Data collection builds farm resilience

But at Bibbaringa, a 965ha grazing property near Bowna, in southern NSW, taking on board the ability to measure the aggregate productivity of her land during the past 15 years, has kept owner Gill Sanbrook financially and ecologically viable.

At the Soils for Life field day, hosted by Ms Sanbrook, Peter Richardson, CEO Maia Grazing, highlighted the benefits of 15 years of data collection at Bibbaringa, and how knowledge of that data has created a more resilient grazing enterprise.

The past 15 years have seen volatile seasons, with rolling 12 month rainfall measurements ranging from 247mm to 1275mm.

And obviously, stock numbers on Bibbaringa have fluctuated accordingly.

When the property was purchased in 2007, an immediate change implemented was the practice of rotational grazing where the breeding herd was moved consecutively through the paddocks.

Through that period and more recently assisted by the Maia Grazing tool, Ms Sanbrook adopted the principles of good grazing management, which were affirmed by Mr Richardson in his presentation during the field day.

"Plan, monitor and manage your pasture based on the rest period to suit the growth of the plants," he said.

"It keeps the plants in a state of high growth and quality.

"And if you measure the growth against the rainfall, you can adjust your stocking rate to match carrying capacity as conditions change."

Mr Richardson said the aim is to have maximum stock density for minimum time,

"It avoids re-grazing and reduces selective browsing of the pasture," he said.

"The stock also trample plant material to cover the soil and returning nutrients to the soil."

Analysis of large datasets in MaiaGrazing has shown that rotations with high density/short duration grazes and long recovery times can deliver significantly higher yield compared with more conventional grazing.

"This effect has been observed first hand at Bibbaringa," Mr Richardson said.

"Regenerative grazing management has lifted overall business performance leading to much greater resilience in dry times and commensurably reducing business risk."

Mr Richardson noted this regenerative approach has also improved the balance sheet for natural capital, in terms off soil health, landscape bio-diversity and retention of water leading to potential opportunities for new income streams from carbon credits.

It also leads to increased carrying capacity and greater farm resilience.

"You can think of this improvement in the land as a capitalised dividend of good management,"; he said.

"The result is increased carrying capacity and greater farm resilience."

To build natural capital, Mr Richardson advised being clear on your objectives, then identify the leading indicators that show whether you are making progress.

"The data can be very complex, and the role of planned grazing tools like MaiaGrazing is to help you use that data to plan, track progress and guide decision making," he said.