Get reliable science

We propose a framework for sustainable grazing management of southern rangelands based on the concept of tactical grazing. The underlying principles are (1) establishment of paddock objectives (2) conditioning of pastures and landscapes to realise opportunities and avoid hazards arising from temporal and spatial variability of rainfall (3) development of strategies involving manipulation of stocking rate, rest, prescribed fire, inter- specific competition and total grazing pressure (4) use of monitoring systems to provide triggers for tactical decisions and assess progress towards management objectives and (5) management of areas of high conservation value for specific conservation objectives. We suggest that these principles could be applied within a wide range of management regimes but caution against some aspects of more intensive approaches currently attracting interest in the southern rangelands.