Summary and reflections from Outback to the Future seminar
Compiled by Anika Molesworth
The people who live in the far west of NSW certainly know well the moods of the outback. Sometimes we are blessed with favourable weather, where we see a mosaic of green leaves and bright red flashes of Sturt Desert Peas. But long, hot, dry periods, see many of us, including my family trucking off sheep, to ease the pressure on the land. And although the moods of the bush out here have always challenged and tested the people of the far west – and bred an extremely resilient and loyal variety of land manager – we know that the road lying ahead will be just as challenging, if not, more so. Issues include climate change, global population growth, changing markets and increasing disconnect between urbanites and farming systems. But with this knowledge we are able to do something about it. By understanding how our world works we can ensure the best human interaction with it.
The Outback to the Future seminar was just one of many discussions. Understanding our soils, vegetation, water, wildlife – the fundamental building blocks of life and all it supports. Learning about our livestock, their welfare and changes in management. And community responses – engaging and collaborating.
In the room, we had people from many different disciplines, different ages, from people who have careers studying life under microscopes, to people who spend long days in dusty sheep yards. What we all had in common was a fire in the belly to look after this land, and everyone in the room had unique perspectives and skills that brought value to the conversation. Our focus – how to best manage the fragile environment of the Far West into the future, so as to ensure sustainable farming businesses and vibrant and resilient rural communities.
With nine research organisations represented in the room, we asked the questions; What solutions are at hand? What solutions do we need to create? What research needs to be done, and what technology do we need to develop?
We started the morning session with the big picture. Our first two speakers set the scene with perspectives on research and technology in Australian agriculture, and climate change. We then moved into livestock management and welfare, and the importance of looking after our natural resources for the benefit of our farming businesses. The afternoon sessions had a more personal perspective, as we heard from members of our community – from young members of the community in high-school, to seasoned graziers, and a university lecturer who brings Sydney students to the outback, some for the very first time. The discussions and viewpoints were varied and unique – bringing great value and depth to the seminar.
Here is a summary of individual presentations given by speakers:
Simon Molesworth
Creating an enabling environment for change
With the overall seminar theme being a focus on technology and what it can do for rural communities in the arid zone Simon’s talk focussed on three interlocking requirements to ensuring a sustainable future:
Firstly, good science leading to technological advancement is essential. The CSIROs of the world must be encouraged to exist, be supported and be funded. Universities need to be prepared to take the risk and be at the vanguard. There is a worrying trend to only support research that is economically viable – that which will draw research funds into the university. Putting the economic generator imperative upfront, could lead to too frequent rejection of much research that in fact could have led to tomorrow’s break-through.
Secondly, a receptive indeed encouraging community is essential: a public that is excited by the opportunities they see, who then become advocates for technological innovation and thereby encourage politicians to respond by providing supportive policies and grant funding. We need to address the growing disconnect between the urban city population and the rural community. How can we better link the modern urbanite, particularly the young, to the rural section: is the excitement of new technology one possible means?
Thirdly, a facilitating encouraging governmental environment, where governments are willing to invest in new technology, remove legislative obstacles (or introduce facilitating legislation) and provide policy reform incentives. Australian governments have a poor history of playing around with policy in regards to climate change – on and off and on-again policies. Rather than requiring the adoption of innovative and sustainable approaches to land management they also have caved into poorly conceived short-term policies to appease some conservative elements in the electorate thereby causing senseless environmental harm totally contrary to good science.
Simon’s bio: Simon is recognised nationally and internationally for his work in environmental law, and currently acts as a Judge at the Land and Environment Court of NSW. He has founded and led numerous environmental and heritage organisations, including the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand, and the International National Trusts Organisation. In 2012 he became an Officer of the Order of Australia for “distinguished service to conservation and the environment, to heritage preservation at national and international levels, to the professions and natural resource sectors, and to community health organisations”. Simon played a pivotal role in having Broken Hill recognised as Australia’s first Heritage Listed City. Along with his wife Lindy, he owns and manages Rupee and Clevedale Stations near Broken Hill, where they embrace the natural environment whilst running dorper sheep.
