Smart Grazing Stronger Lands

The Smart Grazing Stronger Lands Project is a national initiative supporting improved grazing management and rangeland resilience across South Australia, New South Wales and Western Australia.

Led by Adelaide University through the SA Drought Hub, the project brings together regional hubs, research organisations and delivery partners to:

  • Support producers to adopt climate-smart grazing practices
  • Improve drought and climate resilience in rangelands
  • Deliver demonstration sites and on-ground trials
  • Strengthen collaboration between producers, researchers and extension networks

About the project

The NSW element of the Smart Grazing, Stronger Lands project focuses on making it easier for pastoralists to use the GEOGLAM Rangeland and Pasture Productivity (RaPP) satellite mapping tool to predict groundcover changes on-farm and trigger management decisions such as feeding, selling stock, and adjusting stocking rates.

In NSW Southern NSW Innovation Hub is working with DustWatch Australia (Dr John Leys), CSIRO, and NSW Local Land Services to make the RaPP technology more accessible and user-friendly so that Rangelands farmers can plan ahead with confidence and make decisions that are good for their businesses, even when they’re facing dry times.

Smart Grazing, Stronger Lands expands on the successful cross‑Hub pilot program Managing Rangelands for Drought Resilience, which showed how digital tools and management systems can be applied effectively on‑farm to strengthen rangeland resilience.

Project lead

Adelaide University through SA Drought Hub

Project partners

Project funding

The Smart Grazing, Stronger Lands project is supported by the Australian Government through funding from the Climate-Smart Agriculture Program under the Natural Heritage Trust.

The project is led by Adelaide University through the SA Drought Hub in partnership with Charles Sturt University through the Southern NSW Innovation Hub, Grower Group Alliance through the South-West WA Drought Hub, South Australian Arid Lands Landscape Board, DustWatch, CSIRO, NSW Local Land Services, Rangelands NRM, Gascoyne Catchments Group, Southern Rangelands Pastoral Alliance, and the Goldfields Nullarbor Rangelands Biosecurity Association.

Local service providers with grazing management expertise also play a role in delivery.