Pastoral Poddy
The Pastoral Poddy is a podcast for landholders, community members and industry on all things pertinent to the rangelands of Western NSW. We hope you enjoy listening to the stories as told by landholders, ag advisors and industry representatives, as much as we enjoyed developing them!
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Kangaroo series
Kangaroo management — seeking a way forward
With focuses varying from economics to morals to conservation issues, it can be challenging to find common ground on kangaroos. In this episode, we’ll hear from an ecologist, the industry and the government about some new strategic initiatives that aim to give a voice to these diverse groups. We’ll see how education, consultation and innovation can be part of the solution. Tune in to hear how a predictive tool for kangaroo populations and new adaptive approaches could help advance kangaroo management in Australia.
Traditional owners and kangaroos
Kangaroos have a cultural and spiritual significance for Aboriginal people, being a totem for some and a source of food and clothing for many. Tune in to learn about the diversity of views that Aboriginal people have about kangaroo management. In this episode, we’ll talk to indigenous community members about what kangaroo harvesting means to them and some of the challenges they face. Join us to hear some ideas of how the industry and government can help improve community access and involvement through the use of cultural tags as well as providing work opportunities for indigenous people.
Kangaroos and drought
Drought is a stressful time for any farmer trying to balance competing business, livestock and landscape demands. Kangaroos also struggle in drought with inevitable dehydration and starvation from lack of food and water. Join us to see how the use of new tools and how being proactive instead of reactive, will help both landholders and kangaroos in this challenging situation.
Understanding kangaroo grazing pressure
Managing total grazing pressure on your property is challenging, particularly from unmanaged animals. As landholders in Western NSW know, kangaroo numbers can fluctuate very quickly across individual properties, uprooting and damaging plants and negatively impacting the land. Research is addressing this challenge, focusing on a positive outcome for both production and biodiversity. Join us in this episode as we talk to a farmer and see how he is better managing kangaroo numbers on his property using this new research.
Kangaroo management — It's complicated
Kangaroo management is a complicated, nationwide issue that involves many diverse stakeholders. In this episode, we’ll talk to an ecologist and an academic to better understand the complex issues surrounding kangaroo management, including diverse approaches such as translocation, fertility control, culling and commercial harvesting. We'll also hear from a researcher who’s looking for solutions by developing a tool for land managers to forecast kangaroo numbers.
Series 2
Groundcover management in cropping systems
Groundcover and stubble retention in cropping enterprises is really important for managing soil erosion in western NSW. In this episode we’ll talk to a soil conservationist about how to avoid dust storms and we’ll hear from a farmer who’s trying a few innovative things like planting into a dry river bed to manage his groundcover and look after his soils.
The power of perennials
In Western NSW, managing perennial grasses, trees and shrubs is key to maintaining healthy landscapes and resilience for your grazing operation. Our guests in this episode all agree that the key is to know the plants on your patch so you can match them with the right grazing strategies.
The benefits of managing total grazing pressure
In this episode we’ll talk to some industry experts about the benefits and some strategies to get on top of total grazing pressure. And we’ll hear from a farmer about one strategy that was so successful it even got addictive.
Rehydrating the rangelands
Before you get out any tools, rehabilitating the rangelands starts with having an awareness of our impact on landscape function and prioritising what’s achievable. The guests in this episode all agree that focusing on landscape rehabilitation is not only good for the land, its good for their own health too, especially during tough times.
Where to from here? Continuing to grow the goat industry
For parts of Western NSW, goats a key source of farm income. To take advantage of this growing opportunity, many producers are transitioning toward semi-managed or managed systems. So what lessons can be learned from other livestock sectors?
Series 1
Pregnancy scanning
Only about half of all ewes in Australia get pregnancy scanned. Why is that? In this episode we explore how scanning can help you make more informed management decisions to improve your lambing percentages.
Pre-lambing nutrition
In this episode we look at pre-lambing nutrition because a healthy ewe is going to give her lambs the best chance of survival. We hear from industry experts with all the facts and figures and we'll talk to a landholder who's experienced first hand when nutrition is out of balance.
Ewe reproduction strategies
Did you know that lamb mortality costs the sheep industry about half a billion dollars a year? Some of that is unavoidable. Its natural. But a big part of it comes down to managing the reproduction cycle. Join us for this episode as we take a look at ewe reproduction strategies.
Weaner management
From the moment we're born we are constantly learning. The same goes for ewe weaners who have to get through birth, learn to walk and graze, drink milk, and avoid predators. There's a lot of new things happening and plenty that can go wrong. Join us for this episode where we take a look at weaner management and hear from a farming couple why a good quality feed cart is the key to not only a successful feeding operation but a happy marriage as well.
Farming goats
Have you ever thought about farming goats? Did you know Australia is a global powerhouse in exporting goat meat, ranking number 1 while export prices have had almost uninterrupted growth over the last four years. In this episode we explore the ins and outs of harvesting unmanaged rangeland goats versus managed goats to help you take advantage of a growing opportunity.
More information
Contact Gemma Turnbull, Agriculture Team Leader on (02) 6870 8632 or gemma.turnbull@lls.nsw.gov.au.