HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE SOCIETY

July 31, 2024

 

The Annual General Meeting of the Society was held on 24 May 2024 via teleconference.  The following reports were presented at the meeting and are generally excerpts from the Annual Report which can be accessed here.

 

President’s Report (ARS President – Pieter Conradie)

Thank you for attending the Annual General Meeting of our Society. It is my pleasure and indeed a great honour to present the President’s report for the year ending 2023.

This report highlights some of the key activities and achievements of the Society since the last AGM on 24 May 2023.

  • During 2023 there was a changing of the guard as we said goodbye to President Dionne Walsh and outgoing council members, Don Burnside, Megan Munchenberg, Angus Whyte and Paul Erkelenz (deceased) who in total served 35 years on Council and made a huge contribution to the Society. Even though it was a significant disruption to lose so much corporate knowledge at once the new Council stepped up to the challenge and have already established themselves keeping the Society in good stead.
  • I want to thank new Council members Kate Forrest, Warwick Badgery, Gay Crowley and Chris Obst for their dedication and in particular John Brisbin who took over from Don Burnside in the demanding role of Finance and Audit Officer. Matt Fletcher took charge of Membership and Bob Shepherd continued to make a huge contribution as Secretary.
  • The Australian Rangeland Society 22nd Biennial Conference was held in Broome 18 to 22 September 2023. It was an exceptional event where a stimulating well balanced programme, engaging presentations, excellent participation from a bumper number of delegates and iconic setting all contributed to make it a conference to remember. My special thanks and congratulations go to Matt Fletcher, Don Burnside and the organising committee for a conference that will be remembered for the high level of early career participation, indigenous engagement, and pastoralist involvement.
  • The next ARS Conference is due to be held in the Northern Territory but considering Australia is hosting the International Rangelands Congress in 2025 a decision has been made to delay the Conference to 2026.
  • Arrangements for the XIIth International Rangeland Congress (IRC) in Adelaide from 2 – 6 June 2025 are on track with the fourth announcement due next month. Many of our members are serving on the Organising Committee and Council receives regular updated on progress. At the IRC a special event is being planned where the Society will celebrate its 50th Please come forth with ideas on how we can make this a special occasion.
  • The Society is also involved with the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP) in 2026. One of our members, Dana Kelly, is the Chair of the Australasian Committee and as such we are collaborating closely with her to use the opportunity to promote rangelands and pastoralists and our Society at the same time. I encourage you to contact Dana if you want to be involved in one of the state based IYRP committees.
  • The Publication Committee (PC) is responsible for the Society’s publications, being The Rangeland Journal, the Range Management Newsletter, the website and social media. Council is grateful to Bradd Witt (Chair), Paul Novelly (Editor in Chief), Noelene Duckett (Newsletter Editor) and Jayne Cuddihy (Website Editor) for their exceptional contribution to the Society. The position of Social Media Editor is currently vacant but has been revamped and an extensive recruitment process is underway to fill this critical position.
  • The Rangeland Journal has now moved to continuous publishing mode which is hundred percent virtual with the production of paper copies discontinued in 2024. The Journal has also been included in CSIRO Publishing’s Read and Publish arrangements with opportunity for open access. These changes have been made after extensive consultation and in line with current publication trends.
  • During 2023 website providers were changed and the new website, which enables an improved web presence of the Society, is now fully functional. As part of the upgrade an impressive photography database has been built with work continuing to make it accessible through the Members Only function.

The main focus of Council is to ensure the Society provides quality service and a safe platform for discussion to its members. Both current and emerging rangeland issues are discussed while providing objective and science-based information on issues such as environmental credits, carbon sequestration, natural capital, biodiversity etc. This is done via Special Issues of The Rangeland Journal, the Range Management Newsletter, Social Media channels and at conferences. I encourage you to participate in ongoing discussion of these matters and provide your opinion about the role you see for the Society.

I would like to express my thanks to Council, the Publication Committee and members for their dedication to this great Society.

 

Financial Report (Director, Finance & Audit – John Brisbin)

The financial affairs of the Society remain on an adequate footing with a healthy gain from ordinary activities of $54,936 in 2023 (loss of $9,092 in 2022) and total equity/accumulated surplus of $208,607 at 31 December 2023 (2022: $153,671).

As noted above, the Society’s total equity at 31 December 2023 stands at $208,607. This is considered adequate to cover any foreseen liabilities arising in the coming year.

The Society maintains appropriate systems and protocols to allow it to complete its commitments to standard reporting of its financial position as required under law.

The two key income sources for the ARS are net profit from Conferences and fees charged for Special Issues of The Rangeland Journal.

The net profit from the 2023 Conference validates the Council’s reliance on this event to ensure the organisation’s financial picture remains healthy.

