Mixed pastures, which include native perennial grasslands are common and widespread. Native grasses have deep roots which can increase soil moisture and stability, improve water infiltration, and reduce erosion and salinity year-round. Being summer-active, they are less susceptible to fire and recover quickly from being burned. Native grasses are also drought and disease-hardy, therefore providing livestock a more reliable food source (they often have nutrient characteristics similar to introduced pasture species!). These native grasses can be protected and increased by:
 

• Allow for occasional resting to recover from grazing, utilising rotational or deferred grazing (from late summer to early autumn)
• Control encroaching weeds by grazing before seeding
   

Improved dams have better quality, retain water for longer periods, support biodiversity, increase nutrient cycling and require less sediment removal.  

• Dams can be enhanced by:
  • Fencing to manage the impacts of livestock (pollution and damaged edges)  
  • Provide troughs or hardened access points to livestock
  • Planting native vegetation in the dam and along edges
  • Vary dam depth
  • Provide islands, logs and or snags in the dam for wildlife
     

Shelter belts are strips of native woody vegetation that are often established along the edges of paddocks. Shelter belts provide shade and shelter for livestock, reduce soil erosion and increase moisture, reduce wind speeds, and provide habitat to native pollinators of crops, decomposers of carcasses, and other animals (such as microbats) which are highly effective at reducing pest populations (of species such as the red-legged earth mite). To maximise biodiversity benefits, these shelter belts should include a diverse range of native species (trees, shrubs, and ground cover, with variable flowering times) and incorporate existing native vegetation (but avoid native grassland patches).

• Shelter belts can:
  • Boost pasture production for livestock by up to 8%
  • Reduce lamb mortality by 10%
  • Increase wool production by 30%
  • Increase weight gain of livestock by greater than 20%
  • Reduce contact with neighbouring livestock, increasing biosecurity and reducing disease and pest spread.
  • Increase property value

Non targeted weed management techniques, such as boom spraying, can have significant detrimental impacts to native biodiversity and your property, including:

• Damage to and permanent destruction of native roadside vegetation which:
  • Can increase fire risk
  • Increase spread of weeds species
  • Removes vital habitat to native wildlife
  • Include significant and threatened species, which are protected under state and federal legislation
  • On-going costs in weed and fire management for landowners, as well as the potential for considerable fines if spraying kills listed species.  
• You can find out more about targeted weed management on our Key Weeds page.                    

The species of native plants that are best suited to your property can be found on Council's website. 

The species of native plants that are best suited to your property can be found on our Native Planting page. You can find more information on native planting on farms from: 

• Agriculture Vic
• Sustainable Farms
• Meat & Livestock Australia

There are several initiatives provided by state and federal government, as well as NGOs, to support farmers in increasing biodiversity on the farms. Examples include:

• The Nature Repair Market
• The Climate-Smart Agriculture Program 

In addition, many of the farms in Ararat contain natural creeks, wetlands, lakes and other ephemeral waterbodies. For more information about how you can protect these crucial assets, go to our Protect Waterways page.