Measuring, managing and monitoring progress
MLA & AWI July 12, 2024
Sheep producers have many resources to manage, such as money, people, sheep and other livestock, machinery and land. Many sheep producers regularly check the performance of these resources, particularly money, as part of normal business management. The monitoring tools and management recommendations throughout this module and other modules in Making More From Sheep allow producers to add to their natural assets, weeds and pests to this list and track progress towards their vision for their grazing enterprise. They may also open access to markets for environmentally assured products.
Maintain a photo record
Monitoring progress is critical in long-term projects because it is impossible to remember what things were like at the start and how much ‘progress’ is being made despite the ups and downs of the seasons.
A sequence of photos taken over a period of time can provide a rich source of information to monitor short-term and longer-term change resulting from management decisions, climatic conditions and impacts, and natural events.
Tools are available to help you establish photopoints and record useful before and after photos to record change over time.
Label (date, location) and file photos so you can find them when you need to:
- locate the site to take another photo at regular intervals
- prove the multiple benefits arising from improved management.
Commit to regular monitoring
Determine the best time of the year to assess the condition of natural resources, pests and weeds, then take measurements (photos, assessments, counts, etc.) at that time. The timing will vary according to the local rainfall pattern:
- Winter and uniform rainfall zones: Late autumn (before the break) is often the ‘worst’ for vegetation, ground cover, birds and insects, while mid spring is the ‘best’.
- Summer rainfall zones: Spring and autumn can also be the most appropriate periods, but autumn will sometimes be ‘better’ than spring.
Seasonal variations can modify the times, but experience has shown the twice-per-year, stronger-and-weaker approach is fairly robust over time.
Use the tools suggested in this and other modules to monitor change in soil, pastures, salinity, soil pH, remnant vegetation or any of the key resources identified.
Whichever tool or combination of tools used, clearly identify the monitoring sites and come back to the same areas each time.
Monitor long-term impacts
Use the monitoring tools repeatedly over time to determine if the condition of key resources is moving towards or away from the vision. Collect information over a number of years to clearly identify trends over time.
Don’t commit to a program that is too demanding over time. Determine the priority sites and monitoring methods according to the vision and grazing enterprise. The most important thing is to monitor priority sites at about the same time each year to establish trends. Write these dates in your calendar or diary and commit to implementing a strategy over time.
Explore market opportunities
New markets have emerged for environmentally assured sheep products as domestic and overseas consumers continue to demand greater transparency in the way a product (meat and wool) is produced.
MMFS Module 2 Market Focused Wool Production explores market opportunities that may be available for environmentally assured wool. These markets may want proof of a farm’s environmental credentials.
Producers can use one of the MMFS self-assessment tools to document their farm’s environmental credentials.
