An Investigation into the Net Benefits of Revegetating Agricultural Land with Indigenous Species in the Dryland Section of the Goulburn-Broken Catchment Area

Benefits ascribed to the revegetation of farming landscapes include enhancement of biodiversity, reduction in the advance of dryland salinity, sequestration of greenhouse gases, control of soil erosion, greater protection of agricultural activities from adverse weather conditions and an improved aesthetic value of rural lands. In this paper, economic analyses were performed to determine the net benefits to landholders of carrying out revegetation. Where the net benefits were insufficient to allow reasonable returns to be earned on the investment of marginal capital, an assessment was made of the amount and type of assistance that would be necessary to encourage landholders to adopt this improved system of land management.Biodiversity, Economic and Financial Analyses, Environmental Degradation, Land Management, Revegetation, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use,

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An Investigation into the Net Benefits of Revegetating Agricultural Land with Indigenous Species in the Dryland Section of the Goulburn-Broken Catchment Area

Benefits ascribed to the revegetation of farming landscapes include enhancement of biodiversity, reduction in the advance of dryland salinity, sequestration of greenhouse gases, control of soil erosion, greater protection of agricultural activities from adverse weather conditions and an improved aesthetic value of rural lands. In this paper, economic analyses were performed to determine the net benefits to landholders of carrying out revegetation. Where the net benefits were insufficient to allow reasonable returns to be earned on the investment of marginal capital, an assessment was made of the amount and type of assistance that would be necessary to encourage landholders to adopt this improved system of land management

Net Benefits from growing lucerne (Medicago sativa) on the Broken Plains of north eastern Victoria

Clearing of trees and native vegetation over the past 160 years has led to increasing rates of dryland salinization in the Goulburn-Broken Catchment area. In its dryland section, within the Goulburn Highlands, South West Goulburn, and the Broken Highlands subcatchments, hydrologic balance exists. But in the Riverine Plains comprising the Goulburn and Broken Plains sub-catchments, where average annual rainfalls are less than 600 mm per annum, it will be many decades before hydrologic balance is achieved. This study is set in the Broken Plains sub-catchment where over the next 100 years, it is expected that deep drainage of annual rainfall will cause watertables to rise to within two metres of the ground surface. Such rises of groundwater will lead to marked land degradation, initially in the form of induced waterlogging and ultimately increased dryland salinity. There is therefore a critical need to redress this increasing problem. One main way of doing so is by introducing deep-rooted perennial species such as lucerne into the landscape. Lucerne has a higher level of water extraction than annual crops and pasture. However, one of the barriers to farmers changing from annual subterranean clover pasture to lucerne is uncertainty about the effects of such a change and the chance of reduced average profit or its volatility. This study seeks to reduce that uncertainty by investigating changes in profitability and cash flow across the Broken Plains sub-catchment where farming with lucerne replaces cropping with subterranean clover pasture

Net Benefits from growing lucerne (Medicago sativa) on the Broken Plains of north eastern Victoria

Clearing of trees and native vegetation over the past 160 years has led to increasing rates of dryland salinization in the Goulburn-Broken Catchment area. In its dryland section, within the Goulburn Highlands, South West Goulburn, and the Broken Highlands subcatchments, hydrologic balance exists. But in the Riverine Plains comprising the Goulburn and Broken Plains sub-catchments, where average annual rainfalls are less than 600 mm per annum, it will be many decades before hydrologic balance is achieved. This study is set in the Broken Plains sub-catchment where over the next 100 years, it is expected that deep drainage of annual rainfall will cause watertables to rise to within two metres of the ground surface. Such rises of groundwater will lead to marked land degradation, initially in the form of induced waterlogging and ultimately increased dryland salinity. There is therefore a critical need to redress this increasing problem. One main way of doing so is by introducing deep-rooted perennial species such as lucerne into the landscape. Lucerne has a higher level of water extraction than annual crops and pasture. However, one of the barriers to farmers changing from annual subterranean clover pasture to lucerne is uncertainty about the effects of such a change and the chance of reduced average profit or its volatility. This study seeks to reduce that uncertainty by investigating changes in profitability and cash flow across the Broken Plains sub-catchment where farming with lucerne replaces cropping with subterranean clover pasture.Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management,

Sustainable grazing systems: Economic and financial implications of adopting different grazing systems in north-east Victoria

Data from experimental sites at Maindample and Ruffy was extrapolated to a 100 ha paddock on a commercial property. Incorporated into the analyses were risk assessments to allow for sowing failures due to adverse seasonal conditions and price variability for meat and wool during the life of the pasture. Where graziers carried out pasture improvement, the results indicated that changing from Control (low input pastures stocked at a low intensity) to High-input (high stocking rates and fertilizer addition) rather than Medium-input pasture was the more profitable option. In changing to High-input pasture using data from Maindample, a cattle activity using nominal discount rates of 10% per annum required success rates in pasture establishment of ≥ 80% for profitability. For Ruffy cattle, using the same discount rate, the change was profitable for success rates in pasture establishment of ≥ 70%, but lamb and wool activities were only profitable for success rates in pasture establishment of ≥ 90%. Over both sites, Ruffy cattle was the only activity for the change to be profitable for nominal discount rates of 15% per annum, but success rates for pasture establishment would also have to be ≥ 90%. Financial analyses performed on these increases in profitability confirmed that they were feasible because the pay-back periods for deficits incurred during the development and management of the improved pasture were less than the 13 year life of the investments. However, using a contractor to improve the pastures was not feasible because the deficits could not be repaid within the period of the investment. These results support the current low adoption of perennial pastures and have significant implications for catchment management bodies in Victoria and New South Wales where heavy reliance is placed on perennial pastures to improve catchment outcomes