Native shrubs good for sheep and the environment | Stories of Australian Science, from Science in Public

Feeding livestock on native plants is the key to sustainable profits for Australian farmers, researchers have found.

Saltbush_591px-Atriplex_amnicola — Photo: Native bushes such as saltbush provide much better food for grazing sheep than previously thought. Credit: Melburnian, Wikimedia, GNU Free Documentation Licence

Farmers in dry parts of southern Australia are planting native perennial shrubs to feed their animals following ground-breaking research by the Future Farm Industries CRC Enrich Project Team.

For its role in initiating this change, the Enrich team has won the 2013 Australian Museum Caring for our Country Landcare Eureka Prize for Sustainable Agriculture.

Feeding livestock on native plants is the key to sustainable profits for Australian farmers, researchers have found.

Photo: Native bushes such as saltbush provide much better food for grazing sheep than previously thought.

Credit: Melburnian, Wikimedia, GNU Free Documentation Licence

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