Income from Special Issues of The Rangeland Journal is more variable. There is a desire to ensure that Special Issues can be published opportunistically to strengthen the reputation of the ARS as a source of leading research and scholarship for the rangelands. However, the fee structure for Special Issues has been identified as a significant barrier. Identifying organisations wishing to edit and pay for Special Issues is an on-going challenge for the Publications Committee.

There is also an increasing trend toward Open Access articles in international journals. Whilst this is a welcome development in terms of supporting public-good outcomes, it creates additional competition in attracting submissions.

Membership income was down by ~7% this year, for a total of $12,985. Membership fees are an important revenue source, however the ARS Council seeks more advantage by encouraging membership, especially amongst students and early career rangeland professionals where high membership fees could present a barrier.

 

 

Membership Report (Membership Officer – Matthew Fletcher)

 

Membership at 31 December 2023

Since the Broome Rangeland Conference (September 2023), there’s been a change in the ARS Membership Officer role. Matthew Fletcher has taken over from Don Burnside, who dedicated approximately six years to the position with great diligence. I extend my thanks to Don for his service and patience during the handover.

Previously, ARS membership followed a calendar-year organisation, but managing through WooCommerce, the chosen platform for subscription management proved challenging. Each membership transaction required manual attention, creating difficulties. In mid-2023 a decision involving Chris Cahill (website consultant – Zoik), Jayne Cuddihy (ARS website manager), Don Burnside and myself, led to a decision for simplification. The agreed-upon change aimed to streamline the membership renewal system by starting memberships from their date of registration rather following a calendar-year organisation. Currently, Matt Fletcher is working with Chris Cahill to implement automatic renewals to minimise manual attention.

As at 31 December 2023, there were 233 members of the ARS, including 30 complimentary members. There were 42 new members welcomed in 2023; of these 25 joined as part of their conference registration. Fifteen members who did not renew in 2023 have been removed from the active list.

 

Membership summary as of 31 December 2023

Total
Complimentary members 30
Concessional members 21
Company members 22
International members 4
Student members 2
Standard members 154
Grand Total 233

 

Complimentary memberships at 31 December 2023

At 31 December 2023, the Society had 30 complimentary members, as shown in the table below. There are two fewer Associate Editors of The Rangeland Journal than reported in the 2022 Annual Report. One complimentary member pays an annual subscription, which is generous and appreciated.

 

Complimentary Members at 31 December  2023 Number
Chair of the Publications Committee 1
Editor-in-Chief of The Rangeland Journal 1
Editor of the Range Management Newsletter 1
Editor of the ARS Website 1
Editor of the Social Media 1
Associate Editors of TRJ 13
ARS Fellows 6
ARS Fellow Emeritus 1
*Prize winners from the ARS Broome Conference 5
Total 30

* Received one-year complimentary membership as part of Conference prizes.

 

Membership trends through years

As shown in the table below, membership numbers have been relatively stable across the years since 2015. There is usually a ‘boost’ in the number of new members during a conference year, as shown in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2023, however, there is also a similar number allowing their membership to lapse. These people are not lost to the Society, as their names are retained in the database as ‘inactive members’ and they receive invitations to attend the biennial conferences.

 

Category Membership as at 31 December
2015* 2016 2017* 2018 2019* 2020 2021* 2022 2023*
ARS members at 31 December 221 182 231 209 224 202 196 206 233
ARS Members joined during year 37 38 71 16 39 10 20 20 42
ARS memberships lapsed during year 36 77 22 38 14 32 26 10 15
Institutional subscribers to TRJ 100 90 91 93 93 89 89 85 80

* Conference year.

 

 

ARS Conference Report (Broome Conference – Matthew Fletcher)

 

The 22nd Biennial Conference of the Australian Rangeland Society, Broome WA, 18-22 September 2023

 The event was a busy week, including informative field trips, a remarkable turnout with 271 delegates, and a diverse program featuring 101 oral presentations and 25 posters.  The Conference surpassed the Organising Committee’s expectations in three crucial areas: early career participation, Indigenous engagement and pastoralist involvement.

Concurrent session themes were: Traditional land use and management, coming to grips with carbon and natural capital, resilience in a land of drought and flooding rains, collaboration and partnerships, from the Drought Hub, modelling and planning, passing the baton, climate extremes and drought, biocrusts and soil properties, diversification, large feral herbivores and weeds, managing and measuring grazing impact, and from the sky.

 

Attendee Profile
State/other No. of Delegates State/other No. of Delegates
ACT 4 TAS 2
NSW 26 VIC 6
NT 18 WA 90
QLD 80 USA 2
SA 19 Unspecified 24

 

Conference Finances

A simplified conference financial report is below, the surplus was passed to the Australian Rangeland Society and will support the normal operations of the Society.

 

Amount (GST incl)
Income (ticket sales, sponsorship/exhibition, auction, cancellation fees) $290,914.65
Expenses (governance/administration, venue hire, AV, speakers, committee expenses, field tours, conference dinner/welcome function, coffee cart and rangeland journal special edition) $254,394.16
Surplus $36,502.49

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