CSIRO is monitoring the grazing behaviour of cattle in a bid to minimise harm to the landscape while improving productivity.
Uneven grazing leads to degradation
Cattle grazing is a vital part of the economy in Australia’s tropical north.
A major challenge confronting managers of extensive cattle properties is uneven use of the landscape by stock. Cattle tend to over-graze particular areas, which not only leads to reduced livestock production, but is also a major contributor to rangeland degradation.
The Pigeon Hole project
In 2003, researchers from CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems and the Northern Territory Government (both Department of Natural Resources, Environment and The Arts, and Department of Primary Industry, Fisheries and Mines) began work on this five-year, A$7 million project. The project aims to identify options for the sustainable development of the beef industry in northern Australia.
The project is based on a Heytesbury Beef property, Pigeon Hole Station, in the Victoria River Downs district of the Northern Territory.
CSIRO scientists are studying the grazing behaviour of cattle under different configurations of paddock size and number of water points.
CSIRO scientists are studying the grazing behaviour of cattle under different configurations of paddock size and number of water points.
Collaborators are conducting studies to identify optimum pasture use levels, the potential benefits of alternative grazing systems such as spelling during the wet season, and the implications for maintaining biodiversity values.
Current activities
Current activities include:
Tracking cattle by GPS
Dr Leigh Hunt, Senior Research Scientist at CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems in Darwin, is tracking cattle using high-tech collars equipped with global positioning systems and data loggers. This technology is helping to answer key questions:
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does increasing the number of water points encourage more even grazing as effectively as reducing paddock size?
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do animals favour particular water points?
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do larger paddocks, with diverse landscapes and good water distribution, improve animal performance compared to small paddocks?
Weighing up the costs
Project results so far suggest that smaller paddocks result in grazing being more widely spread over the landscape. A similar result was observed by increasing the number of water points in large paddocks, but this method was less effective. This is because cattle tend to favour particular water points, leading to ‘preferred areas’ for grazing.
However, the subdivision of large paddocks is costly due to the establishment and maintenance of fencing, and new water points. The optimum paddock configuration will be a compromise between the economic costs and returns of smaller paddocks, and the environmental benefits.
Providing solutions for pastoralists
First indications are that the most suitable option in the Victoria River District is a paddock size of approximately 35 square kilometres (3 500 ha), with two well-spaced watering points.
It is expected that this configuration will be applicable to much of the grazed semi-arid savanna rangelands in northern Australia. The 35 square kilometre paddock is also a convenient size for mustering.
Partners
This part of the Pigeon Hole Project is jointly funded by Heytesbury Beef, Meat & Livestock Australia and CSIRO.
The full list of project collaborators is:
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Heytesbury Beef
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Meat and Livestock Australia
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Northern Territory Department of Primary Industry, Fisheries and Mines (DPIFM)
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Northern Territory Department of Natural Resources, Environment and The Arts (NRETA)
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the University of Queensland.
Read about Dr Leigh Hunt: researching plant-animal-landscape interactions in extensive rangelands.
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