​Counting sheep: using livestock to help manage our land at Ginninderra  

​At any one time, CSIRO has between 1000 and 2000 sheep grazing its 701-hectare Ginninderra site. The merinos play a key role in conservation and management of Ginninderra by reducing weeds, controlling biomass and decreasing fire risk. Having sheep on the property offers a more accessible and cost-effective option to slashing or mowing.  

​CSIRO employs an onsite farm manager at Ginninderra who oversees the livestock on the property and undertakes a comprehensive range of proactive activities to manage their wellbeing. This includes daily paddock checks to monitor for stock welfare issues, which are particularly important during critical times such as lambing, drought or hot conditions, or when a sheep grazier alert is issued. 

​Ginninderra’s farm manager has developed and implemented a comprehensive grazing strategy that ensures each paddock has the appropriate number of sheep for seasonal conditions, and is managed on a paddock-by-paddock basis. This strategy also takes into consideration the management of the site’s ecological conservation values.  

​ ​“The sheep are part of CSIRO’s environmental maintenance program on the site,” she explained. 

​“Grazing conservation areas helps to increase the health of native perennial grasses, control weeds and encourage native regeneration”. 

​The manager also monitors the property for supply of stock water to troughs, with the sheep’s main water source being supplied from a bore on the eastern side of the Ginninderra site, and more recently from an additional supply of bore water on the western side of property.  

​“It’s important to ensure our sheep have ample clean water, especially for the hot summer conditions,” she said. 

Each paddock at Ginninderra has been rated by its appropriate carrying capacities to ensure adequate pasture feed supply and to match the condition and number of sheep to the condition of a paddock.

​CSIRO’s commitment to ensuring best-practice animal welfare at Ginninderra has resulted in a stock of healthy sheep that ensure the implementation of CSIRO’s grazing plan for the property.