What broader contributions do rangelands make to Australia’s well-being? In this column, David has attempted to provide a snapshot of current socio-economic data across all rangeland-based industries to indicate opportunities for the region to contribute into the future. David is keen to hear your thoughts on his summaries so please have a read.
The ARS Council recently endorsed the proposal that the next Biennial ARS Conference be held in Longreach in western Queensland in May 2022. UPDATE: THE CONFERENCE IS NOW BEING HELD FROM 4-8 OCTOBER, 2021
Over recent years the involvement of Government agencies in extension and research in the rangelands of Australia appears to have declined significantly. In an effort to overcome some of this loss of specialist experience and expertise, the NSW Soil Knowledge Network was established in 2013.
The NSW Soil Knowledge Network has turned its attention to the critical role of groundcover in providing protection for soil and the microenvironment of plants, and has recently posted a Position Statement on their website.
The TGB Osborn Vegetation Reserve at Koonamore, SA will soon be turning 100. In celebration, Russell Sinclair is in the process of writing a history of the Reserve and is keen to hear from anyone with a Koonamore story to tell.
Have you ever wondered about the origins of familiar weeds in the arid and semi-arid rangelands? Over several years, Marg Friedel undertook an extensive literature search of newspaper articles, journal articles and books and has come up with some very interesting stories about how, when and why a number of these weed species were introduced.
The adult equivalent (AE) system has been used when describing and quantifying grazing pressures of stock for many years. However, particularly for cattle in northern Australia, the application of AE’s has not been consistent and the resulting estimates of dry matter intake were over estimated. This made matching stocking rate to carrying capacity, a fundamental tenet of grazing management, difficult in practise. Recent work undertaken by Stu McLennan, Ian McLean and Col Paton has sought to address this.
Corresponding author – Ian McLean, Agribusiness consultant. Email: ian@bushagri.com.au The effective utilisation and preservation of the natural resource base features as a standalone chapter in a recently released independent publication on the Australian beef industry. The Australian Beef Report: 2020 Vision details the financial and production performance of family beef businesses in Australia. The […]
Applications for the next round of ARS Awards close on the 30th November. Check the guidelines to see if you are eligible.
The effect of COVOD-19 on ARS members was discussed at the July meeting of the ARS Council.
The Joint XXIV IGC and XI IRC Congress has been postponed and will now be held from the 23 – 29th October 2021 in Nairobi, Kenya. A New Call for Posters has recently be made if you would like to take part.
The Perspectives on Pastoralism Film Festival is a film festival promoted by the Coalition of European Lobbies for Eastern African Pastoralism (CELEP). Interested filmmakers and organisations were asked to submit films related to pastoralism and from this a travelling film festival composed of a 90-minute compilation of short films has been produced.
The Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund provides funding for initiatives that will help farmers and regional communities to become more prepared for, and resilient to, the impacts of droughts. It was recently announced that the Fund’s eight foundation programs will begin rolling out from July 2020.
Pastoral lease scale satellite information has recently been made available to all Western Australian pastoralists to help them with their decision making.
2020 is a year of change that will significantly impact global economies and change agricultural markets. Now is the time for Australia’s proactive agriculturalists to consider a Nuffield Scholarship that will provide the opportunity to research important rural concepts, techniques and systems that will secure the industry’s future in a post-COVID world. With applications […]
In this digital age there seems to be an ever-increasing number of outlets to get news and information about what is happening in the rangelands. Here are some interesting articles you may have missed in recent months.
A reminder to all members who are subscribing to receive The Rangeland Journal either in hardcopy or in electronic format that they are entitled to access and download all past issues and published papers free of the normal charge.
The Annual General Meeting of the Society was held on the 27 May 2020, and details of the major Council activities are now available in the Annual Report.
As at 30 June 2020 the Society has 227 members, including 37 complimentary members. Members yet to renew are reminded to do so as soon as possible so that their benefits continue.
I was very pleased to receive a number of volunteered articles for this edition and would like to thank the authors for their time and effort. I would also encourage other readers to contribute – I’m sure many of you have interesting stories to tell.