Perennial Shrubs for Low Rainfall Farming

Ian Ellery discusses transforming from a wheat based system to a perennial shrub based system on his family farm at Morchard in the Upper North of South Australia.

A lot of their cropping country is becoming unviable due to increasingly variable rainfall patterns and they are looking to return this to grazing by establishing perennial shrub species and native grasses. The cost of establishment is going to be the largest barrier to developing the system into the future.

This project is supported by Upper North Farming Systems, through funding from the Australian Government’s Caring for our Country, Eyre Peninsula NRM Board and Rural Solutions SA.

View the following videos in this series on use of perennial plant species and cell grazing in the low rainfall climate of the Upper North of South Australia:
Establishing perennial shrub pasture
Cell grazing explained
Cell grazing — benefits and challenges
Biodiversity in low rainfall grazing systems of South Australia