Pastoral Enterprises Research Articles

Large shrubs partly compensate negative effects of grazing on hydrological function in a semi-arid savanna

Semiarid woodlands and savannas are globally important biomes that provide ecosystem goods and services such as habitat for biota and sinks for carbon, support millions of people that rely primarily on pastoralism, and supply livelihoods for about a third of the global human population. Savannas, however, are prone to degradation by overgrazing, and encroachment by woody plants, reducing their capacity to produce forage that pastoral enterprises depend on. We examined the impacts of livestock grazing and woody encroachment on soil hydrological processes, hypothesizing that heavy grazing by livestock would reduce hydrological function, whereas woody plants would increase hydrological function, therefore, partially offsetting any negative effects of overgrazing by livestock. Understanding the major drivers of soil hydrology in savanna ecosystems is important because water is a critical, yet limited resource in savannas. We found that livestock grazing reduced the early (sorptivity) and late (steady-state infiltration) stages of infiltration under both ponding and tension, and attributed this to a reduction in porosity caused by livestock trampling. Steady-state infiltration and sorptivity under ponding were greater under the canopies of woody shrubs than in open areas, partly compensating for any negative effect of grazing. Structural equation modeling revealed a direct positive effect of shrub height on hydrological functions, and an indirect effect via increases in litter cover. Our results suggest that woody plants can play important roles in driving hydrological function in savannas, counteracting the suppressive effect of livestock overgrazing on infiltration processes. Management strategies in semiarid savannas should aim to reduce trampling by livestock and retain large woody plants in order to maintain hydrological function.

A prospective evaluation of contingent loans as a means of financing wild dog exclusion fences

Invasive species, such as wild dogs can be considered an externality arising from the activities of pastoral enterprises, with producers having limited responsibility for the problem and limited capacity to mitigate it. There are therefore arguments for government intervention through encouraging both individual and collective control measures. Governments are however increasingly inclined to ensure recipients of support make some contribution where there are private benefits. An example of this, in Australia, is the requirement that students repay some of the cost of their tertiary education. Using the issue of wild dog exclusion fencing in south-west Queensland as a case study, this paper considers if and how a policy instrument adopted for higher education (HECS-HELP), contingent loans, could be adapted to address problems of externalities in rural Australia. Central to the issue of exclusion fences are high upfront costs and highly variable incomes that limit the ability to recoup those costs according to a predictable timeline. Considering a range of incomes and a variety of private/government shares of the cost of the fences, we examine the effects of revenue contingent loans for the construction of these fences, using model farms developed from survey data for farm businesses in south-west Queensland. We find that contingent loans could mitigate the hardship effects of additional debt and variable incomes. Businesses with smaller properties and relatively lower incomes may however struggle to pay back larger loans. Using south-west Queensland as a case study, we show how different shares of contributions change the time to pay back loans, outline how a contingent loan scheme might be administered and note some issues with integrating personal contingent loans into a collective fence arrangement.

Emerging opportunities for developing a diversified land sector economy in Australia’s northern savannas

We explore sustainable land sector opportunities for Australia’s 1.2 million km2 northern savanna rangelands where extensive beef cattle pastoralism is the predominant contemporary land use. Our focal region is characterised by mean annual rainfall exceeding 600 mm, ecologically bountiful wet season water availability followed by 6–8 months of surface water deficit, mostly nutrient-poor soils, internationally significant biodiversity and carbon stock values, very extensive dry season fires in pastorally unproductive settings, a sparse rural population (0.14 persons km–2) comprising a high proportion of Indigenous people, and associated limited infrastructure. Despite relatively high beef cattle prices in recent seasons and property values escalating at a spectacular ~6% p.a. over the past two decades, long-term economics data show that, for most northern regions, typical pastoral enterprises are unprofitable and carry significant debt. Pastoral activities can also incur very significant environmental impacts on soil and scarce dry season water resources, and greenhouse gas emissions, which currently are not accounted for in economic sustainability assessments. Over the same period, the conservation sector (including National Parks, Indigenous Protected Areas) has been expanding rapidly and now occupies 25% of the region. Since 2012, market-based savanna burning projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions occur over a further 25%. Returns from nature-based tourism focussed particularly on maintaining intact freshwater systems and associated recreational fishing opportunities dwarf returns from pastoralism. The growth of these latter industries illustrates the potential for further development of profitable ‘ecosystem services’ markets as part of a more environmentally and socially sustainable diversified regional land sector economy. We outline some of the imminent challenges involved with, and opportunities for developing, this new industry sector.

Open woodland tree and shrub dynamics and landscape function in central Queensland after killing the trees with herbicide

Herbicides are used in savanna to control tree and shrub density, primarily to maintain the value of the country for pastoral enterprises. However, the concomitant effects on biodiversity and landscape functioning need to be recognised and better understood. This study monitored tree and shrub dynamics and eventual landscape functionality in response to tree-killing over 7–8 years at two open eucalypt woodland sites in central Queensland. Paddocks denuded of trees using herbicide or not so treated were subject to three differing grazing pressures by cattle. Similarly treated but ungrazed sets of plots were subjected to either regular spring burns or were rarely burnt. Tree and shrub growth and seedling recruitment were slightly affected by grazing pressure but regular spring burns minimised recruitment of minor woodland species and reduced the population of original saplings and seedlings that survived the herbicide. Few eucalypt seedlings emerged from soil surface samples taken each spring in any treatment, despite the presence of flowering trees in half the treatments. Capture and retention of resources, particularly rainfall and nutrients, were slightly improved by killing the trees, and worsened by grazing. We conclude that killing trees with herbicide at these sites did not adversely affect landscape function and that woody species regeneration was almost inevitable on these open eucalypt woodland native pastures.

Family Networks and the Australian Pastoral Industry: A Case Study of the Port Phillip District and Victoria in the Late Nineteenth Century

This article highlights the important function of family and kinship networks in the pastoral industry of the Port Phillip District and Victoria, Australia, during the nineteenth century. Using the core case study of the extended Cameron family--or the Cameron “clan” from the Scottish Highlands--in the Western District of Victoria, it demonstrates how family networks assisted in the accumulation and consolidation of large pastoral properties and enterprises, and thus aided the agricultural entrepreneurialism of migrants who saw greater commercial opportunities throughout the Empire than at home.

Fire management business in Australia's tropical savannas: Lighting the way for a new ecosystem services model for the north?

Fire management business in Australia's tropical savannas: Lighting the way for a new ecosystem services model for the north?

The cost effectiveness of a policy to store carbon in Australian agricultural soils to abate greenhouse gas emissions

Data for cropping and pastoral enterprises in south eastern Australia were used in a cost-effectiveness analysis to assess the feasibility of abating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through storing soil carbon (C) as soil organic matter under the Australian government's Carbon Farming Initiative. We used the C credit value for 2013-14 of $24.15 per tonne of CO2- equivalent (CO2-e) and a C storage rate of 0.5 tonne C/hectare/year for conversion of cropland to pasture. Given that a change of enterprise is driven primarily by farmer returns, we found that none of the changes were feasible at current prices, with the exception of wheat to cattle or sheep in an irrigated system, and dryland cotton to cattle or sheep. Given that our model scenario assumed the most favourable economic factors, it is unlikely that increased soil C storage through a change from cropping to pasture can make a significant contribution to abating Australia's CO2 emissions. However, of greater concern to society is the methane emissions from grazing cattle or sheep, which would negate any gain in soil C under pasture, except for a switch from dryland cropping to sheep.

Why quad bike safety is a wicked problem: an exploratory study of attitudes, perceptions, and occupational use of quad bikes in northern Queensland, Australia.

Quad bike safety represents the quintessential wicked problem. To address this wicked problem, this research explores the use of quad bikes in the northwestern region of outback Queensland, Australia, concentrating efforts on the pastoral industry. Focus groups and interviews were conducted with pastoralists, farmers, retailers, repairers, healthcare professionals, and regulators. The discussions revealed the diverse activities currently undertaken in the region's pastoral enterprises while riding a quad bike, and that attitudes toward the purchase and use of quad bikes vary and may be influenced by retailers. Perceptions of risk and safety in the use of quad bikes in occupational settings also varied. The findings from this study provide insight into the decisions of local pastoralists and agriculturalists to use quad bikes in their workplaces, and attitudes toward safety and injury prevention relating to quad bike use in these industries in northwestern outback Queensland. This study is the first step toward understanding quad bike use in this region, with the goal of reducing injury and death, and will be used in policy and legislation development regarding the use and safety of quad bikes in Australia.

