Improved grazing management practices in the catchments of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia: does climate variability influence their adoption by landholders?
Megan Star A B E , John Rolfe B , Peter Long C , Giselle Whish A and Peter Donaghy D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Queensland Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Rockhampton, Qld 4701, Australia.
B CQ University, Rockhampton, Qld 4701, Australia.
C Fitzroy Basin Association, Rockhampton, Qld 4701, Australia.
D Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Rockhampton, Qld 4701, Australia.
E Corresponding author. Email: megan.star@daf.qld.gov.au
The Rangeland Journal 37(5) 507-515 https://doi.org/10.1071/RJ15012
Submitted: 5 February 2015 Accepted: 8 October 2015 Published: 30 October 2015
Abstract
The declining health of the Great Barrier Reef from diffuse source pollutants has resulted in substantial policy attention on increasing the adoption of improved management practices by agricultural producers. Although economic modelling indicates that many improved management practices are financially rewarding, landholders with dated management practices remain hesitant to change. This research involved bio-economic modelling to understand the variance in private returns for grazing enterprises across a climate cycle. Results show that financial returns to landholders can vary substantially across different 20-year periods of a climate cycle, demonstrating that the variability in expected returns may be an important reason why landholders are cautious about changing their management practices. Although previous research has separately identified financial returns and attitudes to risk and uncertainty of landholders as key influences on decisions concerning adoption of improved management practices, this research demonstrates that it is the interaction between these factors that is important to understand when designing policy settings.
Additional keywords: agricultural production, bio-economic modelling, landholders’ decisions, pollution.
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