The Profitable Grazing Systems program: Improving Tactical Decision Making (ITDM) is a group-based training program designed specifically for the New South Wales rangelands. The objective of the program is to assist pastoralists with the adoption of strategic grazing management practices to improve farm business profitability. The program launched in 2021 and has since graduated three groups of pastoralists from Packsaddle, in the state's northwest corner, to Booligal, in the south-eastern rangelands. Over a 12 to 18 month period, a small group of pastoralists participate in five training sessions. Each session covers a different aspect of rangeland grazing management, culminating in the development of a tactical grazing plan during the final session. At the program's onset, pastoralists are assigned the task of establishing a monitoring paddock, a pivotal tool enabling them to gauge progress towards their management objective. This strategic approach facilitates the self-assessment of the applied grazing strategies' efficacy within their unique landscape, providing guidance for informed decision-making at the program's completion. Combining their own property knowledge with targeted grazing strategies, pastoralists learn to assess pastures, identify the productive species in their landscape and manipulate grazing management to increase the prevalence of valuable, perennial plants in the feedbase, thereby, improving their ability to condition paddocks to respond to rainfall and withstand dry periods. Complementary skills in livestock production are also covered to build capacity in condition scoring and optimal feed allocation to achieve production goals. Upon program completion, pastoralists depart equipped with an enhanced ability to monitor, measure, and record pasture and livestock condition, thereby fostering improvements in whole property performance. By merging their existing property knowledge with fresh skills in grazing management, participants are better equipped to navigate the challenges of rangeland management, ultimately paving the way for sustained profitability and resilience within their operations.
Get reliable rangeland science
Toggle Search