SA Livestock Sustainable Solutions Program

Location:

Adelaide Hills – medium rainfall zone

Production System:

Beef (Angus breeders)

Sustainable Demonstration Activity:

Improving pasture, grazing management and daily liveweight gain to improve emissions intensity of weaner cattle.

West Ella Pastoral is focused on improving their emissions intensity and daily weight gain of weaner cattle by trailing mixed species pastures.

West Ella Pastoral will trial multispecies pastures and look to renovate existing pastures with satellite-based pasture assessment technologies and further explore the potential of enhanced efficiency fertilisers to support soil health, and informed grazing and pasture management decisions to manage emissions intensity in beef production.

Expected Outcomes

• Improved pasture and grazing management
• Optimize cattle growth and beef output per hectare
• Reduced emissions intensity in beef products produced

Location:

Limestone Coast, Coles SA - High Rainfall

Production System:

Beef

Sustainable Demonstration Activity:

Automated feed monitoring to reduce transport emissions and feed waste.

This project will assess how radar-based feed level sensors can help reduce vehicle emissions, feed waste, and labour requirements to support improved cattle growth rates and lower emissions intensity of beef production through accurate, non-contact feed monitoring.

Initial actions will see 8x VEGAPULS Air 41 radar level sensors fitted to 8 feeders of 8 tonne capacity to continuously monitor feed consumption rates, providing baseline data to optimise feed management and delivery schedules.

Expected Outcomes:

• Reduced on-farm diesel consumption and associated emissions
• Data driven feed ordering will optimize delivery scheduling, reduce truck movements and transport emissions. This will additionally reduce feed waste.
• Continual access to supplementary feed will maximize growth rates and feed conversion efficiency, reducing the number of days on feed needed to reach target weights.

Location:

Eyre Peninsula- Low Rainfall

Production System:

Sheep wool & meat, mixed

Sustainable Demonstration Activity:

Enhancing Ewe Reproductive Performance and Lamb Survival Through Advanced Breeding Objectives and Lifetime Trait Data.

The project will observe how integrating advanced breeding objectives and lifetime trait data may impact ewe reproductive performance, raising ability and subsequently emissions intensity.

Initial actions will include single-sire mating, pregnancy scanning, individual animal recording, and DNA sampling at lamb marking to identify high-performing animals early. Fast tracking weaning rates, ewe condition scores, and optimizing feed.

Mamblin Pastoral will implement a five-way auto drafter with scales to improve drafting and use lifetime data and ASBV’s to verify improved productivity and profitability.

Expected Outcomes:

• Improved reproduction rates in ewes
• Faster lamb growth resulting in greater outputs and lower emissions intensity products
• Improved confidence in utilising ASBV’s including return on investment

Location:

Murray and Mallee- Low Rainfall

Production System:

Beef

Sustainable Demonstration Activity:

Utilising real-time in paddock livestock weight data to support better decision making.

Thomas Foods International Southern Cross Station is looking to improve their understanding of how eID-enabled systems, in-paddock weighing systems and soluble additives for methane reduction accompanied by trace minerals can boost both the economical and productive efficiency of the enterprise.

The project will collect daily trial data using Opti-weigh and eID systems. Throughout the project, predicted weight gain trends based on seasonal conditions and feed availability will be used to reduce unnecessary weighing events, lowering labour and equipment costs while minimising stress on livestock.

The project will utilise AgriWebb DSE stocking rate data to inform paddock rotation decisions, supporting increased ground cover biomass and more effective rotational grazing management.

Expected Outcomes:

• Reducing unnecessary weighing events, lowering labour and equipment costs.
• Improved confidence using ag tech products to inform decision making regarding rotational grazing, pasture management and feed requirements
• Improved ground cover biomass through data-driven stocking rate management and paddock rotations.

Location:

Mid North-Medium Rainfall

Production System:

Sheep & Wool

Sustainable Demonstration Activity:

Using aircraft to spread fertilizer in hilly areas while testing different application rates, grazing days and stocking levels aimed at increased pasture growth and utilization.

This project aims to improve pasture growth, quality, species diversity, utilisation and drought resilience within a prime lamb production system . Using soil testing, grazing records, pasture assessments and AgriWebb data, different fertiliser application rates and pasture rest periods will be evaluated across hill country environments. The project will identify management practices that increase carrying capacity and optimise livestock growth and turn-off rates.

Expected Outcomes:

• Increase the current grazing and carrying capacity
• Improve pasture performance (growth and quality)
• Provide further drought resilience to the farm system

Location:

Mid North- Pastoral

Production System:

Sheep

Sustainable Topic of Choice:

Remote water monitoring to reduce labour and fuel

Through the implementation of remote water sensors on 5 existing water tanks this project will support improved water security throughout dry periods and reduce labor and fuel costs through non-contact- wireless monitoring methods. This project will also enhance the management and optimize on-farm saltbush plantations and foster capability in data analysis and understanding in the technologies involved in climate mitigation strategies.

