The Sustainable Grazing Systems National Experiment. 1. Introduction and methods

This paper outlines the development and design of the Sustainable Grazing Systems (SGS) National Experiment from the initial call for expressions of interest, through several workshop processes to the final selection and implementation of its 6 component sites, and the general methodology used at each. Sites were located in Western Australia, western Victoria, north-east Victoria, and on the Central Tablelands, North West Slopes, and the eastern Riverina of New South Wales. Sites in Western Australia, north-east Victoria, the North West Slopes, and the eastern Riverina also had subsites. Methods for the sites and subsites (data collection for pastures, livestock, weather, soils and site characterisation) are presented to provide a central reference, and to save duplication in subsequent papers. Descriptions are provided of the location, average annual rainfall, major pasture, soil and stock types, design and number of treatments, and initial soil levels (0-10 cm) of phosphorus, electrical conductivity, and pH for sites and subsites. Also outlined is the major focus of the research undertaken at each site. While sites studied regionally relevant issues, they operated under a common protocol for data collection with a minimum data set being specified for each of 5 unifying themes: pastures, animal production, water, nutrients, and biodiversity. Economic analyses were also undertaken at the macro- and micro-level, and a procedural tool developed for appraising the on- and off-farm impacts of different systems. To give effect to the themes, common database and modelling tools were developed specifically for the national experiment, so that collectively sites comprised a single experiment.