It has been my pleasure to support the Soils For Life team whilst we seek a new CEO. It hasn’t always been easy with my new (home) office also being a school and childcare centre!
The view from my new office!
Kangaroo grass thriving in my backyard after Canberra’s autumn rain
During the COVID-19 lockdown the Soils For Life team has been finalising case studies commenced before travel and social distancing measures were implemented. Salisbury is the last of these to be published.
The team has also been working to design a comprehensive evaluation plan for the case study program and we have been looking at ways we can develop education resources to support learning. We hope these resources will act as a catalyst for you to take some action on your property or to seek a new path of professional development through further reading or training.
The team at Soils For Life are relieved to see some changes to the travel and work restrictions and we expect our field teams will soon return to farm visits. We will continue to publish our monthly newsletter however over the coming months instead of publishing a new case study with each newsletter we will republish a previous case study and alongside this we will publish an education resource.
It is our plan to develop field days for the new case study farms. When there is greater certainty about social gatherings we will start scheduling these events. We will keep you informed via our website, newsletter and our socials.
Finally, we have revised the case study program application form. We value feedback from our audience and case study participants and have taken the opportunity to simplify the application form after speaking with farmers. Learn more about being a case study participant here and find the application form here.
Our team are here to help, so if you want to have a chat or want some assistance to complete the application give us a call.
Katharine Brown recently joined the Soils For Life project team, bringing with her a wealth of knowledge and curiosity about soils. We asked her what she finds most fascinating about soil in this Q and A.
Q: What do you find so fascinating about soil?
A: There are an infinite number of fascinating facts about soil! If I were to choose one, it would be that “each soil has had its own history. Like a river, a mountain, a forest, or any natural thing, its present condition is due to the influences of many things and events of the past.” That’s a quote by soil scientist Dr Charles E. Kellogg from 1938. When you observe a soil, you gain an understanding of its past (how it formed), its present (how it functions), and its future (how it responds).
Q: You’ve been a soil scientist for 20 years now. What has been the most exciting thing/change you’ve seen in your career?
A: I am encouraged by the growing consensus on the significance of soils and the value of soil information. In particular, the recognition that soil is a finite natural resource and that soil condition will determine the extent society, the nation and the planet will benefit from ecosystem services. I am equally encouraged by the increase in the number of women soil scientists in what continues to be a male-dominated profession.
Q: What’s your new role with SFL and what will you be doing?
A: As a Soils For Life Project Team Member, I will be researching the benefits of regenerative agriculture on the soil, encouraging the adoption of land management practices to improve soil condition, sharing soil science knowledge with my colleagues, community and regenerative farmers, and increasing my understanding of regenerative agriculture practices.
Q: What’s one myth about soils you’d like to see busted?
A: That the “magic” happens in the topsoil. To understand the past, present, and future of a soil, we need to dig deeper!
Q: If you could change one thing about how people think about soil what would it be?
A: I would like to dispel two common thoughts:
1. That we can take from the soil without giving back.
2. That soil is dirt. Dirt is inert. Soil is alive.
Read more about the expertise on the Soils For Life team here.
The global ‘just-in-time’ industrial food and supermarket system is not fit for purpose in guaranteeing food security.
As the world reels under corona virus and the resulting
economic meltdown, another crisis – far
more serious – appears to be building: the potential collapse of global food
supply chains.
For those who cry “We don’t want any more bad news”, the
fact of the matter is we have landed in our present mess – climate, disease,
extinction, pollution, WMD – because we steadfastly ignored previous warnings.
The first warning of a corona pandemic was issued in a
scientific paper in 2007 and was blithely ignored for thirteen years. In it,
the scientists explicitly stated “The presence of a large reservoir of
SARS-CoV-like viruses in horseshoe bats, together with the culture of eating
exotic mammals in southern China, is a time bomb. The possibility of the re-emergence
of SARS and other novel viruses from animals or laboratories and therefore the
need for preparedness should not be ignored.” [i]
Similarly, in 1979, the World Meteorological Organisation
warned “… the probability of a man-induced future global warming is much
greater and increases with time. Soon after the turn of the century a level may
possibly be reached that is exceeds all warm periods of the last 1000-2000
years.” [ii]
And climate warnings have been coming thick and fast ever since, to scant
avail.
Now we have a new warning from the UN Food and Agriculture
Organisation, a cautious body if ever there was one, that states “We risk a
looming food crisis unless measures are taken fast to protect the most
vulnerable, keep global food supply chains alive and mitigate the pandemic’s
impacts across the food system.” [iii]
Border closures, quarantines and market, supply chain and
trade disruptions are listed as the chief reasons for concern. However, like
many national governments, FAO insists “there is no need to panic” as world food
production remains ample.
This, however, depends on fragile assumptions. It assumes
that farmers and their families do not get sick. It assumes they will always be
able to access the fuel, fertiliser, seed and other inputs they need when
supply chains disintegrate. It assumes the truck drivers who transport food to
the cities do not get sick, that markets, cool stores and food processing
plants are not closed to protect their workers. That supermarkets continue to
function, even when their shelves are stripped bare. All of which is starting
to appear tenuous.