Expected Outcomes:

• Reduced requirement for transport and diesel use related to tank monitoring

Enterprise Focuses:

Beef Cattle & Sheep (Meat & Wool)

Region:

Barossa & Surrounding Areas

Focus Topics:

The Barossa Improved Grazing Group will support two groups of sheep and cattle producers through the South Australian Livestock Sustainable Solutions Program.

The program combines four interconnected streams of delivery: rotational access to Optiweigh and eID technology, one-on-one support, peer-to-peer learning, and co-designed producer workshops.

Participation will centre on the practical use of Optiweigh and eID systems through structured on-farm trial periods. This will enable producers to build confidence in using livestock performance data to inform decisions about feeding strategies, stocking rates, animal performance, and broader farm management decisions.

Alongside technology adoption, producers will participate in a series of co-designed learning sessions to share experiences, explore productivity and emissions intensity opportunities, and connect emissions data to business performance through input from subject matter experts.

Enterprise Focus:

Beef Cattle

Region:

Adelaide Hills & Surrounding Regions

Focus Topics:

Nutrien Ag Solutions will deliver a Steers for Profit course for beef breeding and trading enterprises in the Adelaide Hills. The course will explore practical on-farm management practices, technologies, and decision-making strategies that can improve both business performance and emissions intensity outcomes.

The program will combine peer learning sessions, farm tours, and demonstrations to examine key drivers of beef production efficiency, including fertility, post-weaning growth rates, supplementation, and efficient finishing to market specifications.

By integrating animal performance management, feed and pasture strategies, and emissions-aware decision-making, the course will provide producers with practical tools to improve productivity, profitability, and sustainability outcomes on-farm.

Enterprise Focus:

Mixed, Sheep & Cattle

Region:

Limestone Coast

Focus Topics:

MacKillop Farm Management Group will engage two Sustainable Solutions Producer groups through the South Australian Livestock Sustainable Solutions Program. Supporting a group of  beef and mixed producers across the Limestone coast. Both groups are centered around the delivery of four structured sessions.

MacKillop’s Practical, sustainable, profitable livestock group will use a practical, producer-focused delivery model incorporating face to face sessions based on peer-peer learning, and producer discussion focusing on what producers can do now to be practical, sustainable and profitable whilst preparing for future market expectations and evolving supply chain requirements. Delivery approaches will include face-to-face workshops and producer led discussions of relevant topics of mutual interest, with information delivered by expert guest speakers and technical specialists.

MacKillops Limestone Coast Beef Producer group will focus on the premise that the practices that make beef businesses more profitable are, in most cases, the same practices that lower its emissions intensity. Incorporating a series of farm walks and technical input from guest speakers, and leading with business performance (cost of production, kilograms of beef per hectare, herd efficiency and margin), the groups approach recognizes that reduced emissions intensity and improved resource use, are often valuable benefits that flow from running more efficient and resilient enterprises.

Enterprise Focus:

Mixed, Sheep, Wool & Beef producers

Region:

Limestone Coast

Focus Topics

The Limestone Coast Landscape Board will deliver a series of sustainable workshops to participating commercial sheep, wool, and beef producers from the Limestone coast region.

These sessions will offer peer learning and one-on-one support to build producer capability in emissions management, while supporting improved productivity, efficiency, and data driven decision-making across the limestone coast region.

Through these sessions, producers will engage with key subject matter experts to explore and discuss how sustainable mitigation strategies can assist in improving productivity and efficiency.

Enterprise Focus:

Mixed, Dairy & Dairy- Beef

Region:

Murraylands

Focus Topics:

The South Australian Dairyfarmers’ association will deliver a producer-led learning program focused on improving feed base performance and producer understanding of on-farm emissions, and practical mitigation opportunities for dairy and dairy-beef producers in the Murraylands region.

Participating producers will be guided through a structured process to support identification of suitable practice change options and encourage practical, on farm change. This will include the establishment of a dryland legume demonstration site consisting of up to 20 legume species, which will act as a hub for producer learning and discussion. Hosting a series of guided site walks covering species selection, comparison and discussion of pasture performance, feed quality and sustainability under local conditions, and generating discussion on the awareness and understanding of emissions within dairy-beef systems in the Murraylands region.

This will be supported by producer-led workshops and one-on-one advisory sessions with industry experts, to further support producers in understanding the relationship between pasture performance, productivity and emissions, enabling them to make informed, data-driven changes within their own systems.

Enterprise Focus:

Mixed, beef, sheep (meat & wool), dairy

Region:

Fleurieu & Surrounding Regions

Focus Topics:

Fleurieu Farming Systems Inc. will deliver the Data Driven Livestock Efficiency Program for small to medium livestock producers across the Fleurieu Peninsula. The program aims to improve productivity, profitability, and sustainability through the adoption of data-driven decision-making tools and practices.

Participants will have access to a Gallagher TWR-5 weigh unit, wireless load bars, HR5 wand, and split alloy platform. Training will focus on data collection and recording, with producers learning how to set up, upload, interpret, and apply livestock data using Gallagher software and decision-support calculators to improve animal performance, traceability, and management outcomes.

The program will combine structured training, peer-to-peer learning, guest speakers, and data interpretation workshops to build producer confidence and capability in using data to inform on-farm decision-making.