New grazing workshops coming to the SA Arid Lands

A Southern Rangelands Grazing Land Management Course, tailor-made for the SA Arid Lands region, will be offered at 11 different locations in August and October this year.

Having identified a need for a regionally delivered training program for producers, property managers, workers and contractors, the SA Arid Lands Landscape Board has worked with Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) to develop an EDGEnetwork workshop to meet this purpose.

The one-day workshop will be open to all SA Arid Lands residents with an interest in the pastoral industry. This includes red meat and wool producers, pastoral managers, station hands, contractors, advisors and students interested in a future in the pastoral industry.

SA Arid Lands Landscape Board Regional Agriculture Landcare Facilitator Andrea Tschirner said participants would learn more about grazing land management, the fundamentals of rangeland soils and livestock production in a one-day course that will include a combination of classroom learning and hands-on training.

“On completion, you will be able to identify land types and native pasture plants, develop strategies to manage land condition, better manage nutrition requirements of livestock and estimate your long and short-term carrying capacity,” Mrs Tschirner said.

“Applying the concepts to your own business, you will take away climate, resource, livestock and paddock profiles that are specialised for your property.”

Participation in the new course will be fully subsidised through the From the Ground Up project, which is delivered by the SA Arid Lands Landscape Board, through funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund.

Workshops will be delivered at Mungerannie, Lyndhurst, Blinman, Bindarrah, Yunta, Quorn, Stirling North, Mount Eba, Oodnadatta, Coober Pedy and Nonning. Seven sessions will be offered in August, with the remaining four to be offered in October.   

Registrations are open for all workshops and early registrations are encouraged to ensure participants can attend the session that best suits their location.

“This is a rare opportunity to undertake professional development training tailored made for our pastoral industry, where everyone has an opportunity to attend at a location close to them,” Mrs Tschirner said.

Mitchell Plumbe - Project Manager - Adoption Southern & Western Production Systems highlighted the value of a partnership between Meat & Livestock Australia and the South Australia Arid Lands Landscape Board.

“Red meat producers in the southern rangelands can look forward to a new regionalised training program to help upskill in grazing management and livestock production.”

“The EDGEnetwork is a longstanding program that brings research and local knowledge together into a practical workshop for red meat producers.”

“MLA has developed the customised program with a team of researchers, extension officers and advisors throughout the southern rangelands who know the landscape and the production systems in these areas.”

Workshop dates and locations