Sustainable pastoral systems

The larger project investigates the labour productivity and nutritional yield associated with implementing new agricultural practices, including planting new varieties, microdosing of fertilisers and introducing mechanised land preparation and harvesting.

The contribution of the Sustainable Pastoral Systems Group is twofold: Maria Ortiz-Rodriguez and Beth Penrose are investigating the impact on labour productivity of providing silage to Bali cattle to fill dry-season feed gaps. Beth Penrose is leading the evaluation of the implementation of new practices on nutritional yield. Please use this link to access the full project details

Media highlight: This project has been featured in a CDU media release highlighting its impact on northern cattle production.

The larger project investigates the anti-methanogenic properties of native Australian forage plants. Beth Penrose and her PhD student (to be recruited) will be investigating the contribution of browse plants (trees and shrubs) to cattle diets in western NT, and the knock-on effects on methane emissions.

This project uses semi-structured interviews with producers, extensionists, researchers and consultants in conjunction with a literature review to articulate the status of and future opportunities for land condition in northern Australian beef systems.

This project aims to assess the global and local consequences of changing feeds in aquaculture by developing a new interdisciplinary sustainability assessment framework. The project expects to generate new methods to understand and predict local farm-to-ecosystem changes and global environmental footprints under contrasting feed and climate scenarios by integrating field data with novel experiments, modelling techniques and global mapping of terrestrial and marine feed raw materials and their impacts. Expected outcomes include new methods to assess ecological, social and economic trade-offs under different feeds to inform decision making in support of an ecosystem-based approach to aquaculture spanning global to local scales.

Funded by the Australian Research Council Grant, Biomar Ltd and the University of Tasmania.

This PhD project will investigate opportunities for circular economy for inorganic materials (e.g. tyres, engine oil, irrigation piping, solar panels) from remote agricultural properties.

This research is supported by Tyre Stewardship Australia and the pastoral industry.

Media highlight: This project has been featured in an ABC News article titled "Researcher studies how to recycle waste on remote cattle stations."

This project investigates the use of virtual fencing in northern Australian cow–calf beef systems. While virtual fencing has proven effective in managing grazing when all cattle wear neckbands, its application in cow–calf operations presents unique challenges, as calves cannot safely wear neckbands before weaning. Limited research currently exists on how uncollared calves may influence fence effectiveness, animal behaviour, or welfare outcomes. This study will evaluate the efficacy, behavioural responses, and welfare implications of virtual fencing in cow–calf systems, providing evidence to support informed adoption and future regulatory decisions in northern beef production systems.

Media highlight:  This project has been featured in a CDU media release highlighting how virtual fencing could shape the future of sustainable cattle management in northern Australia.

Grazing behaviour of livestock is important to understand for managing grazing, improving grazing management and making informed decisions about infrastructure such as watering points. This project will support an Honours student to use GPS tags to look at the effect of watering point and wind direction on grazing behaviour of sheep in the South Australian arid zone.

This project is supported by the South Australian Arid Lands Landscape Board.

Media highlight: This project has been featured in a media release showcasing how GPS tracking technology is being used to better understand sheep grazing behaviour in arid environments, helping inform smarter grazing management and infrastructure planning in South Australia.