Through funding made available by the Queensland Government Reef Water Quality Program, RCS assisted 25 grazing businesses within the Fitzroy and Mackay-Whitsunday regions to reduce sediment runoff into the Great Barrier Reef catchments.
Graziers who participated in the Grassroots Project received professional education and business coaching, enabling them to develop multi-faceted farm management capacity, grow property production and improve land condition and water cycles.
Project specific outcomes are:
Taking a whole-of-business approach, RCS worked with producers to achieve ecological and economic outcomes. Each participating business received training, business development advice, benchmarking and on-farm support. Through Grassroots Project partners, graziers accessed additional support, including the Grazing Best Management Practice (BMP) and a $10,000 grant for property remediation works.
Resource Consulting Services (RCS) – RCS was responsible for overall project delivery, community engagement, recruitment of project participants, providing foundational skills development, supporting participants through practice change with on-farm professional advice, monitoring key indicators, and project reporting.
Fitzroy Basin Association (FBA) and Reef Catchments – FBA and Reef Catchments were responsible for BMP assessments and capturing land improvements through property mapping and ground cover assessments. They also assisted graziers with their land remediation plans. Throughout Grassroots, both organisations compiled case studies and captured the grazier’s journey throughout the project.
Queensland Government – The Queensland Government is supporting the Grassroots Project through the Queensland Reef Water Quality Program. This five-year program accelerates on-ground practice change and improve progress towards GBR catchment water quality targets under the Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan.
The Grassroots Project is the “icing” on the cake, providing professional advice, information and support, at just the right time to develop and improve our cattle enterprise. It will most certainly help us achieve our goals of increased production and improved land condition.
Andrew and Melissa Deguara, Pinevale, Qld
A drought resilience extension program for the Rangelands, this project will change graziers landscapes, businesses and life for the better, with access to education, support and business tools to manage for future droughts.
In 2016, the Australian Government’s Reef Trust tasked RCS with educating and supporting graziers in the Great Barrier Reef catchment to adopt regenerative management practices. The outcomes of Project Pioneer focused on improving land conditions and reducing sediment runoff into waterways.
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Dennis Donohoe, farm manager with Aminya Pastoral, is a seasoned producer with decades of experience, and his story is a testament to how even minor changes in farming practices can lead to significant improvements in productivity and land health.
Once you have ownership as to why planning is important, the next ingredient is to work out where and how you will do your planning. When you write something down you change your relationship with the content. I cannot emphasise enough the power of getting your thoughts and plans out of your head onto paper or the computer.
The season in SA and Tassie is particularly tight right now with little or no useful rain since early January and a generally failed 2023 spring prior to that. Right now, across southern Australia and much of the eastern NSW, you won’t need to drive far out into the countryside to see cattle and sheep grazing (and lying on) hay and silage trails lined across paddocks.
Martha Lindstad and partner Robert James are farm managers on ‘Karalee’, Enngonia NSW. Both have travelled different paths to being where they are. Martha is originally from Norway, growing up on a three hectare farm before travelling to New Zealand and eventually the Pilbara in Western Australia. It was here that she saw the benefits of sustainable farming for the country and livestock.
The Prince’s RCS mentor, Raymond Stacey, sees a strong future ahead for Simon and Laura. “The Drought Resilient Soils and Landscapes project is about supporting graziers to manage their country and businesses better,” Raymond said. “I see an operation here where they’re working hard on their planning and putting their plans into action to leave their country, business and people in better shape.”
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