Greg Curran
Climate change in the Far West
Greg’s presentation covered his study of changes in rainfall, temperature, evaporation, and solar radiation across western NSW. He used the CR technique to look at all of Fowlers Gap records of temperature (minimum and maximum), rainfall, and solar radiation. When he parsed rainfall, we were surprised to see something more in the rainfall records than we’ve seen before: this last drier episode is much drier than previous drys. It suggested that one hypothesis about climate change is operating: that increasing temperature can bring both drier times and wetter times (the CR analysis of maximum temperatures fits this as well: over time, you can see warmer and cooler periods, but the last episode has been significantly hotter).
Greg’s bio: Greg is a public veterinarian and epidemiologist, based at Broken Hill. He has worked in arid areas throughout his professional life, first in northern SA and since in western NSW. His work investigating the role of extreme and variable climate on both livestock and wildlife, led Greg to study the patterns in rainfall and temperature, and the effects of heat stress on animal reproduction and disease. Greg’s interest lies in understanding the nature and patterning of the climate in arid areas, including at Fowlers Gap, and its effects on flora and fauna.
Sean Starling
Future agricultural research, development and innovation
Sean opened his talk by discussing MLA funding opportunities for land managers, and how to go about getting MLA involved in co-funding innovative research projects that are relevant to other producers too. He spoke about taking technology from the military (autonomous vehicles), medical field (body scoring) and aviation (health/product scanning) and using these in agriculture. The Internet of Things, including smart ear tags, soil and dam sensors are here and ready to be utilized. He gave examples of futuristic supermarkets like the Coop in Italy that already exist because European consumers want to know where their food is coming from. Australian producers should be preparing for a similar trend here by developing digital information on the history of the product or an entertaining story about the product, e.g. innovative product labelling (19 Crimes wine). There is no technical reason why land managers shouldn’t be connected and MLA is able to provide advice on connectivity issues too.
Sean’s bio: Sean is General Manager of Research, Development and Innovation at Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA). As a member of MLA’s executive team, Sean is responsible for MLA’s $170 million annual R&D investment across the Australian red meat industry value chain. Sean has been engaged in food value chains for most of his career, having worked in a range of organisations and positions from factory engineer to general manager in manufacturing. These roles have honed Sean’s ability to work with business and scientific thinkers to facilitate delivery of their concepts into commercial reality. Sean also has a passion for supporting young people to strive and deliver in an ever changing and complex environment.
Simon Griffith and Stephan Leu
Bird and sheep studies at Fowlers Gap
Simon is studying movement and social behavior in sheep in the rangelands having previously studied social behavior of a number of bird species at Fowlers Gap. His earlier work found that the more social a bird is, the greater the chance of offspring survival. He has also been involved in project tagging and tracking shingleback lizards.
Stephan designed GPS tracking collars to monitor the movement of sheep at Fowlers Gap and gain a greater understanding of flock and individual behavior and to determine how sheep utilize the paddock. The monitoring collars enable him to determine such things as the distance the sheep travel per day, influence of wind in changing walking direction, patterns of group networks. Such information provides insight into the use of landscape resources and animal productivity.
Simon’s bio: Simon is an animal ecologist and over a career that started in Europe, and then moved to Australia at UNSW and Mcquarie University, he has investigated the behavioural strategies that have evolved to allow animals to thrive in different environments. To date he has published over 160 scientific papers from this research and been supported by multiple Discovery grants from the Australian Research Council, and two prestigious Research Fellowships. For the past 14 years Simon has led a team of researchers studying birds at Fowlers Gap, and has recently started to apply the knowledge from that work towards a better understanding of rangeland sheep.
Stephan’s bio: Stephan is a behavioural and evolutionary ecologist. He is interested in the interface of animal behaviour and ecology in an evolutionary framework. He has a strong research focus on social behaviour, its drivers and consequences. Stephan uses lizards and lately also mammals to investigate those research themes.
