Get reliable rangeland science

Landscape management is at the heart of what pastoralists do. Ultimately the viability and sustainability of pastoral businesses is based on how their landscape functions and responds to rainfall. Core to the concept of improving landscape function in a rainfall limited climate – Rainfall Use Efficiency. Management strategies that improve Rainfall Use Efficiency such as regenerative grazing and erosion control techniques can be implemented on any property but need to be done so in a targeted and informed w ay. The challenge in achieving good landscape management comes not only in knowing what to do but more importantly when to do it. This is particularly challenging given the variable climatic conditions and diverse landscape types experienced in the Pilbara. Emerging Ag Technologies are providing tools and data that make managing the variability easier. Drone technology is a rapidly growing industry and is becoming increasingly accessible. Drones present an opportunity to gather information about your landscape in a repeatable, reliable and efficient way, and to use that information to make informed decisions about your landscape management. With funding from the Southwest WA Drought Resilience and Innovation Adoption Hub, Contour Consulting has developed a new tool that is pastoralist-friendly and allows for more informed pasture assessment and calibration of your stocking decisions. The process is end-to-end, from establishing monitoring sites through to follow-up support, and is tailored to yo ur property. The tool provides quantitative pasture and landscape condition data through repeatable assessments that will give land managers direction and confidence to make proactive grazing management decisions. It also creates a database of evidence that could be used in documenting improved management as part of a carbon or natural capital project.