Brian Wehlburg (left), Christine Jones and Dick Richardson led NQ Dry Tropics staff from three program areas through a masterclass to help them deliver better extension service to primary producers.

Cross-team collaboration a winning move

NQ Dry Tropics is focused on its people and building cross-program collaboration to work towards a common goal – to partner with the organisation’s stakeholders to create connected and functioning landscapes.

Recently,16 staff across three program areas – Sustainable Agriculture, Strategy and Partnerships and Landholders Driving Change  – attended a masterclass with industry specialists Brian Wehlburg (Inside Outside Management), Dr Christine Jones (Amazing Carbon) and Dick Richardson (Grazing Naturally).

Supported by the Queensland Government Reef Water Quality Program Enhanced Extension Coordination project and Australian Government Reef Trust IV Stomping Out Sediment in the Burdekin project, the masterclass combined in-class lectures and discussion and a trip to Sonoma Station, Collinsville, to discuss practical grazing management and get hands on experience in assessing soil biological health.

The masterclass investigated a novel approach to enhancing extension coordination in the Burdekin grazing industry by building field officers knowledge in discussing key grazing land management issues, particularly the linkages between grazing practices, soil health and pasture productivity.

Event organiser and senior field grazing officer Linda Anderson said while these linkages were complex across time, space and scale, Brian Wehlburg, Dr Christine Jones and Dick Richardson were able to break down the complexities into key messages for staff to consider when they offer support to graziers in the Burdekin Dry Tropics region.

“The masterclass also helped field staff identify pathways to deliver more collaborative extension with delivery partners, including government agencies and private enterprises. This will improve a graziers ability to access the best information available and increase the capacity for integrated learning that builds landscape and production connectedness with resilient businesses,” Ms Anderson said.

“Strong partnership arrangements ensures that land, water and coastal management in the Dry Tropics region is sustainable, improving productivity and long-term viability, contributing to the economy, the community and the health of the broader environmental landscape,” she said.

The masterclass was part of an NQ Dry Tropics organisation-wide program to provide on-going training and support to staff.

Pictured are (from left): Dick Richardson, the NQ Dry Tropics staff members who organised the master class, Linda Anderson (Enhanced Extension Coordination project), and Project Officer Rod Kerr (Stomping Out Sediment project) with Dr Christine Jones and Brian Wehlburg.