Aboriginal Pastoralism, Social Embeddedness, and Cultural Continuity in Central Australia

ABSTRACT Aboriginal people are involved in pastoral enterprises throughout the inland and north of Australia. This has generated difficulties as landowners and policymakers struggled with conflicts between Aboriginal social structures and the demands of running commercial businesses. Problems often arose due to imposition of nonindigenous norms regarding land use. It has been suggested that pastoralism can generate social and cultural benefits for Aboriginal landowners, but these have not been investigated in any detail. Drawing on the concept of social embeddedness and fieldwork with Aboriginal pastoralists, this article identifies, describes, and ranks sociocultural benefits arising from Aboriginal pastoralism. Pastoralism fulfilled uniquely Aboriginal aims and was most important for its role in Aboriginal social and cultural and reproduction. In the Aboriginal context, pastoralism should be conceived in terms that include these Aboriginal motivations and that recognize the social embeddedness of pastoralism.

What engages the interest of land managers in rangeland monitoring?

For many decades, scientists have been devising and refining ways of monitoring the world's rangelands. Government land management agencies have often been keen contributors to the process because they are custodians of publicly owned land and need to represent the interests of their constituents in the entire community, not just in rangelands. The approaches which have been developed may tacitly be assumed to be useful to local land users, because they cater for the public interest at scales from local to national, but we are not convinced that they are always as useful as is supposed. We discuss our monitoring experiences on freehold land, protected areas and in communal rangelands in southern Africa, with particular reference to South Africa, Botswana and Namibia, as well as on commercial pastoral enterprises in Australia. From these, we consider who the monitoring is for, how land managers and scientists can work together to devise systems which managers will use, what needs to be monitored as a consequence and what the scale should be. We think that characteristics that define a system useful to land users include less rigour in methods than scientists usually require, greater breadth of information, better feedback on that information and more support to encourage continuing use and integration into decision-making. We argue that the monitoring process is as important as the data that are generated.

Indigenous Small Enterprise in Northern Australia: A Case Study of the Warai

Introduction There is substantial evidence that although there are a variety of responses to the disruption of indigenous economic systems, the imposition of a dominant form of economic and cultural behavior frequently is opposed (Ellana et al. 1988). Rather, the most usual response to such an imposition is to be found in the integration of market-based and subsistence-based behaviors and a consequent adaptation of associated social and institutional systems. It is important to note that subsistence-based economic systems generally have experienced the most difficulty integrating and becoming involved in the production side of goods and services within a market-oriented economy. On the other hand, individual members of such a subsistence-based economy have demonstrated a desire to become active consumers of the wider range of goods and services made available by market-based economic systems. Involvement in organizations concerned with the production of goods and services is likely to be of most interest to indigenous Australians, where the underlying methods of production have remained similar between production for subsistence and production for market exchange or cash (Ellana et al. 1988). For example, indigenous peoples within remote communities have been closely associated historically with pastoral enterprises. This paper presents the results of an investigation into opportunities and constraints to a small pastoral enterprise and cattle holding facility by the Warai, an indigenous clan in Northern Australia attempting to start up an economic enterprise on land granted to them, as traditional owners under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976. Background to Establishment of the Warai Pastoral Enterprise The Finniss River Land Trust Area granted to the indigenous traditional owners, the Maranunngu, Kungarakany, and the Warai under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976, and its relative geographical location can be seen in Figure 1. The Finniss River Land Trust Area has been divided into areas one, two, three, four, and five. Areas one and two have been granted to the Maranunggu. Areas three, four, and five have been granted to the Warai and Kungarakany clans. The Warai pastoral enterprise is located on approximately 20 square kilometers in area five, 100 kilometers south of Darwin. This research presents the results of information collected using a structured questionnaire based on the recommendations of Dodd (1993) and Stafford-Smith et al. (1994). The information collected enables a critical evaluation of the economic research and assessment processes followed in establishing the first Warai economic enterprise. As a result of information collected in this study, a number of proposals may be advanced in relation to future directions for improving the commercial potential of indigenous business enterprises. The Warai pastoral enterprise is owned by the Warai association, which is in turn managed by the traditional owners of the land. The Warai clan is estimated to consist of approximately 70 people aged 18 years and over and a further 50 aged less than 18 years of age (Dixon 1998). While the main priority for the Warai was to establish on their own country, the second and fairly immediate priority was to establish an economic base. The Warai initially thought that they would raise cattle on areas of land granted to them within the Finniss River Land Trust area. Figure 2 shows the numbers of live cattle exports from Darwin by destination over the period from 1993-98. The diagram shows a rapid growth in live-cattle numbers exported through Darwin before the onset of the Asian financial crisis in late 1997. Indonesia had been the most important export destination since 1996, when 59 percent of live-cattle exports shipped through the Port of Darwin were destined for that country. The Asian crisis resulted in a sharp decrease to nine percent in 1998. …

