Australian Wheatbelt Survey on Agricultural Production and Ecological Principles

This survey is for Australian Wheatbelt farmers and natural resource management professionals who live or work in the Australian Wheat-Sheep Zone. If you own or manage broadacre cropland or mixed cropland and livestock grazing areas, we need your opinions. Opinions from government, NGO and private Natural Resource Managers, ecologists or other NRM specialists who work in wheatbelt regions are also sought. You must be at least 18 years of age.

This survey is presented in five (5) sections and will take approximately 30 minutes to complete in single or several sittings. The survey sections include:
1. Participant background characteristics;
2. Natural systems values and conservation principles;
3. Agricultural production questions;
4. Changing climatic or weather patterns and adaptation responses;
5. Case examples and your contact for survey findings.

Your opinions are important to this survey - here is why and what we have to gain:

• Agricultural production in Australia's Wheatbelt regions is more important than ever due to world population growth and food demands;
• Ecological research shows that many native Australian flora and fauna species are under threat from climate change, water and land use pressures;
• Some people think ecological management objectives are the opposite to agricultural production objectives;
• Other people think that healthy natural systems and habitats may have positive benefits for agricultural production;
• A key question of this survey is: What do most broadacre farmers in Australia's wheatbelt think and how do their opinions compare to those of ecologists and Natural Resource Management (NRM) professionals?

This survey explores the questions of whether there are practical methods to maintain or boost agricultural production while also applying basic ecological principles to maintain important natural systems and ecosystem. What works and what doesn't? How are agricultural production practices changing?

Can we respond more quickly to some of the current problems of habitat and native species depletion by applying a few key ecological principles? The survey results should assist with this, while also assisting with knowledge of how agricultural production may be enhanced in practical ways.

Further information, including links to the survey, can be found on the attached fliers.