Graziers contribute to preserving the Great Barrier Reef

In the Fitzroy basin, 56 kilotonnes of fine sediment have been prevented from leaving grazing country. That is the equivalent of 2,800 dump truck loads of sediment stopped from reaching the Great Barrier Reef lagoon every year.  

The Fitzroy region supports more than a quarter of Queensland’s beef cattle production which accounts for 75% of land use in the region. Its waterways carry approximately 180 kilotonnes of sediment to the Great Barrier Reef each year. 

A legacy of historic land clearing and poor grazing management practices, combined with highly erosive soils, make it the second highest contributor of sediment across the Reef’s catchments. Improved water quality helps to build the resilience of the Great Barrier Reef to the impacts of climate change.  

The $19.6 million Fitzroy Water Quality Program was funded by the partnership between the Australian Government’s Reef Trust and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation to improve the quality of water leaving the Fitzroy basin through five projects delivering gully remediation, streambank rehabilitation, and improved grazing land management planning and implementation.  

The Fitzroy Basin Association (FBA) remediated two streambank sites including a severely eroded 1.2km stretch of streambank on the Fitzroy River. This $5.1 million project funded works to reduce 24,022 tonnes of sediment per year lost from streambanks in the lower Fitzroy. 

Streambanks were restored through a combination of strategic earthworks, installation of pile fields, managing stock access, installing watering and cattle exclusion infrastructure and revegetation works.  

FBA Adoption Manager Daniel Boshoff said, “The site 8 project is a big win for the Reef and the property owner. It has increased the landholder’s productivity and sustainability while also improving the landscape’s function.  

By stabilising the riverbank, the future is not only looking up for the landholder, but also his animals, local ecosystems, and river turtles." 

The second streambank restoration project at Stony Creek rehabilitated a significantly eroded streambank threatening to spread to a local access road.  

“Streambank stabilisation projects are great opportunities for local contractors, communities, and landowners to get involved in work that is both interesting and challenging. The huge investment in civil works, structural works, and irrigation ensures that plants have a stable environment to grow and become the stabilisers of the bank to fight ongoing erosion,” said Martin Grieve, FBA Waterway Leader.

The $3.4 million Catchment Solutions project supported four graziers to prevent erosion and sediment losses through environmental restoration projects reducing 7,500 tonnes per year of fine sediment from reaching the Great Barrier Reef.  

Four streambanks on the Fitzroy River were rehabilitated, one in the tidal zone just downstream of Rockhampton, and three in upstream reaches across three properties. Two gully networks were remediated, and grazing land management practice changes implemented on one property.  

In addition to preventing fine sediment from reaching the Great Barrier Reef, the project has transformed heavily degraded landscapes into ecologically diverse environments through the re-establishment of riparian zones and mangrove communities and reversed the financial losses resulting from losing valuable production land to erosion. 

Greening Australia supported the First Nations people of the Indigenous-owned Woorabinda Pastoral Company (WPC) to implement best management practices on their 43,300ha of grazing and cropping land. The $990,000 Greening Australia Mackenzie Water Quality Project was designed to fit the specific needs of the Woorabinda Pastoral Company while delivering water quality outcomes.  

Training was provided to staff on sustainable grazing practices and herd management. The key to ensuring that any grazing and cropping practice changes were lasting was providing education at all levels of the workforce.  

WPC CEO Tim Thompson said, "The training has provided help to the business by giving our staff a greater insight into the new methods of pastoral control, stock control, erosion control, and generally looking after country on country.” 

When asked about who is responsible for caring for the Reef and how landholders can help, Tim responded, “It's got to start somewhere. So, if we can stop the sediment getting into this river system (the Mackenzie River), the long-term flow on effects will make the reef healthier, less sediment going down into the reef.” 

“We've actually stopped a lot of the erosion taking place and everyone knows erosion doesn't grow grass. It's holding the country together and the cattle are performing better for such,” said Tim. 

Landholder feedback showed that the restoration on farms needs to be positive for the environment, the Reef, the land, cattle and people who survive off the land. Tim said that these things are all tied together in a well-managed operation.  

“Definitely a positive flow on for a stock health because poor country, poor cattle, healthy country, healthy cattle, it just goes hand in hand,” he said. 

WPC Livestock Manager, Lawson Woodard was instrumental in adjusting practices and coaching junior farm staff through the changes and upgrades across all properties, particularly the project's riverfront and internal fencing. 

“Fencing has been a big thing for us, it's a huge help to manage cattle and grass and groundcover; with the fencing and water infrastructure, that's going to help the country. In the future, for a long time,” said Lawson. 

WPC source almost all their workforce from the Woorabinda Community and many have little to no farming experience. Donnie Major manages the day-to-day livestock work at Zamia Creek and took part in the Grazing for Profit training.  

Donnie recruits and provides coaching to young workers in the Company, "A lot of learning - for me as well too - to pass it then to the younger farmers. It's sort of learning every day, you know, they can't be complacent and just stay in that one mindset,” he said. 

Properties with poor land conditions or eroding riverbanks can be large contributors to sediment entering the Great Barrier Reef, which can damage precious coastal and marine ecosystems. This $1.7 million project supported riparian zone improvement, practice change implementation and the completion of erosion control activities to allow ground cover to regenerate.  

Five landholders on properties bordering the Fitzroy River were supported to develop grazing land management plans and installed 5.5km of riparian fencing and off-stream water points to better manage riparian zones through cattle exclusion and strategic grazing.  

The FBA-led project connected like-minded landholders and contractors to collaborate and share ideas for improvement of land management on property. The on-ground projects have delivered a combined sediment savings of 8,372 tonnes per year.  

“We’re really optimistic about this project. The landholders were on board right from the start and the results speak for themselves. Along the river has improved and we can see the difference between the fenced and non-fenced areas. Another win is that the landholders are making minor changes to how they run their entire properties, not just the zones near the river.” said Braden Mitchell, FBA Waterway Management Coordinator. 

The landholder from one of the project sites said taking a more holistic approach helps the business but it also helps the environment at the same time.  

“Working with FBA and the contractors who did the work was a great experience and everything worked well. We’re now on track to have more ground cover and a more sustainable operation while also reducing the amount of sediment entering our waterways.  

So, it’s about improving not just the riparian zones but the entire property. The physical outcome we want is more groundcover and the next outcome is the graziers adopting a more sustainable practice. We’re definitely seeing that,” he said. 

The $5.8 million Fitzroy Alliance project, led by Verterra, in association with and Alluvium, supported five graziers to develop and implement large scale, property-specific grazing land management plans using a template developed in collaboration with experts from the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.  

The collaborative effort between Verterra, landholders, and stakeholders evolved into a noteworthy initiative driving positive change for all involved.  

Verterra staff said that they initially faced challenges when engaging landholders in landscape restoration projects due to skepticism and resistance to change. Some landholders were initially hesitant to leave long-established methods behind and adopt new practices with concerns about the immediate impact on their productivity and profitability. Graziers with already demanding schedules found the perceived complexity of the proposed changes and the substantial time commitment needed for implementation as a deterrent. 

Demonstrating tangible benefits, such as improved pasture, water retention, reduced erosion, and enhanced soil fertility, proved to be effective. The provision of financial incentives and technical support alleviated some concerns about costs and made the transition to new practices more manageable in the required time limits. Landholders were supported with planning, implementation, and monitoring throughout the process. 

Through whole-of-property grazing practice change, the engaged landholders not only improved water quality but also revitalised the health of their land. Sustainable practices such as rotational grazing with periods of rest, riparian protection, pasture improvement, and soil carbon farming reduced sediment runoff to the Great Barrier Reef, restored degraded landscapes, and enhanced biodiversity. 

Beyond environmental outcomes, the project brought significant social and economic benefits to the region. By fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange, Verterra empowered landholders to become stewards of their land, driving positive change within their communities. The creation of regional employment opportunities and the stimulation of local economies further underscored the project's broader impact on community livelihoods and well-being. 

The landholders who worked with Verterra describe the impact of the project better than anyone: 

• "It's been such a good education. An eye-opener on the value of investing in land improvement." 

• "The land responds quicker to rain; there’s more infiltration of water into the soil and less runoff. We’d absolutely recommend the works to any graziers looking to make better use of their land." 

• "We look at the country differently now. We’ve learned the importance of not using cookie-cutter methods for all our practices and to understand land condition before applying blanket solutions." 

• "We feel as though we have absolutely contributed to preserving the Great Barrier Reef."