Greg Sawyer
Practical assessment of wool quality and using drones with livestock
There are lower sheep numbers nationally than have been in the past, and we are seeing some great wool prices. Drivers of sheep market and management changes include human population growth, increased urbanisation and globalization, and GDP growth leading to increased red meat consumption. The outcome is that there will be more movement and trade of livestock and products which will lead to structural changes in the livestock industry. Wool is no longer a cottage industry but is up with the elites – wool products use gold tags in China to symbolize affluence, and green tags in Europe to show green status. There are challenges though, the spread of global disease (coming closer to our Australian shores), food security and climate change – hotter weather impedes viable embryos and efficacy of breeding.
Drones are an increasingly popular tool to have in the farm tool-kit. There are CASA regulations drone pilots must abide by. Lots of opportunity to scout-out and monitor livestock using drones, and survey land condition. Benefits include low stress on livestock, fewer OHS issues, less wear and tear on vehicles and motorbikes.
Greg’s bio: Greg’s professional career within the wool industry spans over 25 years and he has been with Australian Wool Network (AWN) now for over 9 years. During this time, he has been working with both grassland and rangeland sheep producers to increase productivity and genetic gain through sheep selection and wool marketing. Outside of AWN, Greg is a shareholder and director of a pastoral company that runs merinos and angus cattle near Braidwood NSW. Greg is currently undertaking a Masters at Western Sydney University, looking into the effects of thermal stress on reproduction capacity and subsequent epigenetic effects in merino sheep. Greg has also been involved with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (UNFAO) in the Near East and North African regions, where he helped to develop the framework of a wool processing facility and training nomadic herdsman in shearing skills and wool preparation.
Danila Marini
Virtual fences for livestock
Agersens have developed a virtual fencing technique that could become commercially available this year. eShepherd is a system that uses a base station that links to smart collars. GPS boundary coordinates are set up on a computer or tablet and coordinates are sent to the collar. Training of cattle and sheep is done using associative learning (stimulus and response). The initial stimulus is audio and this can be followed by a low level electrical stimulus if there is no response to the initial stimulus. There are many practical applications, such as using stock to temporarily manage weeds or to exclude them from fragile land areas. Benefits include reduced labour and fencing costs. More research is needed on sheep to improve the understanding of group and individual behaviours.
Danila’s bio: Danila graduated from The University of Adelaide in 2013 with a Bachelor in Animal Science and first-class honours. She then commenced a PhD looking at self-medication methods in sheep at the University of New England in conjunction with the CSIRO at Armidale. Danila is interested in the learning capabilities of livestock and how to develop training protocols that could allow them to have control over their welfare, such as through self-medication, as well as gaining insight to their affective state. Danila is currently working on training sheep to use virtual fences and examining how that may affect sheep welfare.
Susan Orgill
Organic matter cycling in the rangelands and soil health
Explanation of what soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil organic matter is, where it comes from, and why it is important. SOC releases nutrients for plant growth, improves infiltration and water holding capacity and increases cation exchange capacity. Lots of money to be made in carbon – although money is not what it’s all about, it can be a nice incentive. Healthier soils, means more nutrients to be taken up by plants, which means more nutrients for livestock. Lots of carbon through the soil profile (to deep levels) in rangeland soil. Erosion is a big issue, so ensuring surface vegetation and rocks means there is a sheltering effect. This cover can be an indicator of rangeland health. Soil carbon can be reliably mapped using remote sensing and existing soil data. The red meat industry has made a commitment to be carbon neutral by 2030.
Susan’s bio: Susan has worked for NSW DPI Wagga Wagga Agricultural Research Institute in soil research and extension since 2005. Her research focuses on management strategies to increase carbon and nutrient cycling in agricultural soil. Susan's work in the NSW rangelands highlights the main drivers of organic matter cycling and the impacts this has on soil health and production in these extensive low rainfall landscapes. Susan works closely with producers and farming systems groups to achieve sustainable and profitable agricultural systems through soil management.
Peter Sharp
Art movement at Fowlers Gap and in the Far West
Art = artifice, a trick on the eye or senses. Peter brings UNSW students from the Bachelor of Fine Arts program to Fowlers to experience the landscape and create art which is showcased on their return to Sydney. He believes the more people see this place, the more they have sympathy and empathy with it. Artists like Idris Murphy made Fowlers Gap known culturally. Every trip Peter makes, he sees the land differently through the fresh eyes of his students. The land has a transformative quality. Examples of basket weaving as a vessel of Fowlers memories, to film projects, and taking a 1.5 tonne rock to Sydney for an exhibition.
