Like most landholders, the graziers behind the Far West Native Forest Protection Project “want to leave the land better than it was when we go.” And while landholders recognise that seasons rule what happens out west, they also recognise that there is lots they can do to improve how the landscape responds to those seasons.

The Far West Native Forest Protection Project has helped fund large infrastructure improvements to do just that, spreading water and adding fencing, yards and additional machinery to increase productivity. Though the landowners do not own their own livestock, they do manage cattle on agistment. The project allows them to better maintain the land, grazing cattle when the rains and feed are plentiful, and resting to allow for regrowth when it is needed. “When it’s dry, we have the luxury of not having any livestock,” they say. “But then when the rain comes we can have cattle here for a year on the feed that comes up.”

The financial support provided by the carbon project has been vital for the continued operation and maintenance of the grazing enterprise and the landscape. It allows the landholders to not only sustain their business and life, but also care for the country. “Everyone’s got their own ideas, but our operation is designed around looking after the country,” they say.