Sustainable Grazing on Saline Lands

Dryland salinity is recognised as one of the major risks to agriculture and the natural environment in the high to medium rainfall zones of Australia. Forty-one per cent of the nation’s woolgrowers indicate they already have land affected by dryland salinity [Land, Water & Wool Best Practice Survey 2003] and it is estimated that many other landscapes used for wool production are under increased risk.

Grazing is one of the few activities that can make productive and profitable use of saline land, and also reduce the negative impacts on the environment, and on property owners and managers. The Sustainable Grazing on Saline Lands (SGSL) sub-program has helped woolgrowers better understand and manage their saline land through a range of activities.

These SGSL activities and projects helped to achieve:

• improved production and profit from grazing saline land;
• better environmental outcomes from saline land; and
• more pride for producers who are proactively changing their management systems to tackle saline land on their properties.

SGSL was the largest of the seven sub-programs in Land, Water & Wool, and was supported by Meat & Livestock Australia, the Cooperative Research Centre for Plant-based Management of Dryland Salinity, CSIRO and State agencies in Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales. Alongside the five national research projects, SGSL also uniquely supported 120 local producer network demonstration sites in partnership with woolgrower groups across WA, SA, Victoria, Tasmania and NSW.

Web tools:

• Saltland Genie - a practical guide to saltland management: http://www.saltlandgenie.com.au/

Publications:

• Saltland solutions – options for saltland restoration (based on the Saltland Genie) (18.14Mb)
• SALTdeck (PDF 12.8Mb)
• Sustainable grazing on saline lands – projects and products (PDF 485Kb)
• Insights: case studies on how farmers are successfully managing saltland for profit and sustainability (PDF 1Mb)
• Sustainable grazing on saline land - productive solutions for salinity management (PDF 714Kb)
• Does grazing perennial pastures on saline land affect farm salt and water balances? Final Report (PDF 244Kb)
• Understanding evaporation (PDF 76Kb)
• The economic value of fencing and improving saline land (PDF 1.72Mb)
• The economic value of improving pasture production on saltland in southern Australia: Short Paper (PDF 1.65Mb)
• The economic value of improving pasture production on saltland in southern Australia: Final Report (PDF 545Kb)
• What to plant where: effectively positioning plants in saline/waterlogged landscapes (PDF 1.38Mb)
• Saltland pastures in Australia: a practical guide (PDF 4.17Mb)
• Saltland scoring solutions - greater than 600mm (PDF 5.64Mb)
• Saltland scoring solutions - 400-600mm (PDF 5.26Mb)
• Saltland scoring solutions - less than 400mm (PDF 4.62Mb)

New South Wales

• The SGSL producer network in NSW (PDF 826Kb)

Western Australia

• Final report for West Australian network for participatory R&D for SGSL (PDF 432Mb)
• SGSL producer network in Western Australia – summary of all 70 SGSL grower trials in WA (PDF 6.93Mb)
• SGSL producer network in Western Australia (PDF 961Kb)
• Have a yarn No.1 to No.21

   1. talking salt with Ted & Tony Altham (PDF 8.35Mb)
   2. talking saltland grazing with Charlie Bell (PDF 6.08Mb)
   3. talking grazing with Craig Bignell (PDF 8.12Mb)
   4. talking salt with Bernie Driscoll (PDF 9.16Mb)
   5. talking salt with George & Dean Hull (PDF 7.03Mb)
   6. talking salt with Terry & Linda Lee (PDF 7.40Mb)
   7. talking grazing trials with John Pepall (PDF 6.79Mb)
   8. talking salt with Grant Robinson (PDF 8.89Mb)
   9. talking grazing trials with Phil & Caroline Smith (PDF 7.36Mb)
  10. talking grazing with Jeff & Marilyn Tink (PDF 6.40Mb)
  11. talking salt with Cameron & Teresa Tubby (PDF 9.81Mb)
  12. talking salt scald with Barry Whitham (PDF 7.53Mb)
  13. talking salt with Ian & Di Haggerty (PDF 6.85Mb)
  14. talking salt with Bart & Denella Hulls (PDF 11.07Mb)
  15. talking salt with Keith, Rosemary & Boyd Carter (PDF 8.23Mb)
  16. talking salt with Peter & Lois Kelly (PDF 8.40Mb)
  17. talking salt scald with Graydn Wilcox (PDF 8.44Mb)
  18. talking salt with Gene Stone (PDF 6.97Mb)
  19. talking salt with Richard Walker (PDF 8.56Mb)
  20. talking salt with Brad & Natalie Tonkin (PDF 6.99Mb)