Peter’s bio: Peter is an artist involved in the visual exploration and understanding of how nature works and fits together through the lens of abstraction. His art covers a wide range of media including painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking and video. Peter coordinates the Bachelor of Fine Arts annual field trips to Fowlers Gap, which has seen over 650 students draw, paint and experience this area’s unique landscape over the past 25 years. The students work on sketches and undertake research which is then developed into a public exhibition on their return to Sydney. Peter’s work is held in many significant public and private collections in both Australia and overseas.
Kagen Pearce, Maggie Tavian, Chloe Roberts
Enabling the next generation of landcarers
The Landcare Youth Network gave a great presentation (using no paper notes, preferring phone notes instead), talking about their hopes, their concerns, and the next generation of farmers.
Kagen spoke about the importance of educating youth and giving them the skills to thrive. He highlighted the importance of programs like the Youth Network.
Maggie told the audience of the importance of investing more time, money and research into the sustainable farming future of the Far West.
Chloe said we need more from our leaders, including scholarships and grants to develop the capabilities of land mangers and young people in the region.
All three said they were interested in a future owning land in the Far West region, and recognise the need to develop their own skills and knowledge, and promote a supportive local and regional community.
Western Landcare Youth Network about: The Western Landcare Youth Network is an annual program aimed at providing young people with a platform to explore a future in agriculture and the environment with access to skills training in these fields. The Network allows Far West youth to connect with each other and make a difference to their communities under the guidance and assistance of mentors. Students also make a difference to their communities by developing local environmental projects that they carry out. The three pillars of this group are; learning, developing and contributing.
Emily Berry
Coping with climate change from a social perspective
Sustainability is common sense and mainstream. Emily reminded us that land managers are highly adaptive and are leaders and innovative in the Far West. She recounted findings from her research into how farmers perceive the threat of climate change, and what they were doing about it. She said the important questions was, ‘where to from here?’ Emily asked the audience about their attitudes and whether they themselves or people they knew had changed their ideas on climate change and why.
Emily’s bio: Emily is a social researcher at the University of New South Wales and University of Sydney. Her recent research projects have explored cultural land management and facilitating landholder collaboration for landscape-scale conservation and sustainable production. Emily also works in policy at the Office of Environment and Heritage.
Angus Whyte
Evaluating the usefulness of on-farm technologies
Gus spoke of the “art” of farming – a mosaic where no farm and no farmer is the same. The importance of embracing this diversity. We must not look at our challenges are barriers, but more as parameters that we operate within. Technology can be time saving, improve management, increase productivity, enable better communication and be fun. By embracing platforms of connectivity “We make the large Far West much smaller by working together and sharing ideas.” Gus reminded us that it is easier to keep up with change than to catch up. We need to focus on turning our hurdles into solutions. “There are plenty of solutions out there looking for a problem”.
Angus’ bio: Angus lives at Wyndham Station on the Anabranch River of NSW, with his wife Kelly and son Mitchell. The family runs two properties with mainly sheep and some cattle, covering 31,000 ha and employing another family. As well as being part of the farm business Angus is regional chair of the Southern Australian Meat Research Council and is Chair of the Southern Community Advisory Group of the Western Local Land Services.
Overall conclusions from the seminar
In the morning sessions we heard about the changes that are coming our way in the climate, challenges in funding competition, the loss of agricultural science in universities, and market changes, push-back from policy makers. We then learnt about livestock management and welfare, about sheep movement, livestock trainability, and the use of drones to scout-out and monitor our flocks. We also learnt about the importance of looking after our paddocks, and specifically the condition of our soil and vegetation. Our focus then moved to the people, as we heard perceptions and visions from members of our community.
