Smart decisions start with a plan… and a map to match
For many landholders, property planning often sits on the “when I get time” list — somewhere between fixing fences and watching the weather.
We wanted to bring planning higher up the “to-do list,” so this workshop series was designed to turn good intentions into practical, profitable decisions.
Led by Dionne Walsh from Range IQ, the two-part Property Planning that Pays Off series was designed to help graziers step back from the day-to-day and take a clear, strategic look at how their property worked — and how it could work even better.
Across two hands-on sessions at Opal Ridge, Collinsville, participants moved from ideas to action.
The first workshop focused on understanding land condition and building practical mapping skills — giving landholders the tools to visualise their property in detail.
The second workshop brought the numbers into the picture, helping participants test development ideas and see what stacked up financially before investing on the ground.
At its heart, the series was about confidence. Confidence to update property maps, explore new layouts, and weigh up infrastructure decisions with real data — not guesswork.
Using accessible tools and guided support, graziers could see the true costs and benefits of changes like new fences, pipelines, or paddock configurations.
By the end, participants left with a clearer picture of their property’s future and a practical pathway to get there. When planning is grounded in good information, better returns tend to follow.
The workshop series was delivered through the Landholders Driving Change (LDC2) project, funded by the Queensland Government through the Queensland Reef Water Quality Program.
This workshop series was supported by the Landholders Driving Change (LDC2) project, funded by the Queensland Government through the Queensland Reef Water Quality Program.
Bush maths for pasture estimating, a practical exercise
Who needs a classroom when the paddock does the teaching?
Graziers rolled up their sleeves and took pasture maths into the field, trialling three ways to estimate how much feed is really out there.
Pasture estimates help answer the big grazing questions:
• How much feed do I have?
• How many stock can it support?
• And for how long?
Here’s how the exercise was tackled.
Method 1: Transect cuts (the classic science-y one).
Step out a transect across the paddock, drop a quadrant, cut what’s inside, dry it and weigh it.
Repeat at intervals along the line. It’s a bit fiddly, but super accurate – great for getting your eye in and understanding what kilograms of dry matter per hectare actually looks like.
Method 2: Stepping out a square (RCS style)
Think visually. Imagine the feed needed to support one adult equivalent for one day (about 8kg of dry matter).
Then step out a square that holds that amount of palatable feed. Simple, practical, and straight into stock days per hectare.
Method: 3: STAC method (no gear required).
Sole. Toe. Ankle. Calf.
This quick method estimates feed based on how high the palatable pasture reaches on your leg. Taught by Dick Richardson, Natures, Equity, it’s a fast, anywhere-anytime way to estimate stock days per hectare – perfect for quick paddock checks.
The take-home message was that there’s more than one way to do pasture maths – and getting outside, comparing methods, and building confidence was where the real learning happened.
