Monto Graziers is a group of like-minded graziers who provide support to each other to improve their grazing practices via capacity building and peer-to-peer influence. Under the guise of education, the group also provides a social outlet and mental health support for drought stricken graziers.

The group was in the forming stage of development and the aim of this project was to further the group’s cohesion and increase their chance for long term success. The project hosted a series of four workshops in the Monto district which brought Monto Graziers together to learn how to improve both their grazing practices and drought resilience.

The workshops were delivered with a social focus and attendees were encouraged to network and converse with fellow graziers. Catering was mostely provided in a BBQ-like setting so that graziers felt more comfortable to participate in general conversation and share their common experiences and burdens in familiar surroundings.

The four events were as follows:

• Billy tea and damper day at Mungungo with discussions on timber and dry season budgeting with Bill Schulke and Roger Sneath with 28 producers

• Billy Tea in the Bush day at Ventnor with Agronomist Ross Newman discussing pasture dieback, pasture budgeting and invasive weed management with 35 graziers

• Soils in grazing day at Mungungo with Agronomist David Hall with more than 30 producers

• Drought Proofing the Family Farm with John Moor on multi-species pastures with 45 producers

The four events were hugely successful and by using a mixture of practical (in the field), theoretical (also often in the field), interactive and IT based styles for information transfer, we believe we have achieved effective and ongoing influence for the community.