Creating better environmental outcomes through incorporating farmers' experiences of monitoring land condition

Abstract

A case study of cropping farmers from the north-west region of NSW evaluated their local knowledge and learning (land literacy) in relation to land condition and how it affected their motivation and ability to monitor land condition. The extent to which their experiences can influence their capacity to change, adapt and reflect on their actions was assessed. Applying this learning cycle (plan, act, reflect and feedback) is considered a critical skill in integrated natural resource management where increasingly land managers are required to set targets for land condition, and be expected (or in the future legally required) to meet those targets as part of a wider agenda (catchment health). Examination of various soil health issues and how they were identified in the north-west cropping region of NSW resulted in a set of soil health indicators at the farm and paddock level that were formed by farmers' experiences and reality. Understanding farmers' capacity to adapt these indicators of soil health to achieve better environmental outcomes for land condition requires farmers, and other stakeholders to: learn through experimentation, build on their own knowledge and practices, blend their past experiences with new ideas, and realise that their experiences are valuable learning tools.