Cattle grazing
Cattle grazing is the main land use in the region (96%)
producing $195.2m in 1998-1999. There is a large variation in land
productivity ranging from $10 per ha in Dalrymple and Jericho to
$400 per ha for the Burdekin and Mirani Shires. In all shires,
agricultural production can fluctuate up to 30% between years. In
terms of Gross Regional Product, grazing contributes only half the
value of that from dryland and irrigation cropping that is
concentrated in small parts of the region (
Greiner et al. 2003 ) .
Most grazing occurs upon native pastures in extensive rangelands
of natural savanna woodlands. Significant areas of improved pasture
grazing have also been developed through tree clearing and the
establishment of exotic pastures. The development of ponded
pastures systems involving the use of exotic aquatic grasses within
wetlands and earth bunded drainage depressions have occurred on
coastal and some inland grazing operations.
Since the 1970s there has been a general trend toward
intensification of grazing production within the region. This has
been facilitated by the development of heat and tick resistant
strains of cattle, tree clearing and pasture development, the use
of licks and feed supplementation and fencing. Concerns regarding
the sustainability of pasture condition under intensive grazing
systems have also influenced a number of pastoralists to develop
rotation grazing systems with reduced herd sizes with increased
profitability being sought through premium prices for better
condition stock and sustained production levels through periods of
climate variability (G. Morgan, pers. com.).
Over the last 25 years broad acre farm profit was negative in 2
out of 5 years with consequences of increased debt. This poses
difficulties for the farmers to invest in NRM activities where
returns are not immediate or non-existent. It also reduces the
effectiveness of tax incentives for NRM, as they only work during
profitable years. The extreme variability in profits also
highlights that timing and flexibility are important for the
success of NRM policies (
Greiner et al. 2003 ) .
Although grazing provides only a small amount of the regional
gross value, it is an important landuse in terms of ecological and
economic sustainable development as the industry is the largest
employer in the remoter parts of the region. In this context, the
landholders who manage the land have an important influence on the
sustainability of the region.
Agriculture
In comparison to grazing, agriculture occupies only a small area
(~2%) of the region and is primarily located in lowland coastal
areas with a significant area also developed in the Belyando
catchment and in the upper Burdekin basin. Sugar and horticultural
produce processing is also a significant industry within the region
(Productivity Commission 2003).
Agriculture in the region includes both irrigated and dryland
cropping. Irrigated agriculture is dominated by sugar cane
production with 103,120ha in the region accounting for over 50% of
the gross value of agricultural output and approximately 20% of the
total Australian crop (NR&M 2002). Other forms of irrigated
agriculture include a range of horticultural crops, capsicums,
rockmelons, watermelons, tomatoes, mangoes, bananas, table grapes,
mandarins, grapefruit, pumpkins, sweet corn, eggplants, zucchinis
and lemons grown principally within the Bowen area, and irrigated
pastures, sunflower, sorghum and lucerne grown principally in upper
Burdekin subcatchments and Belyando-Suttor catchment (NR&M
2002). Opportunistic dryland agriculture of pastures and stock feed
grains also occurs in these areas.
Descriptions of other land use industries within the region can
be found in the BDTNRM
Plan
Climate variability
Climate variability is an issue all land managers must grapple
with. Agricultural production in rangelands and dryland cropping
areas is critically dependent on rainfall, which in the Burdekin
Dry Tropics region is characterised by extreme variability (
Greiner et al. 2003 ) . The standard deviation in
rainfall at Charters Towers, for example, is almost 40% of the 660
mm annual average (range 100-1600 mm; NR&M 2002).
Variability in pasture production in response to rainfall means
that stocking rates must either be aligned to the lands long term
carrying capacity, to maintain a fodder reserve for poor seasons or
highly responsive to fodder availability, with stock removed or
shifted as reserves decline during drought. If stocking rates are
maintained at levels higher than the long term carrying capacity
overgrazing will occur. This is especially important during
drought. Continued overgrazing has potential to lead to loss of
desirable pasture species and biodiversity and increased erosion
and (in the long term) salinity risk.
Increasing stocking rates and improving pasture utilisation are
used by producers to maintain or increase profitability in the face
of poor commodity prices and/or declining terms of trade (
Greiner et al. 2003 ) . While this system may work well
when the climate is favourable, without appropriate management
systems in place, it may lead to overgrazing and pasture decline
during prolonged dry spells.