Reading the land: influences of property management planning courses on landholders' soil management activities in border rivers-Gwydir catchment management authority

Abstract

Property management planning (PMP) training for farmers is an opportunity to improve land management practices. An evaluation of the impacts of PMP training (Farming Management Systems, FMS) funded by the Border Rivers-Gwydir Catchment Management Authority (BR-G CMA) in NSW was undertaken. The analysis reported here focuses on interviews with farmer participants who had completed PMP training. The physical property plan was considered useful by farmers and continued to be used well beyond the training period. Interviewees generally recalled the need to maintain in excess of 70% groundcover for soil protection and to increase rainfall infiltration, and claimed to be using this threshold in their grazing management decision making. However, two issues emerged that require attention in designing subsequent training courses. One, the low level of natural resource condition monitoring by farmers even though this was strongly emphasised during the course, and two, the need to develop a stronger link in physical property planning between land capability assessments and farm management decision making.