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Managing Complex Systems: Preliminary Findings from Grain & Graze Land & Water Australia © 2008 Managing Complex Systems: Preliminary findings from Grain & Graze Land & Water Australia © 2008 Published by: Land & Water Australia Postal address: GPO Box 2182 Canberra ACT 2601 Office Location: Level 1, 86 Northbourne Avenue, Braddon ACT 2612 Telephone: 02 6263 6000 Facsimile: 02 6263 6099 E-mail: land&[email protected] Internet: www.lwa.gov.au Grain & Graze is a collaboration between four leading research and development corporations: Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA), Australian Wool Innovation (AWI), the Grains Research & Development Corporation (GRDC) and Land & Water Australia (LWA) – along with more than 60 farmer and landcare groups, research providers and regional management authorities. For more information about the Grain & Graze Program, contact: Telephone: 02 6263 6000 E-mail: [email protected] Internet: www.grainandgraze.com.au Publication data: Managing Complex Systems – Preliminary findings of the Grain & Graze program Product Code: PR081463 ISBN 978-1-921253-96-6 Final Report Project Team: Peter Day – Peter R Day Resource Strategies Pty Ltd Julian Cribb – Julian Cribb & Associates Robert Hannam – RJ Hannam & Co Pty Ltd Phil Price – Mackellar Consulting Group Pty Ltd Michael Krause – Applied Economic Solutions Pty Ltd Peter Wylie – Horizon Rural Management Anne Burgi – SUBStitution Pty Ltd Dave Riches – Riches Communications Pty Ltd With assistance from the Grain & Graze program team Layout by: SUBStitution Pty Ltd, Melbourne Printed by: DPA, Melbourne June 2008 Disclaimer The information contained in this publication is intended for general use, to assist public knowledge and discussion and to help improve the sustainable management of land, water and vegetation. It includes general statements based on scientific research. Readers are advised that this information may be incomplete or unsuitable for use in specific situations. Before taking any action or decision based on this information, readers should seek professional advice. To the extent permitted by law, the Commonwealth of Australia, Land & Water Australia (including its employees and consultants), the Grain & Graze Program and its partners do not assume liability of any kind whatsoever resulting from any person’s use or reliance upon the content of this publication. SUBS/DPA/08-06 Managing Complex Systems ContentsContents Foreword ......................................................................................................................4 Introduction ...............................................................................................................5 Summary ...................................................................................................................13 Benefits and risks .....................................................................................................19 Strategic challenges ..............................................................................................27 SYSTEMS Finding the right balance ...........................................................................31 Making complex decisions .......................................................................37 Enjoying farming ...........................................................................................45 PRODUCTION Feedbase management .............................................................................55 Grazing cereals ...............................................................................................63 Pastures ............................................................................................................77 ENVIRONMENT Natural assets ..................................................................................................89 Managing pests ..........................................................................................101 Managing soils ............................................................................................115 PULLING it togetHer ...................................................................................126 APPENDICES Grain & Graze regional stakeholders ...................................................129 Grain & Graze program teams ...............................................................130 Managing Complex Systems Foreword Grain & Graze has been a unique and Grain & Graze has been unique in other rewarding experience for all involved. ways. It has explored from production, Between 2003 and 2008, more than 4,000 environmental and social perspectives the producers across Australia were involved, complexity involved in managing multi- with hands-on engagement, in a wide variety enterprise farms. Crop, pasture and animal of mixed-farming research and extension management research sat comfortably activities conducted on approximately 240 alongside studies on biodiversity, risk sites. management, decision-making and work- Many thousands more took interest in the life balance. activities by seeking information about This report is a synthesis of the interim Grain & Graze results. findings of Grain & Graze, attempting to This overall engagement has led to an come to grips with managing complex average 9% increase in profit for the 2,000 or systems and providing guidance to so people who either adopted the practices producers and their advisers on those Dr Richard Price advocated by Grain & Graze, or ceased practices and decision-making processes practices that the program’s research had that will help lead to better profits, better found to be not beneficial. farms, better catchments and better lifestyles. This is quite remarkable given that during this period all nine Grain & Graze regions I commend this report to you and invite experienced severe, and in some cases, your feedback to ensure its next iteration unprecedented, drought conditions. capitalises on the complete lessons of Grain & Graze. Perhaps even more remarkable has been the discernible improvement in soil and vegetation health and management on Dr Richard Price participating farms, evidenced by fewer National Operations Coordinator dust events traditionally associated with Grain & Graze high erosion during drought. June 2008 Managing Complex Systems Introduction Purpose This report distils the experiences and individuals seeking to develop solutions to findings of mixed farmers and scientists their own unique set of circumstances. involved in the nine regions and four national It isn’t an encyclopedia of mixed farming projects of the nationwide Grain & Graze nor does it pretend to have ‘silver bullet’ program. It aims to help Australian mixed answers. Mixed farming isn’t that simple. farmers analyse their systems and make Rather, Grain & Graze aims to offer ideas and better decisions in an increasingly complex ways of thinking about complex issues. operating environment. The individual Grain & Graze projects began Mixed farming occurs across a wide array of at different times and many have been soils, landforms and climates in Australia. In affected by drought. When this report was response to that variability, Grain & Graze has produced some had been completed, some developed local as well as national solutions had preliminary results and some were to a range of production and management just starting to analyse their findings. This issues. This information is available through report distils findings into the main themes local, regional and national reports which and ideas that have emerged so far. are available on the Product Directory. These The report is a strategic companion that reports and information guides offer tactical complements the array of problem-solving assistance and ‘how to’ advice to farmers in material generated by Grain & Graze that is solving practical problems. available through regional projects. It deals This report explores strategic matters of with issues such as deciding the appropriate interest to mixed farmers, teasing out the balance between livestock and crops, options and exploring how the pros and cons designing farming systems that cope with vary in different circumstances. It doesn’t variability, finding better ways to manage seek to provide precise answers; it highlights the complexity of modern farming, and issues and options to be considered and gives understanding how to keep farms and their more insight into how they can be tackled by rural landscapes healthy and productive. To get the most from this report, try ‘browsing’. Thumb through to sections of most interest, have a read and ponder how the issues discussed apply to your farm. Consider following up one of the leads for more information or discuss it with a local adviser or farmer group. When next you want to reflect on an aspect of mixed farming browse another topic. Managing Complex Systems Most of Australia’s mixed farms are family What is a mixed farm? owned and most owner-managers have grown up on a farm. They have wide The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and experience and expertise to draw upon and Resource Economics (ABARE) defines ‘mixed they know that skill in production (managing livestock–crop producers’ as being ‘engaged crops, pastures and livestock) is critical to in the production of sheep and/or beef cattle their business performance. in conjunction with substantial activity in broadacre crops’. Mixed producers are They are vulnerable to global commodity classified as ‘Australian broadacre industries’ price swings, to seasonal variability, and along with ‘wheat and other crops’, ‘sheep’, to changes in the value of
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