The impact of widely spaced soil conservation trees on hill pastoral systems

An estimated 3.7 million ha or 33% of the North Island requires the application of significant soil conservation measures to be able to physically sustain pastoral enterprises. Traditionally, erosion control measures on hill farmland have centred on the planting of hardwood trees, such as poplars and willows, at wide spacings. Research and experience has confirmed that where hardwood trees are adequately planted and tended, they significantly reduce the magnitude of soil erosion and maintain soil stability. However, the effects that such erosion-control plantings have on pasture and animal production owing to changes in the farm microclimate, soil and water resources remains relatively unresearched in New Zealand. Keywords: hardwood trees, physical sustainability, silvipastoral systems, soil conservation

Plant and soil analysis: An Australian perspective

Abstract Cropping, horticultural industries, and pastoral enterprises based on improved pastures occupy only a small percentage of Australia's land mass. The major part of Australian agriculture is confined to limited zones, usually within 500 km of the coast, due to rainfall and limited irrigation potential. This is in stark contrast to the United States with its productive mid‐west agricultural belt. Soil testing and plant analysis are services which have not been widely used by the horticultural, floricultural, cropping, or improved pastoral enterprises. Perhaps only 2% of the market has utilized these services. The ratio of soil tests to plant tests is about 5:1. Regular crop or soil monitoring is rarely practised. The general economic state of agriculture seems not to influence this markedly. Is this a function of farmer education or a matter of the quality of the information obtained by the farmer? Once a soil test is developed, commercial laboratories tend to be reluctant to adopt a better or multi...

Beneficial impact of precision nutrient management on the environment and future needs

Abstract The necessity for precision nutrient management has arisen from a decline in agricultural commodity prices, the advent of new technology, and demographic changes resulting in increased urbanization. Community perceptions and attitudes to agriculture, food quality and the environment are often negative: thus management of essential and beneficial nutrients as well as agriculturally undesirable ions is progressing at a more rapid pace than would be dictated by economic and technological factors alone. Some of the main agronomic reasons for developing precision nutrient management are: the potential for ground water pollution particularly nitrate; heavy metal pollution; salinity including rising water tables; nutrient run‐off into streams and rivers from cropping, pastoral, intensive livestock and horticultural enterprises; suitable crop, pasture or other ground cover to minimize soil erosion; and the introduction of new cultivars of plants. Opportunities for developing more precise nutrient managem...

Goals and Strategies for Aboriginal Cattle Enterprises.

In recent years Aboriginal people have regained ownership of large areas of rangeland, and in many cases are considering pastoral enterprises in their move towards self-sufficiency. New developments in research and extension must be made accessible to them. Rangeland researchers have recognised the need to focus much more on integrating scientific results with a better social understanding of managers' goals. Recent research indicates that goals and strategies in the commercial industry are often neither optimal nor singular. This applies particularly to Aboriginal communities; these have an even broader range of land use goals relating to traditional and non-traditional elements, the latter stemming partly from the introduced pastoral industry. Past assessments of Aboriginal pastoral projects have paid scant attention to identifying Aboriginal management goals and considering how they may interact with the project or conflict with each other. Attitudes to risk and production stability have rarely been determined, and consequently the impact of climatic variability has not been adequately considered. This has lead to the imposition of inappropriate management strategies and an over-optimistic view of potential returns. Based on goals that Aboriginal communities may have, this paper shows in principle how a pastoral enterprise study could take account of climatic variability in assessing stability and risk. One major set of alternative management strategies has been modelled with RANGEPACK Herd-Econ. This highlights certain features of low stocking approaches which may be lower in risk, more stable in turn-off, and more compatible with other Aboriginal community goals. Assessment of Aboriginal pastoral projects should place more emphasis on identifying what the goals of the communities and managers really are, how these goals interact, and consequently what form of enterprise is most appropriate. Some important points for the assessment of options are suggested. Some case studies need to be undertaken to document the interaction between community aspirations and a range of enterprise types, and hence to evaluate the potential effectiveness of these approaches to assessment.

