FarmMap4D prides itself on providing world-class technology to the grazing rangelands of Australia, bringing big data to the fingertips of those working on some of the country’s largest parcels of land to help inform decision making. What some might not know is that this built-for-ease technology was born out of the heartland of the Northern Gulf region and the offices of our very own natural resource management group.
It was in the Georgetown offices, under the banner of Northern Gulf Resource Management Group, that former Chief Executive Officer, Noeline Ikin, showed the visiting Senator Ian McDonald the mapping work that was being done with grazing businesses in the area.
Manually developing layered maps and algorithms to visualise key aspects of properties including land condition trends, pasture utilisation and infrastructure, it was clear to those involved, and those looking on, that this was a leap forward in enabling graziers to manage Australia’s rangelands more profitably and sustainably.
With the opportunity of funding on the horizon, the concept was lifted out of the Northern Gulf to become a central element of the Australian Rangelands Initiative, a 15-year blueprint for the collective 14 NRM members that formed The Australian Rangelands NRM Alliance.
In a nod to its roots, it was named the NRM Spatial Hub, and stage 1 of its development along with its partnership of over 20 organisations, was successfully funded from 2014–2016 through the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.
An extended partnership between the Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information, Rangelands NRM Alliance and Meat & Livestock Australia funded a further 12 months to build the hub into the self-sustaining business we now know as FarmMap4D.
It’s come a long way since its first iterations, and today the team at Gulf Savannah NRM continue to use FarmMap4D in various projects that support graziers in their grazing business management decisions. Most recently it was used in our innovative Monitoring and Evaluation project that conducted more than 300 land condition assessments.
Read the full article in the Gulf Croaker, and find out about favourite FarmMap4D functions:
Need help mapping your property?
During 2024, through the TNQ Drought Hub, Gulf Savannah NRM has a limited number of places for producers in the Northern Gulf region who would like to map their properties to explore how it can build your monitoring and decision-making capacity. For those looking into new infrastructure in the short term, it can also be a great step in completing your business resilience plan and linking with potential funding opportunities.
If you would like to find out more contact Kasmin Brotherton on 0428 913 614 or kasmin.brotherton@gulfsavannahnrm.org.
This program received funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund.