Although just launched, DROVER Land Management has been in development for a while, which is why it already has an award to its name – the Steward Leadership 25 (SL25).
Presented by Stewardship Commons, the prestigious SL25 recognises exemplary projects across the Asia-Pacific that demonstrate steward leadership in action. DROVER Land Management was selected due to its science-backed, whole-of-property approach to improving productivity, building climate resilience, and unlocking new opportunities for Australian graziers and landholders.
Developed by Verterra Ecological Engineering, DROVER Land Management integrates ecological science, remote sensing, and on-ground expertise to provide a holistic service that supports:
The service is underpinned by DROVER Monitor – a powerful decision-support service that benchmarks land health against locally matched control points. Instead of using generic averages DROVER Monitor can uniquely isolate the impact of land stewardship from seasonal or climatic “noise”.
More than just a technical platform, DROVER Land Management represents a new model of stewardship – one that is backed by verifiable data to demonstrate economic and environmental outcomes and guide decisions.
A good example is the Calliweera grazing property in Queensland’s high-priority Reef catchment. Working with Verterra, the property became a test-case for the development of DROVER. The landholders implemented rotational grazing, erosion control, and revegetation strategies. Then, using a prototype of DROVER Monitor, they were able to demonstrate a 74% increase in average pasture biomass, improved drought resilience, reduced erosion risk, and visible improvements in land health.
“The transparency was mind blowing. After identifying the interventions that work, the land responds quicker to rain, with more filtration into the soil and less runoff,” said Nathan Warnock, landholder at Calliweera. “There’s more grass than I’ve ever seen. We’d absolutely recommend this to any graziers looking to make better use of their land.”
Now in its fourth year, the SL25 honours projects that demonstrate exceptional leadership in addressing ecological challenges through innovative, scalable, and measurable action. Verterra is proud to join a distinguished group of organisations advancing a new model of sustainable leadership in the Asia-Pacific.
2025 SL25 recipients were formally recognised at the Steward Leadership Summit in Singapore on 8th October 2025.
