Case Studies

Kulwin rests among the red soils and undulating ridges of the Cobar Peneplain in NSW. It’s been run as a sheep grazing enterprise by Jenni and Bernard Rogers since 2003, but an influx of feral goats and rogue stock from surrounding areas was playing havoc with the land, leading to soil erosion, gully damage, and the destruction of precious native habitat.

Darling River Eco Corridor #36 is situated in Paroo River overflow country and adjoining the Ramsar listed Nocoleche Nature Reserve in north-western New South Wales. As the last free-flowing river in the Murray Darling Basin, the Paroo is home to rare fauna and flora, including water birds and Yapunyah trees. 

Darling River Eco Corridor #34 is a regeneration project that covers three properties in the Bourke Shire, New South Wales. The landholder, Tony Pattrick, was initially nervous about carbon farming, but the area was going through a major drought and financial support for his livestock business was essential.

North west of Bourke in New South Wales, Lakemere Station has been under the care of Jim and Annabel Strachan since the early 1980’s.
The Strachans are well versed in land management, and understand that inhabiting such a dry and sparse landscape does not come without its hardships. Despite their best efforts, the combination of long-term grazing, drought, and feral animal suppression had taken a toll on regenerating vegetation across the landscape.

The Ashwood Native Forest Protection Project is located near Cobar, New South Wales. It spreads across two properties and is under the care of Keith and Glen Francisco and their families.

Resting within the Great Barrier Reef Catchment area, Stonehaven is a multi-generational grazing enterprise run by fifth generation farmers, Dan and Emma-Jane Burnham. The Burnhams have chosen to step away from the clearing regimes of their forebears and committed to stop broadscale clearing by changing the way they manage their enterprise.

Since 1988, Peter and Edwina Ponder have lived at Emaroo Station, where they operate a successful grazing enterprise for Merino sheep and Hereford cattle. Situated some 200km west of Bourke, New South Wales, Emaroo is characterised by flat red sandy soils interspersed with sandy hills. For many years, native forests at Emaroo had been suppressed by the high grazing intensity of the livestock and limited feral animal control. But in 2019, the Ponders decided to make a change improving their land management practices as part of a Human Induced Regeneration (HIR) project.

In a competition between mulga and goats, the goats usually win, decimating young mulga saplings before they stand a chance. But this project has reset the balance, putting in place measures to control the feral goat population and allow young mulga to regenerate in this pocket of Western NSW.

North west of Bourke in New South Wales, Lincoln and Dimity Old have successfully combined carbon farming with livestock farming and seen the benefits flow through to their whole property.