South Australia

• Saltland pastures for South Australia (PDF 9.74Kb)
• South Australia ‘Success with saltland pastures’ case studies

   1. Geoff and John Kroemer, Tumby Bay, Eyre Peninsula (PDF 606Kb)
   2. Trevor Egel, Mt Charles, Coorong Districts (PDF 570Kb)
   3. David Liddicoat, Ungarra, Eyre Peninsula (PDF 607Kb)
   4. Trevor (Ted) Beare & Martin Wilkinson, Snowtown, Northern Agricultural Districts (PDF 524Kb)
   5. Malcolm Schaefer, Murray Lagoon, Kangaroo Island (PDF 524Kb)
   6. Gordon, Neville & Brian Stopp, Mt Charles, Upper South East (PDF 418Kb)
   7. Charlie Bruce, Kingston, Upper South East (PDF 468Kb)

• South Australia ‘Trial site summaries’

  1.Establishment and evaluation of saline pasture between existing wide spaced saltbush – Northern Stokes Landcare Group, Ungarra, Eyre Peninsula (PDF 341Kb)
  2a.Establishment & management techniques for saltbush, puccinellia, medics & balansa clover – Tumby Bay Agricultural Bureau, Eyre Peninsula (PDF 505Kb) 
  2b.Determining the productive potential of saltland pastures – Tumby Bay Agricultural Bureau, Eyre Peninsula (PDF 325Kb)
  3.Establishment & management of saltbush & saltland pasture on a jumbled land system – Kapinnie Landcare Group, Eyre Peninsula (PDF 423Kb)
  4.Puccinellia establishment & management – Waddikee/Balumbah Catchment Salinity Management Group, Darke Peak, Eyre Peninsula (PDF 481Kb)
  5.Evaluation of saltland pasture established between narrow spaced saltbush – Waddikee Agricultural Bureau, Kimba, Eyre Peninsula (PDF 362Kb)
  6.Grazing and fertiliser management of puccinellia and tall wheat grass – KI NRM Board, Murray’s Lagoon, Kangaroo Island (PDF 381Kb) 
  7.Evaluating the effectiveness of raised beds in increasing grazing productivity on saline land – KI NRM Board, Eleanor River, Kangaroo Island (PDF 404Kb)
  8a.Conventional versus alternative fertilisers on saltland (puccinellia) – Mt Charles Farm Management Group, Upper South East (PDF 361Kb) 
  8b.Conventional versus alternative fertilisers on saltland (tall wheat grass) – Mt Charles Farm Management Group, Upper South East (PDF 341Kb)
  9.Optimising production on saline land – Kingston Salinity Group, Upper South East (PDF 352Kb)
  10.Weed control in established puccinellia – Bunbury SGSL Producer Network Group, Upper South East (PDF 387Kb)
  11a.Pasture legumes for saline soils on Yorke Peninsula 1 – Southern Yorke Peninsula Alkaline Soils Group (PDF 438Kb)
  11b.Pasture legumes for saline soils on Yorke Peninsula 2 – Southern Yorke Peninsula Alkaline Soils Group (PDF 374Kb)
  12.The nutritional requirements for livestock production grazing saltland pastures – Mt Charles Saltland PPP Group, Upper South East (PDF 393Kb)
  13.Improving pasture productivity on saline seepage areas – Tungkillo Landcare Group, Mt Lofty Ranges (PDF 330Kb)

Victoria and Tasmania

• Sustainable grazing on saline land Victoria and Tasmania: Final Report (PDF 899Kb)
• Productive and sustainable salt tolerant pastures for South Australia and Victoria (PDF 149Kb)