The take home messages for me were;
Compiled by Anika Molesworth
The people who live in the far west of NSW certainly know well the moods of the outback. Sometimes we are blessed with favourable weather, where we see a mosaic of green leaves and bright red flashes of Sturt Desert Peas. But long, hot, dry periods, see many of us, including my family trucking off sheep, to ease the pressure on the land. And although the moods of the bush out here have always challenged and tested the people of the far west – and bred an extremely resilient and loyal variety of land manager – we know that the road lying ahead will be just as challenging, if not, more so. Issues include climate change, global population growth, changing markets and increasing disconnect between urbanites and farming systems. But with this knowledge we are able to do something about it. By understanding how our world works we can ensure the best human interaction with it.
The Outback to the Future seminar was just one of many discussions. Understanding our soils, vegetation, water, wildlife – the fundamental building blocks of life and all it supports. Learning about our livestock, their welfare and changes in management. And community responses – engaging and collaborating.
In the room, we had people from many different disciplines, different ages, from people who have careers studying life under microscopes, to people who spend long days in dusty sheep yards. What we all had in common was a fire in the belly to look after this land, and everyone in the room had unique perspectives and skills that brought value to the conversation. Our focus – how to best manage the fragile environment of the Far West into the future, so as to ensure sustainable farming businesses and vibrant and resilient rural communities.
With nine research organisations represented in the room, we asked the questions; What solutions are at hand? What solutions do we need to create? What research needs to be done, and what technology do we need to develop?
We started the morning session with the big picture. Our first two speakers set the scene with perspectives on research and technology in Australian agriculture, and climate change. We then moved into livestock management and welfare, and the importance of looking after our natural resources for the benefit of our farming businesses. The afternoon sessions had a more personal perspective, as we heard from members of our community – from young members of the community in high-school, to seasoned graziers, and a university lecturer who brings Sydney students to the outback, some for the very first time. The discussions and viewpoints were varied and unique – bringing great value and depth to the seminar.
Here is a summary of individual presentations given by speakers:
Simon Molesworth
Creating an enabling environment for change
With the overall seminar theme being a focus on technology and what it can do for rural communities in the arid zone Simon’s talk focussed on three interlocking requirements to ensuring a sustainable future:
Firstly, good science leading to technological advancement is essential. The CSIROs of the world must be encouraged to exist, be supported and be funded. Universities need to be prepared to take the risk and be at the vanguard. There is a worrying trend to only support research that is economically viable – that which will draw research funds into the university. Putting the economic generator imperative upfront, could lead to too frequent rejection of much research that in fact could have led to tomorrow’s break-through.
Secondly, a receptive indeed encouraging community is essential: a public that is excited by the opportunities they see, who then become advocates for technological innovation and thereby encourage politicians to respond by providing supportive policies and grant funding. We need to address the growing disconnect between the urban city population and the rural community. How can we better link the modern urbanite, particularly the young, to the rural section: is the excitement of new technology one possible means?
Thirdly, a facilitating encouraging governmental environment, where governments are willing to invest in new technology, remove legislative obstacles (or introduce facilitating legislation) and provide policy reform incentives. Australian governments have a poor history of playing around with policy in regards to climate change – on and off and on-again policies. Rather than requiring the adoption of innovative and sustainable approaches to land management they also have caved into poorly conceived short-term policies to appease some conservative elements in the electorate thereby causing senseless environmental harm totally contrary to good science.
Simon’s bio: Simon is recognised nationally and internationally for his work in environmental law, and currently acts as a Judge at the Land and Environment Court of NSW. He has founded and led numerous environmental and heritage organisations, including the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand, and the International National Trusts Organisation. In 2012 he became an Officer of the Order of Australia for “distinguished service to conservation and the environment, to heritage preservation at national and international levels, to the professions and natural resource sectors, and to community health organisations”. Simon played a pivotal role in having Broken Hill recognised as Australia’s first Heritage Listed City. Along with his wife Lindy, he owns and manages Rupee and Clevedale Stations near Broken Hill, where they embrace the natural environment whilst running dorper sheep.