Problems, Prospects and Procedures for Assessing the Sustainability of Pastoral Land Management in Arid Australia

Land degradation problems are widely recognized in arid Australia. Such problems arise partly because of a very unpredictable climate, great spatial diversity, and the lack of a conceptual framework within which to base approaches to sustainable land management. Furthermore, the concept of 'sustainability' itself is poorly defined, for good reasons. Planning for sustainable land use in Australia's rangelands will require assessment of whether pastoral enterprises are sustainable in particular areas. Because of the complexity of the natural and cultural system, there is no simple way of making this assessment. We present a procedure which aims to solve the assessment question efficiently by starting with the least critical and most easily performed analyses and finishing with the most critical and hardest. We suggest determining whether the enterprise is economically viable at a superficial level, then working through the ecological characteristics at increasing levels of complexity, and finally assessing whether the necessary management strategies are

Northern Australian Savannas: Management for Pastoral Production

Our paper examines recent developments in clim- utilization, animal production and financial analysis are be- atology, systems analysis and decision support which are ing developed for each savanna community in northern relevant to the management of northern Australian savan- Australia. The key processes in these models are plant nas. The structure, function and use of these communities growth as a function of climate inputs and the effect of have been well described in previous reviews which show grazing on plant survival and production. We describe a the importance of pastoralism as the major economic general experimental methodology to apply existing models activity. to specific grassland/soil combinations. Annual variability of rainfall is high, resulting in un- Examples of the application of these models show that: certainty in management decisions. Systems analysis (1) periods of overgrazing can be identified when model models of pastoral enterprises are being constructed output is combined with regional animal number statistics; which predict the response of savannas to management and (2) management decisions such as burning can be im- alternatives against a background of annual climatic vari- proved when ENSO based forecasts are used. ation as well as expected long-term global climate The challenge of future savanna studies is to influence in- change. dividual managers to make better management decisions In northern Australia, El Ninio/Southern Oscillation based on reliable models of savanna processes. The uncer- events account for over half the major ecologically sig- tainty of future climate change suggests more flexible stra- nificant droughts. The seasonal persistence of the Southern tegies will be required for the evolution of sustainable and Oscillation phase allows forecasts to be made before the economic savanna use. onset of summer rains. The potential of such forecasts is

Issues of size and viability of pastoral holdings in the Western Division of New South Wales.

Uany pastoral leases in western New South Wales are too small to ensure that viable pastoral enterprisu will persist in the medium to longer term. Apart from attendant welfare problems for leaseholders and their dependants, there is some evidence that this has exacerbated overgrazing problems which creates undesirable and potentially irreversible degradation of vegetation and soil resources. Arguably, the small size problem has sufficiently weakened the economic welfare of many lessees to make private acquisition of additional areas andl or adoption of conservation oriented management practices non-economic. The future scenario is then one of greater public involvement in property adjustment measures; or a growing population of non-viable pastoral enterprises with its attendant efficiency, welfare and resource conservation problems. The paper examines trends in property enterprise size, structure and concentration and the existence and extent of size economies for wool and livestock production in western New South Wales. Several issues are addressed concerning the economic viability of pastoral properties and several public policy prescriptions are presented for addressing the sizehiability problem.

Mapping relative viability prospects for pastoralism in Australia

This paper presents, develops and applies an exploratory linear model of an expert's judgments of medium-term prospects for pastoral enterprises in Australia's rangelands. Viability prospects are first modelled for a simple set of rangeland locations in terms of management factors (costs, returns, stock numbers). To allow extrapolation to a comprehensive set of rangeland locations, each management factor is further modelled in terms of readily available bio-physical attributes of locations (soils, vegetation, climate, accessibility). Whilst the model cannot be tested in any strict sense, it gives results in conformity with current pastoral practice. Its major appeal is that it allows application of a single evaluation procedure to the diversity of Australia's extensive rangelands. Possibilities for the further development and use of such models in land use policy analysis are noted.