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23.01.2022 Here's a great 1.5 minute video of sheep on the move in France, part of the annual 'transhumance' in Provence.

23.01.2022 It was an excellent gathering of the Gascoyne Catchments Group in Carnarvon on 27 June. 26 people - pastoralists and service providers - plus a visit from 20 NRM students from ECU enjoyed a day of positive discussions on rangeland management. The focus was on publicly announcing the release of the 'Rangelands Monitoring Tool App'. It's a brilliant App designed by pastoralists for pastoralists, with input from other experts to make it easy to use, relevant and useful. An experienced practitioner said, "It's the best tool available for pastoralists to monitor and record their rangeland condition over time." We also heard from pastoralists and others on a range of topics related to sustainable management - satellite monitoring, boosting reproduction rates, nutrition and supplementation.

21.01.2022 Just had a great few days with North Stirlings Pallinup Natural Resources and innovative farmers hosting new trial sites. The aim of the project is to turn difficult paddocks into valuable paddocks. The systems include perennial, hardy native shrubs coupled with the inter-row pasture that, combined, provides a quality diet for livestock at a time of year when its needed most. Plus, we expect improved natural resource management, such as control of surface water flow, salinit...y management, year-round ground cover and protection from wind. It's a Community Action Grant from State NRM. One site is combining three species of shrubs - two saltbush species and a Rhagodia - with pasture species including lucerne, Messina and chicory. The second site is saltbush with tall wheat grass and Messina. Messina is new annual legume suited to winter-wet saline area.

20.01.2022 The Gascoyne region of Western Australia - a surprising kaleidoscope of colour and creatures. And, oh yeah, great people too!

20.01.2022 A successful forum was held last week at Coral Bay and Bullara Station. 65 people, including representation from 21 pastoral properties, heard from all sectors of the WA beef supply chain. The messages and discussions were positive, based on real opportunities for a sustainable beef supply chain. We heard about:... - a new Self Herding method, 'Rangelotting', that can be used to provide short-term, cost-effective supplementation to increase the reproductive performance of heifers on pastoral properties - how a 'behaviourally-enhanced' supply chain can boost animal performance at all stages of the supply chain - a new App developed by the Gascoyne Catchments Group for rangeland monitoring - partnerships and alliances to link pastoral cow-calf systems to backgrounding/finishing systems in the agricultural areas, from the Mingenew Irwin Group and the West Midlands Group - the economics of WA supply chains from DAFWA/NBF - the finishing and processing sector, from Taurindi Beef and Harvey Beef - the domestic and international beef market, from Rabobank - regional partnerships from Rangelands NRM and the Carnarvon Regional Biosecurity Group The first day concluded with the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Mr Mark Lewis MLC, who highlighted his priorities for building opportunities for WA agriculture. On the second day, the group visited Bullara Station. We discussed the use of strategic nutrition with mobile lick feeders, rangeland monitoring, and enjoyed a general discussion and catch-up amongst friends and colleagues - with the generous hospitality of Bullara. Thanks to everyone for their enthusiasm and contributions to the two days.

17.01.2022 'Rangelotting' is a procedure developed in the Rangelands Self Herding project (www.selfherding.com). Rangelotting combines the best of rangeland grazing and strategic supplementation to boost animal performance. At Bullara Station in the Upper Gascoyne, with the support of an Australian Government Landcare grant, we are testing how Rangelotting can increase reproductive rate of heifers AND manage grazing distribution and landscape management. The top image shows concentrate...d grazing patterns around one of the locations where a mobile lick feeder was positioned for 6 days. The mobile feeder was moved through the andscape, being placed in locations for between 1 and 6 days. When the lick feeder was moved, so did the cattle. The bottom picture shows controlled impact of the heifers on the landscape. Perennial grasses on the patch shown were regenerating, even without rainfall, triggered by well-managed animal impact, including the addition of manure and urine. The sites will be monitored over time, and the reproductive performance of the heifers will be measured in the new year.

12.01.2022 A photo (sent to me from a European colleague, but it could be from anywhere) - evidence, if any was needed, of how much livestock seek out shade when they need it.

11.01.2022 A great few days with North Stirlings Pallinup Natural Resources and farmers hosting new trial sites. The aim of the project is the turn difficult paddocks into valuable paddocks. A combination of perennial, hardy native shrubs with pasture provides a quality diet for livestock when it's needed most. Plus, the system improves natural resource management, such as year-round ground cover, controlling surface water flows, managing salinity, and reducing wind speed for the benefit of pasture and livestock. It's a Community Capability project with State NRM. One site has a combination of three shrub species - two saltbush (Atriplex) species and a Rhagodia - combined with lucerne, chicory and Messina. Another site has saltbush, Messina and tall wheat grass. (Messina is a new annual legume for winter-wet, saline areas).

