Australian wool growers take part in ZQRX ecological monitoring pilot

The Australian Ecological Outcome Verification pilot follows a similar pilot in New Zealand, where six farms were baselined in 2020, with all showing positively trending Environmental Health Index scores.

Australian Holistic Management Co-operative conducted EOV monitoring to baseline eight ZQRX farms, spread around Victoria, NSW, Tasmania and South Australia.

As well as the EOV monitoring, growers were invited to join in holistic management training and an in-depth soil health workshop at Mooralla Merinos in Victoria.

Clare Cannon, Woomargama Station, near Holbrook in the NSW Murray region, is among the producers who have taken part in the pilot.

Ms Cannon said these kind of ecological initiatives were the way of the future and that farmers should be demanding high environmental and animal husbandry standards.

"If you go back to consumers, consumers are very savvy and they're becoming very interesting in the provenance of their clothes and their fibre," she said.

"We have ZQRX accreditation, the highest accreditation with ZQ, which is really around high animal husbandry, the five freedoms for animals but also sustainability.

"This has really come the big textile houses and also the big textile buyers such as the Kering Group... they're big on biodiversity and carbon.

"It's at times quite tricky to meet all of the requirements for accreditation but on the other hand you're at the top end of the market, which is the best place to be."

Ms Cannon said the ZQRX had delivered significant premiums this year, but didn't always.

"We set for three years out so you don't always know how the wool market will be in three years, but it is a premium," she said.

"But I think for me it's soul-destroying to spend so much attention and care on your sheep and then watch the wool be sold at auction and you don't even know which mill it's going to half the time.

"So to know you've got a whole supply chain open and accountable process... these are very big companies [that we get to work with], so it's super exciting.

"They see woolgrowers as the heroes of the space, normally we've been the forgotten part of the supply chain."

Environmental stewardship has been part of the focus at Woomargama Station for decades, with the EOV pilot just the latest step.

A third of Woomargama Station is under covenant with the Biodiversity Conservation Trust for critically endangered grassy box woodland, meaning it can only be grazed for six months of the year, from March to September.

Ms Cannon said through the EOV monitoring she was able to learn about areas where Woomargama Station had room for improvement.

"We probably had six or seven sessions on Zoom around the science behind rotational grazing, managing pastures, managing landscapes and it really opens your eyes to a different way of looking at the farm," she said.

AHMC CEO Helen Lewis said that NZM's investment in EOV monitoring is an exciting step for its Australian growers.

"It's a tall order to make improvements without knowing where you are at," she said.

"EOV allows a farmer to quantify the state of their land and gives them the confidence to invest their efforts where they are needed.

"This group is special, the properties cover a diverse range of geographies, each with its own strengths and challenges, but they're all committed to the common goal of regenerating land."

According to NZM's 2023 ESG impact report there are now more than 100 ZQ certified growers across Australia.

The pilot involves both short and long-term monitoring, with short-term sites revisited annually, while long-term monitoring sites are revisited every five years to capture data on lagging indicators of soil health.

NZM's future farming manager Monica Schwass said robust and globally recognised monitoring, such as EOV, provides the verified data leading brands need in the consumer market.

"Our global brand partners want to see regeneration," she said.

"They want to know the wool they buy is doing good things for the world - not simply doing less harm.

"Most importantly, they want to be able to proudly share this with their customers and they're willing to invest in reportable data."