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Beefing up sustainability
9 Dec 2003
One of the most comprehensive studies ever undertaken on pastoral sustainability in Australia, the Pigeon Hole Project, has been launched by CSIRO, Heytesbury Beef and Meat and Livestock Australia. The project involves 40 thousand hectares of Northern Territory rangeland and will look at boosting profits from pastoralism without damaging the environment.
Cattle will be fitted with high-tech collars containing global positioning systems. Cattle graze unevenly and this uneven grazing pressure not only reduces production dollars, but can result in land degradation. The project will look at ways to increase more uniform grazing, including changing paddock sizes and altering the number of watering points. The GPS receiver and data logger will be used on cattle to analyse their grazing activity.
Heytesbury Beef's project manager, Dr Steve Petty, says the results from the project will underpin future development in the northern beef industry. A huge amount of information will be gathered during the five-year study which will make an invaluable contribution to a sustainable beef industry in the north, he said.
CSIRO Media Release, 5/12/03.
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