Greg Curran
Climate change in the Far West
Greg’s presentation covered his study of changes in rainfall, temperature, evaporation, and solar radiation across western NSW. He used the CR technique to look at all of Fowlers Gap records of temperature (minimum and maximum), rainfall, and solar radiation. When he parsed rainfall, we were surprised to see something more in the rainfall records than we’ve seen before: this last drier episode is much drier than previous drys. It suggested that one hypothesis about climate change is operating: that increasing temperature can bring both drier times and wetter times (the CR analysis of maximum temperatures fits this as well: over time, you can see warmer and cooler periods, but the last episode has been significantly hotter).
Greg’s bio: Greg is a public veterinarian and epidemiologist, based at Broken Hill. He has worked in arid areas throughout his professional life, first in northern SA and since in western NSW. His work investigating the role of extreme and variable climate on both livestock and wildlife, led Greg to study the patterns in rainfall and temperature, and the effects of heat stress on animal reproduction and disease. Greg’s interest lies in understanding the nature and patterning of the climate in arid areas, including at Fowlers Gap, and its effects on flora and fauna.
Sean Starling
Future agricultural research, development and innovation
Sean opened his talk by discussing MLA funding opportunities for land managers, and how to go about getting MLA involved in co-funding innovative research projects that are relevant to other producers too. He spoke about taking technology from the military (autonomous vehicles), medical field (body scoring) and aviation (health/product scanning) and using these in agriculture. The Internet of Things, including smart ear tags, soil and dam sensors are here and ready to be utilized. He gave examples of futuristic supermarkets like the Coop in Italy that already exist because European consumers want to know where their food is coming from. Australian producers should be preparing for a similar trend here by developing digital information on the history of the product or an entertaining story about the product, e.g. innovative product labelling (19 Crimes wine). There is no technical reason why land managers shouldn’t be connected and MLA is able to provide advice on connectivity issues too.
Sean’s bio: Sean is General Manager of Research, Development and Innovation at Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA). As a member of MLA’s executive team, Sean is responsible for MLA’s $170 million annual R&D investment across the Australian red meat industry value chain. Sean has been engaged in food value chains for most of his career, having worked in a range of organisations and positions from factory engineer to general manager in manufacturing. These roles have honed Sean’s ability to work with business and scientific thinkers to facilitate delivery of their concepts into commercial reality. Sean also has a passion for supporting young people to strive and deliver in an ever changing and complex environment.
Simon Griffith and Stephan Leu
Bird and sheep studies at Fowlers Gap
Simon is studying movement and social behavior in sheep in the rangelands having previously studied social behavior of a number of bird species at Fowlers Gap. His earlier work found that the more social a bird is, the greater the chance of offspring survival. He has also been involved in project tagging and tracking shingleback lizards.
Stephan designed GPS tracking collars to monitor the movement of sheep at Fowlers Gap and gain a greater understanding of flock and individual behavior and to determine how sheep utilize the paddock. The monitoring collars enable him to determine such things as the distance the sheep travel per day, influence of wind in changing walking direction, patterns of group networks. Such information provides insight into the use of landscape resources and animal productivity.
Simon’s bio: Simon is an animal ecologist and over a career that started in Europe, and then moved to Australia at UNSW and Mcquarie University, he has investigated the behavioural strategies that have evolved to allow animals to thrive in different environments. To date he has published over 160 scientific papers from this research and been supported by multiple Discovery grants from the Australian Research Council, and two prestigious Research Fellowships. For the past 14 years Simon has led a team of researchers studying birds at Fowlers Gap, and has recently started to apply the knowledge from that work towards a better understanding of rangeland sheep.
Stephan’s bio: Stephan is a behavioural and evolutionary ecologist. He is interested in the interface of animal behaviour and ecology in an evolutionary framework. He has a strong research focus on social behaviour, its drivers and consequences. Stephan uses lizards and lately also mammals to investigate those research themes.
Greg Sawyer
Practical assessment of wool quality and using drones with livestock
There are lower sheep numbers nationally than have been in the past, and we are seeing some great wool prices. Drivers of sheep market and management changes include human population growth, increased urbanisation and globalization, and GDP growth leading to increased red meat consumption. The outcome is that there will be more movement and trade of livestock and products which will lead to structural changes in the livestock industry. Wool is no longer a cottage industry but is up with the elites – wool products use gold tags in China to symbolize affluence, and green tags in Europe to show green status. There are challenges though, the spread of global disease (coming closer to our Australian shores), food security and climate change – hotter weather impedes viable embryos and efficacy of breeding.
