About Us

With $20 million invested over five years, Land, Water & Wool was the wool industry’s most significant investment ever in natural resource management research and development. It was an initiative of Australian Wool Innovation Limited (AWI) in partnership with Land & Water Australia.

Land, Water & Wool placed the wool industry at the forefront of investment in environmental sustainability in a commercial context, investing in research, development and extension targeted at the development and adoption of commercial, productive solutions to key natural resource management issues facing Australian wool producers. The program tapped into a decade of natural resource management research and development by Land & Water Australia and built on the wool industry’s own experience and research. It was backed by state primary industries and environment departments, CSIRO, universities and regional Natural Resource Management (catchment) bodies. Meat & Livestock Australia and the CRC for Salinity added another $10 million, as well as generous access to staff and research facilities.

The programs objectives were:

• To identify key natural resource management issues from producers’ perspectives and understand their perceptions, needs, priorities and practices.
• To increase woolgrowers’ awareness of and motivation to tackle natural resource management issues.
• To provide woolgrowers with the knowledge and practical tools to address key natural resource management issues through productive and profitable solutions.
• To increase the capacity of woolgrowers to apply natural resource management innovations within their commercial enterprise.

Managing Australia’s Natural Resources

Woolgrowers in Australia manage over 85 million hectares of the country’s land and water resources, from the high rainfall areas on the coastal fringe, to the wheat/sheep belt and inland to the saltbush and mulga of the pastoral zone. Across this vast area, the industry faces many environmental challenges - dryland salinity, protecting waterways and looking after native vegetation — all within a variable climate and the desire to balance production with good environmental outcomes.

Land, Water & Wool was the wool industry’s nation-wide program to develop better management to improve profit and create a healthier environment. It provided Australian woolgrowers with research and information resources for high priority natural resource management (NRM) issues, driving awareness and adoption of improved management practices at the farm and regional scale. Woolgrowers have been key partners in steering its research, contributing knowledge and interpreting its findings.