A team of CSIRO scientists are calling for a more balanced approach to conservation and beef cattle production by farmers involved in large scale property management.

Researchers from CSIRO Tropical Agriculture say landholders can place greater emphasis on conservation ideals without sacrificing profit or production.

According to senior research scientist Neil MacLeod, there are many misconceptions in the farming community regarding sustainable resource management. These he hopes to dispel by exploring the potential for a more balanced approach to grazing property management in a four-year research project on four south-east Queensland properties at Crows Nest and Mundubbera.

"Using these properties we will compare the practical operation and economic performance of the present management strategies and what we estimate might occur with some alternative strategies that place greater emphasis on long-term resource conservation," he explained.

"The conservation aspects will focus on protecting the native vegetation ­ not just trees, but also the grasses, pasture plants and other important parts of the ecosystem."

Because the research takes place on whole-property scale, it will be more realistic and applicable to practical farm management than research that concentrates on trial plots and the small paddocks that are typical of traditional research stations.

The alternative management strategies that will be explored for each property will be designed by the research team with the help of technical specialists as well as practical beef producers.

"What we hope to demonstrate is that there is no major conflict of interest between short-term profits on the one hand, and long-term conservation rewards on the other, or between economic and ecological interests in general," Mr MacLeod said.

"In our approach to the project, we are taking as an opening position that conservation ideals ­ specifically those aimed at preserving biodiversity at both a local and regional scale ­ are compatible with economically-viable cattle production systems.

"What we are proposing is that conservation 'best practice' can be tailor-made for specific properties, rather than as a blanket generality for all properties."

This four-year research program is being jointly funded by the Land and Water Resources Research and Development Corporation, and the Environment Australia Biodiversity Group. Collaborating agencies include the University of Queensland, the Queensland Department of the Environment, the Queensland Department of Natural Resources, and Greening Australia.

More information:
Neil MacLeod, 07 3377 0270
Grant McDuling 07 3377 0361