Drones are an increasingly popular tool to have in the farm tool-kit. There are CASA regulations drone pilots must abide by. Lots of opportunity to scout-out and monitor livestock using drones, and survey land condition. Benefits include low stress on livestock, fewer OHS issues, less wear and tear on vehicles and motorbikes.
Greg’s bio: Greg’s professional career within the wool industry spans over 25 years and he has been with Australian Wool Network (AWN) now for over 9 years. During this time, he has been working with both grassland and rangeland sheep producers to increase productivity and genetic gain through sheep selection and wool marketing. Outside of AWN, Greg is a shareholder and director of a pastoral company that runs merinos and angus cattle near Braidwood NSW. Greg is currently undertaking a Masters at Western Sydney University, looking into the effects of thermal stress on reproduction capacity and subsequent epigenetic effects in merino sheep. Greg has also been involved with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (UNFAO) in the Near East and North African regions, where he helped to develop the framework of a wool processing facility and training nomadic herdsman in shearing skills and wool preparation.
Danila Marini
Virtual fences for livestock
Agersens have developed a virtual fencing technique that could become commercially available this year. eShepherd is a system that uses a base station that links to smart collars. GPS boundary coordinates are set up on a computer or tablet and coordinates are sent to the collar. Training of cattle and sheep is done using associative learning (stimulus and response). The initial stimulus is audio and this can be followed by a low level electrical stimulus if there is no response to the initial stimulus. There are many practical applications, such as using stock to temporarily manage weeds or to exclude them from fragile land areas. Benefits include reduced labour and fencing costs. More research is needed on sheep to improve the understanding of group and individual behaviours.
Danila’s bio: Danila graduated from The University of Adelaide in 2013 with a Bachelor in Animal Science and first-class honours. She then commenced a PhD looking at self-medication methods in sheep at the University of New England in conjunction with the CSIRO at Armidale. Danila is interested in the learning capabilities of livestock and how to develop training protocols that could allow them to have control over their welfare, such as through self-medication, as well as gaining insight to their affective state. Danila is currently working on training sheep to use virtual fences and examining how that may affect sheep welfare.
Susan Orgill
Organic matter cycling in the rangelands and soil health
Explanation of what soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil organic matter is, where it comes from, and why it is important. SOC releases nutrients for plant growth, improves infiltration and water holding capacity and increases cation exchange capacity. Lots of money to be made in carbon – although money is not what it’s all about, it can be a nice incentive. Healthier soils, means more nutrients to be taken up by plants, which means more nutrients for livestock. Lots of carbon through the soil profile (to deep levels) in rangeland soil. Erosion is a big issue, so ensuring surface vegetation and rocks means there is a sheltering effect. This cover can be an indicator of rangeland health. Soil carbon can be reliably mapped using remote sensing and existing soil data. The red meat industry has made a commitment to be carbon neutral by 2030.
Susan’s bio: Susan has worked for NSW DPI Wagga Wagga Agricultural Research Institute in soil research and extension since 2005. Her research focuses on management strategies to increase carbon and nutrient cycling in agricultural soil. Susan's work in the NSW rangelands highlights the main drivers of organic matter cycling and the impacts this has on soil health and production in these extensive low rainfall landscapes. Susan works closely with producers and farming systems groups to achieve sustainable and profitable agricultural systems through soil management.
Peter Sharp
Art movement at Fowlers Gap and in the Far West
Art = artifice, a trick on the eye or senses. Peter brings UNSW students from the Bachelor of Fine Arts program to Fowlers to experience the landscape and create art which is showcased on their return to Sydney. He believes the more people see this place, the more they have sympathy and empathy with it. Artists like Idris Murphy made Fowlers Gap known culturally. Every trip Peter makes, he sees the land differently through the fresh eyes of his students. The land has a transformative quality. Examples of basket weaving as a vessel of Fowlers memories, to film projects, and taking a 1.5 tonne rock to Sydney for an exhibition.