10.01.2022 After time spent writing last year, I've got three book chapters hitting the press. Two have just been published, and one will be out soon. It's nice to see them 'grow-up' from piles of paper and scribbled notes to a finished product. 1. Revell, D.K. (2017) Sustainably meeting the nutrient requirements of grazing sheep. In: Sustainable Sheep Production (Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing Limited, Cambridge, UK). (in press) -out in a few months [This was a particularly enjoyab...le chapter to write. In it, I pull together research from different livestock species to show the benefits of a diverse feed base, how animals learn about the different plants they can graze so that their diet selection best matches their nutrient requirements, and how management decisions can help the animals build necessary experiences. The more I think about animal nutrition, the more I see the importance of animal behaviour.] 2. Revell, D.K. (2016) Adaptive responses of rangeland livestock to manage water balance. In: Animal Welfare in Extensive Production Systems. Pp. 37-52. Ed. J. J. Villalba (5M Publishing, Sheffield, UK). [In this chapter, rather than just focus on the physiology of how rangeland livestock manage their 'water balance' (i.e., water consumed versus water lost from the body), I decided to also discuss how animals can adapt to different circumstances, and how our management can help. Text books often imply certainty in how animals respond to any challenge, but that oversimplifies things. Early-life events, for example, can shape an animal's future, perhaps more than we often realise.] 3. Blache, D, Vercoe, P.E., Martin, G.B. and Revell, D.K. (2016) Integrated and innovative livestock production in drylands. In ‘Innovations in Dryland Agriculture’ Eds. M. Farooq, K. Siddique (Springer, Berlin, Germany). [In this chapter, we discuss 'versatile production systems' for variable and difficult environments, which combine versatile animals, versatile forages and versatile management. In part of the chapter, we summarise our work with Australian native shrubs and pasture species which, combined with management of animal behaviour to influence diet and habitat selection, offers innovative options for different types of livestock production in dryland regions of the world.]

06.01.2022 It's been a busy five weeks of workshops and conference presentations - with sessions in Mt Magnet, Newman and Gascoyne Junction (Pastoral Profit workshops), Onslow (Kimberely Pilbara Cattlemen's Association inaugural conference), Mingenew (MIG's North South Beef Alliance) and Jurien Bay (Evergreen Farming). A common theme in Dean's presentations has been how diet diversity can boost animal productivity, how we can help diversify the diet selected by livestock, and how mana...gement practices can be used to accelerate the adaptation of livestock when they face a change. Change is inevitable, whether it is seasonal, or due to relocation from one paddock to another, one property to another, or one region to another. We discussed the potential for a 'Qantas Club' for our animals, to provide a comfortable, familiar and predictable environment before and after transport, which creates an opportunity for animals to drink and eat well, and perform at their best - we can all relate to that! Here's some images of the past 5 weeks. It was a pleasure to interact with so many interested and motivated people, and especially wonderful to see the pastoral landscapes looking good.

04.01.2022 Happy New Year. We hope 2017 is a tremendous year for you, your family, your landscape and your business. We updated our website over the break, sprucing up its look and content - check it out at www.revellscience.com.au

03.01.2022 There is a great day in Carnarvon coming up on Tuesday 27 June. The Gascoyne Catchments Group will be launching its new Rangeland Monitoring App. It been designed by pastoralists to be used by pastoralists. There's been some blood, sweat and tears (well, almost) during its development, but it’s now ready to be let loose in the real world.... We'll also discuss how we can combine localised data obtained with the App with larger scale patterns of vegetation from satellite-based data. The important part is how we can use new information to guide management decisions - hence the title of the day: "Monitoring your rangelands for sustainable profit" During the day, we'll also hear about other local issues, ranging from grazing to breeding to supplementation. 27 June 10.15 am-3.30 pm at the Carnarvon Motel. Go to 'events' at www.gascoynecatchments.com.au for details, including the full program. Or email me at [email protected] to RSVP or for more information.

03.01.2022 A 2-minute video featuring our little scruffy dog showing how a small, occasional reward can trigger strong responses. It's the same basic principles we use with cattle on pastoral stations in Rangelands Self Herding - just on a very different scale and for a different purpose (which is usually to influence grazing patterns, where the animals go and what they eat).

02.01.2022 Biodiverse native shrubs for multiple benefits - forage for livestock, risk management, natural resource management and more. Great to see it go from research to real world.