Explore CSIRO

About CSIRO

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation is Australia's national science agency and one of the largest and most diverse research agencies in the world.

Open to the Public

CSIRO has a range of facilities that are opened to the public, with each offering a unique insight into science research activities and history.

National Research Flagships

Large-scale, long-term, multidisciplinary science to address Australia's major national challenges and opportunities.

Divisions

CSIRO expertise is organised into 15 research areas.

National Facilities

CSIRO manages national facilities and collections that are opened to researchers around Australia and overseas.
- The Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL)
- National Collections - The Australian National Insect Collection, The Australian National Fish Collection, The Australian National Herbarium, The Australian National Wildlife Collection
- The Marine National Facility - The Southern Surveyor
- Telescopes - Parkes, Narrabri, Mopra, Tidbinbilla, VLBI, ASKAP
- Pyrotron

CSIRO's core areas of impact

Astronomy & Space

Climate Change

Energy

Environment

Farming & Food

Health & Wellbeing

Information & Communication Technologies

Manufacturing

Materials

Mining & Minerals

Oceans & Coasts

Transport & Infrastructure

Contact Enquiries: Phone - 1300 363 400 | Email - Enquiries@csiro.au | Contact Us

Overview - Research

CSIRO is developing more efficient pasture management strategies.

Pasture management

CSIRO is developing more efficient pasture management strategies to improve the profitability and sustainability of Australia's pastures.

Decision-support tools
Pasture management in Western Australia
Related information sheets
Related scientific papers

Decision-support tools

The GRAZPLAN™ project at CSIRO Plant Industry has developed a series of computer models that are the basis of three commercially available decision support (DS) tools.

These tools are intended to help farmers to make decisions about their farm management based on findings from scientific research. They are aimed not only at farmers and farm advisors, but also at industry organisations, agribusiness, banks and insurance companies.

Two of the tools, GrazFeed™ and GrassGro™, model grazing systems and allow farmers to investigate possible management changes without real-time risks.

GrazFeed™ allows farmers to use supplementary feeds more efficiently by only feeding the amount needed to meet production targets.

GrassGro™ is a more comprehensive model than GrazFeed™. It links the animal production model in GrazFeed™ to a dynamic model of pasture production and quality. GrassGro™ takes into account weather data and soil and pasture information at a given location.

GrassGro™ and GrazFeed™ remove the guesswork from grazing management decisions. They allow farmers to explore options before they spend money.

GrassGro™ and GrazFeed™ take the guesswork out of grazing management decisions.

The simulation models in these successful tools are also being used to explore how best to achieve profitable farm businesses through sustainable management of our grassland resources.

This work is coupled with research investigating the productivity, persistence and sustainability of native and cultivated grass-based pastures in low- and high-input grazing systems.

Read more about the GRAZPLAN™ project through the links shown under Related Topics.