FORAGE – An online system for generating and delivering property-scale decision support information for grazing land and environmental management

Abstract Queensland grazing industries operate in one of the world’s most variable climates and face enormous challenges to achieve profitability and sustainability. To assist grazing enterprises, the Queensland Government has developed an operational online information system – FORAGE, to facilitate best management practice for grazing land. The FORAGE system provides land managers with property-scale information relating to rainfall, ground cover, soil erodibility, land types, tree density, seasonal climate outlooks and pasture growth simulated using the GRASP grazing system model. This information is site-specific and tailored to facilitate on-ground management decisions common to Queensland grazing enterprises. The FORAGE system makes complex remotely-sensed data, information from a range of databases and pasture growth models more accessible and relevant to land managers. This paper describes the structure, resources (e.g. software, databases and models), information generating processes, delivery mechanisms and information products of the FORAGE system.