Peter’s bio: Peter is an artist involved in the visual exploration and understanding of how nature works and fits together through the lens of abstraction. His art covers a wide range of media including painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking and video. Peter coordinates the Bachelor of Fine Arts annual field trips to Fowlers Gap, which has seen over 650 students draw, paint and experience this area’s unique landscape over the past 25 years. The students work on sketches and undertake research which is then developed into a public exhibition on their return to Sydney. Peter’s work is held in many significant public and private collections in both Australia and overseas.
Kagen Pearce, Maggie Tavian, Chloe Roberts
Enabling the next generation of landcarers
The Landcare Youth Network gave a great presentation (using no paper notes, preferring phone notes instead), talking about their hopes, their concerns, and the next generation of farmers.
Kagen spoke about the importance of educating youth and giving them the skills to thrive. He highlighted the importance of programs like the Youth Network.
Maggie told the audience of the importance of investing more time, money and research into the sustainable farming future of the Far West.
Chloe said we need more from our leaders, including scholarships and grants to develop the capabilities of land mangers and young people in the region.
All three said they were interested in a future owning land in the Far West region, and recognise the need to develop their own skills and knowledge, and promote a supportive local and regional community.
Western Landcare Youth Network about: The Western Landcare Youth Network is an annual program aimed at providing young people with a platform to explore a future in agriculture and the environment with access to skills training in these fields. The Network allows Far West youth to connect with each other and make a difference to their communities under the guidance and assistance of mentors. Students also make a difference to their communities by developing local environmental projects that they carry out. The three pillars of this group are; learning, developing and contributing.
Emily Berry
Coping with climate change from a social perspective
Sustainability is common sense and mainstream. Emily reminded us that land managers are highly adaptive and are leaders and innovative in the Far West. She recounted findings from her research into how farmers perceive the threat of climate change, and what they were doing about it. She said the important questions was, ‘where to from here?’ Emily asked the audience about their attitudes and whether they themselves or people they knew had changed their ideas on climate change and why.
Emily’s bio: Emily is a social researcher at the University of New South Wales and University of Sydney. Her recent research projects have explored cultural land management and facilitating landholder collaboration for landscape-scale conservation and sustainable production. Emily also works in policy at the Office of Environment and Heritage.
Angus Whyte
Evaluating the usefulness of on-farm technologies
Gus spoke of the “art” of farming – a mosaic where no farm and no farmer is the same. The importance of embracing this diversity. We must not look at our challenges are barriers, but more as parameters that we operate within. Technology can be time saving, improve management, increase productivity, enable better communication and be fun. By embracing platforms of connectivity “We make the large Far West much smaller by working together and sharing ideas.” Gus reminded us that it is easier to keep up with change than to catch up. We need to focus on turning our hurdles into solutions. “There are plenty of solutions out there looking for a problem”.
Angus’ bio: Angus lives at Wyndham Station on the Anabranch River of NSW, with his wife Kelly and son Mitchell. The family runs two properties with mainly sheep and some cattle, covering 31,000 ha and employing another family. As well as being part of the farm business Angus is regional chair of the Southern Australian Meat Research Council and is Chair of the Southern Community Advisory Group of the Western Local Land Services.
Overall conclusions from the seminar
In the morning sessions we heard about the changes that are coming our way in the climate, challenges in funding competition, the loss of agricultural science in universities, and market changes, push-back from policy makers. We then learnt about livestock management and welfare, about sheep movement, livestock trainability, and the use of drones to scout-out and monitor our flocks. We also learnt about the importance of looking after our paddocks, and specifically the condition of our soil and vegetation. Our focus then moved to the people, as we heard perceptions and visions from members of our community.
The take home messages for me were;
- The importance of having research stations like Fowlers Gap in the Far West, where arid-zone research can take place and provide a fostering environment for learning and experimenting.
- There is exciting research being undertaken and technology being developed nationally and internationally, which could be applied to farming systems in the region with a few tweaks, and we in the Far West need to demand that it is made accessible and affordable to land managers.
- The importance in having seminars and discussions that include the voices and perceptions of people from many different disciplines, industry and ages, in order to promote collaboration and creative thinking.