family's dedication to the environment means they have made the tough decision to only lightly graze 85% of their 6400-hectare property at Dunalley in south-east Tasmania.

They have proven that their farming can be both successful and environmentally sustainable by devoting a large part of their land to conservation reserves and improving productivity on the remaining 15% of their land.

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Find out more about what is happening at Hopkins River
beef

 A 'carbon hoofprint' in the right direction

At Hopkins River Pastoral, managing the environment goes hand-in-hand with managing the business.

The company, owned by the Maconochie family, developed an innovative environmental assurance program called "Carbon Hoofprint", which involves re-using a waste material (cattle manure), recycling it into a nutrient dense humus fertisiler for pastures, and reducing their net emissions by improving soil carbon levels.

The "Carbon Hoofprint" program is not only good for business, but its also benefiting the environment.

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Find out more about what is happening at Peechelba

Environment at Peechelba a priority
Organic fertiliser, tree planting, and now the possibility of a conservation covenant: there are few environmentally sustainable options that Peechelba Beef feedlot area manager, Gina Lincoln, hasn't thought of.

She's even dreaming of a manure-powered future. For now, however, she's happy if her feedlot and others like it keep improving their environmental credentials with the science already available, reducing their emissions, recycling their waste products and using less land to produce more.

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