1. Production environment

Key features of the production environment applying to mixed farming enterprises in the catchment include:

Climatic variability

This region has one of the most variable climates of any cropping area in Australia. Variability in rainfall amount, timing and intensity, together with variable and extreme temperature conditions (both heat in summer and frost in winter) combine to create a risky production environment. This high level of risk and uncertainty makes it difficult for producers to match inputs to outputs and plan crop and pasture rotations and other practices. Rainfall is 60 - 70% summer dominant, however high evaporation rates in summer mean that the effectiveness of summer rainfall is reduced. Successful grain crop production (both winter and summer) relies on the utilisation stored soil moisture accumulated during fallow periods to supplement in-crop rainfall.

Spatial Variability

A wide range of land types exist within the catchment with a wide range of soil types, topography and native vegetation. Most mixed farms consist of a range of land types, each with different productive capability and management requirements.

Wide range of enterprise options

The climatic features and the diversity of land types combine to present a wide range of potential land-use options to mixed producers in the region. This wide range of options represents an opportunity in terms of developing flexible, resilient and market responsive mixed farming systems, as well as major challenges in selecting appropriate combinations of land use for the unique combination of land types present on any individual property, particularly in the face of climatic variability, possible climate change and continually varying market conditions. Land use options include:

• summer grain crop production (sorghum, mungbeans, dryland cotton, maize)
• winter grain crop production (wheat, barley, chickpea)
• Summer annual forage crop production (eg forage sorghum, lablab)
• Winter annual forage crop production (oats, forage barley, forage wheat)
• Tropical and temperate perennial improved pastures (eg Bambatsi Panic, Buffel Grass, Lucerne, Burgundy bean, Medics, Caatinga stylo)
• Native pastures (predominately summer growing eg Mitchell grass, Bluegrasses)
• A variety of beef, wool and lamb production enterprises based on the fodder sources listed above.

2. Natural Resource Management

Key threats to natural resource condition within the project area include:

Soil loss

Intense summer rainfall, sloping topography and dispersive (sodic) surface soils combine to create a high risk of soil loss through water erosion on many land types in the project area. Wind erosion can also occur on the lighter soils in the area. The importance of maintaining adequate surface cover through retention of crop residues and appropriate grazing management is well recognised as the key to reducing these losses.

Soil physical, chemical and biological fertility

Continuous intensive cropping and poor grazing management has resulted in a decline in soil physical, chemical and biological fertility on many land types in the region.

Deep drainage and dryland salinity

Many soils in the region have high inherent subsoil salt loads and replacement of native vegetation with annual crop and pasture systems has been shown to increase deep drainage on many land types. These factors combine to present a relatively high risk of dryland salinity becoming a significant issue at some time in the future, although there is little expression of this problem to date. It is widely accepted that management practices that reduce the incidence and extent of deep drainage will minimise the risk of future expression of dryland salinity.

Surface water quality

Off site movement of soil, pesticides and salts in runoff water are reducing the quality of surface water

Biodiversity and remnant native vegetation

Land clearing for crop and pasture production has reduced the area of remnant native vegetation in the region. This, along with some land management practices in use, has resulted in a decline in biodiversity. The extent and importance of this biodiversity loss is unquantified.