Join researchers Susan Orgill, Craig Strong and Kirsty Yeates as they share some of the learnings of their work in the rangelands of NSW. The three dive into carbon in the rangelands, from carbon cycles at a landscape scale, to what we can and can't influence in terms of carbon sequestration in the paddock. This video was produced as a collaboration between the MLA funded Rangelands Living Skin Project (led by NSW DPI) and the National Landcare Program funded Selecting for Carbon Project (led by Select Carbon).

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Innovative producer Gus Whyte joined the Rangelands Living Skin Project to gain a deeper understanding of soils and their impact of his business. Gus grew up in the rangelands and connects his deep understanding of the rangelands to his management. Over the project he hopes to learn from his peers, showcase management on Wyndham Station and work with professionals to better understand his soils, plants and landscape. Wyndham Station was one of the original Soils For Life Case Studies, you can find out more here: https://soilsforlife.org.au/wyndham-station/

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Tony and Meredith Thompson are one of the four core producers in the Rangelands Living Skin project Led by NSW Department of Primary Industries and funded by Meat & Livestock Australia. Their property The Angle is between Bourke and Louth on the Darling floodplain. Once overgrazed, the Thompson's are now bringing back perennial grasses and shrubs. Tony is excited to be a part of the Rangelands Living Skin project to look at different approaches which deliver better outcomes than traditional grazing practices. Across the farms, they have implemented smaller paddocks for better rest and recovery in the system. You can learn more about Tony's passion for perennials and soil health here: https://soilsforlife.org.au/rangelands-living-skin/

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Andrew Mosely along with his wife Megan and two daughters manage Etiwanda, a family operation that covers 26,000 hectares near Cobar in the Western Division of NSW. Etiwanda’s philosophy is “100% Rangeland Ready”, reflective of the Mosely’s passion for producing in a semi-arid environment. Andrew and Megan Mosely are one of the four core producers in the Rangelands Living Skin, a new project funded by MLA and led by NSW DPI. Learn more about the project here: https://soilsforlife.org.au/rangelands-living-skin/

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Graham and Cathy Finlayson have one of the four core producer enterprises involved in the Rangelands Living Skin Project. Along with their daughter Harriet, they manage Bokhara Plains near Brewarrina, NSW. The Finlaysons have been working on innovative rangeland practices for over 20 years, focusing on improving their ecology which is the foundation of their business. Graham is incredibly excited to be a part of the project and believes “there is no limit to doing things better”, hoping his role in the project helps other producers on their journey to adopting effective grazing practices. The Finlayson’s were featured in the first round of Soils For Life Case Studies: ‘Bokhara Plains: Reaching the real potential of the NSW Rangelands’ and it is exciting to see them continue as role models in the rangelands.

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Meat & Livestock Australia has made one of the most significant investments in the NSW Rangelands through funding the Rangelands Living Skin Project. Managing the Project is Mitch Plumbe from MLA. Mitch is passionate about putting producers at the core of the project to create outcomes that are commercially relevant and create a path to adoption. He sees the key outcomes as identifying key management practices which can be implemented to improve environmental condition, livestock productivity and business performance. As well as the benefits for producers, Mitch is excited about the high level of collaboration between project partners.

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Dr Susan Orgill is a leading Soil Carbon researcher at NSW Department of Primary Industries, and the Project Lead for the Rangelands Living Skin Project. Susan brings a wealth of soil expertise and knowledge to the team, looking at rangeland practices including water ponding, biological inoculants and multi-species planting. Susan is excited about the opportunity to look at carbon sequestration rates in rangelands soils, and the opportunity around natural capital. She is also delighted to work with the four core producers who have been deeply involved in the design and development of the project from the beginning.

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Located east of the Great Dividing Range in the Rawbelle district, around 260 km west of Bundaberg, Colodan is owned and managed by fourth generation farmers, James and Kylie Henderson. They have always taken a forward thinking and evolving approach to agriculture, however they made big changes to their management and became more ecologically focussed following the devastation of the Millennium Drought during the early 2000s. They have broadened their enterprise mix to include agroforestry, carbon farming as well as cattle production and are reaping the benefits.

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Colin Seis faced adversity and then struck ‘gold’ by developing a new way to look after the land and his bottom line - building tonnes of soil along the way. Winona was one of the first Soils For Life case studies in 2012 but has recently been updated to map the ecological journey of the property, study the soil and take a closer look at the books of this successful enterprise.

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Bryan Ward’s property, Illawong, comprises 160 hectares and carries up to 140 beef cattle at any one time. While this is a relatively small property, it is perhaps typical of thousands of farms producing beef in Australia. Bryan’s achievements over 24 years of managing Illawong provide valuable lessons for producers seeking to maintain production while also regenerating and improving the condition of the land. Watch a 1-minute summary of Bryan's key practices and achievements.

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Charlie Maslin assumed management of Gunningrah in 1987, and realised while you cannot control rainfall, you can change how you use the rain you receive. The Maslin’s shifted their focus from animals to the health of the land by maximising rainfall retention and improving groundcover, and therefore delivering more consistent profits and reduced inputs. On a hot day, Charlie observed a difference in soil temperature between bare soil and groundcover- watch the video above to see what Charlie found.

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Maddy Coleman grew up in the city, and her love of horses introduced her to agriculture. Years of experience working in diverse farming practice and ongoing training and education followed. Maddy has made changes to their initial Rothesay business model, proving that flexibility, formal and applied education and conversations with mentors are key factors in managing ongoing drought conditions.

Management changes on Rothesay include preserving ground cover using a different stocking model and fencing to allow rehabilitation of creeks and gullies. Maddy shares her experience in managing Rothesay using regenerative farming practices in this transition case study.

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Bill and Rhonda Daly were one of the first Soils For Life case studies in 2013. They are fourth generation farmers growing sheep, cattle and crops on their property Milgadara in Young, NSW, as well as running YLAD Living Soils - a composting business that allows them to enrich not just the soils on their property but many others across the whole country.

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In the 1980s, portions of Salisbury were fit for one thing and one thing only: landing an aeroplane. Since then, the MacAlpine family has rehabilitated much of this scalded land and developed a number of strategies to make their property ready for both the droughts and flooding rains that this part of the country is prone to.

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Garry Kadwell talks about his regenerative agriculture practices and the transformations over time they've brought to on his property 'Fairhalt' in Crookwell, NSW.

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