There is never a ‘need to panic’ as it does not help in
resolving difficult situations. But there is definitely a need to take well-planned
precautions – as we have failed to do in the cases of climate and corona virus.
The looming food crisis starts from three primary causes:
The global ‘just-in-time’ industrial food and
supermarket system is not fit for purpose in guaranteeing food security. It is
all about money, and not about human safety or nutrition. Its links are fragile
and any of them can break, precipitating chaos – especially in big cities.
The agricultural system we know and love is
becoming increasingly unreliable owing to climate change, catastrophic loss of
soils worldwide, shortages of water and narrowing of its genetic base. Farmers
are struggling with their own pandemics in the form of swine fever, army worms
and locusts. This unreliability will become increasingly critical from the
2020s to the mid-century.
The predatory world economic system now punishes
farmers by paying them less and less for their produce, driving them off their
farms and increasingly forcing those who remain to use unsustainable methods of
food production. This is causing a worldwide loss of farmers and their skills
and destruction of the agricultural resource base and ecosystem at a time of rising
food instability.[iv]
The reason that a food crisis is far more serious than
either the corona virus or its economic meltdown, is that the death toll is
generally far larger. More than 200 million people have died in various famines
over the last century and a half, and many of those famines led to civil wars,
international wars and governmental collapses. That is why we need to pay
attention now – before a new global food crisis arises. Not brush it aside, as
so many inept world leaders have done with the virus.
The Spanish have a well-learned saying that “Lo que separa
la civilización de la anarquía son solo siete comidas.” [v]
The French and Russian Revolutions both arose out of famines. WWII arose partly
out of Hitler’s desire to capture Soviet farmlands in order to avoid another
WW1 famine in Germany. Many modern African wars are over food or the means to
produce it. The Syrian civil war began with a climate-driven food crisis.
Indeed, there is growing evidence that lack of food plays a catalytic role in
around two thirds of contemporary armed conflicts. As US former president Jimmy
Carter has observed “Hungry people are not peaceful people.” [vi]
Food failures bring down governments and cause states to
fail. In 2012 a drought in Russia and the Ukraine forced them to cut grain
supplies to Egypt and Libya – where governments promptly fell to popular
revolutions. It was a strange echo of history: in the third century a
combination of climate change and a pandemic caused a failure in grain supplies
from North Africa, an economic crash and, ultimately, the end of the Roman
Empire.
While there is ‘no need to panic’ over food, there is a very
clear and urgent need for plans to forestall major shortages around the world. Yet,
there is very little evidence that governments worldwide are preparing to head
off a food crisis, other than to reassure their citizens, Trumplike, that there
isn’t a problem. However, lack of trust
by citizens in their governments has already prompted a global rush to stock up
on staple foods which has ‘upended’ the vulnerable ‘just-in-time’ food delivery
system in many countries.[vii]
Over four billion people now inhabit the world’s great
cities – and not one of those cities can feed itself. Not even close. None of
them are prepared for catastrophic failure in fragile modern food chains, on
which they are totally reliant. It would appear almost nobody has even dreamed
of such a thing. We are sleepwalking into something far larger and far more
deadly than corona virus. The delicate web of modern civilization is fraying.
What is to be done? The short answers are:
Introduce emergency urban food stocks
Compulsory reduction of food waste at all points
Prepare for WWII-style rationing if needed
Pay farmers a fair return
Increase school meals programs and food aid to
the poor
Encourage local food production and urban food
gardens
Develop a global emergency food aid network as a
priority
Reinvent food on a three-tier global model
encompassing: regenerative farming, urban food production (and recycling),
accelerated deep ocean aquaculture and algae culture.
There are few crises that cannot be avoided with careful
forward planning, including the ten catastrophic risks now facing humanity as a
whole. [viii]
It is time we, as a species, learned to think ahead better
than we do, and not listen to those who cry “no more bad news, please”. They
only lead us into further crisis.
*Julian Cribb is an Australian science author. His book Food or War describes what must be done to secure the world’s food supply.
REFERENCES
[i]
Cheung VCC et al., Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus as an Agent of
Emerging and Reemerging Infection. Clinical Microbiology Reviews Oct 2007, 20
(4) 660-694; DOI: 10.1128/CMR.00023-07
[iv]
These issues are extensively analysed in my recent book Food or War,
Cambridge University Press, 2019. https://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/food-or-war
[v]
Civilization and anarchy are only seven meals apart.
[vi]
Carter J., First Step to Peace is Eradicating Hunger. International Herald
Tribune, June 17, 1999.
[vii]
Lee A, How the UK’s just-in-time delivery model crumbled under coronavirus.
Wired, 30 March 2020.
Above: Charles Maslin embarking on some “slow travel” aiming to ride a push bike from Perth to Pambula.
What a turbulent time, with so much of the
economy and people’s lives thrown into total disarray due to the corona
pandemic. When will life pre-2020 resume? Fortunately most farms can continue
on as “business as usual”, maybe with less social interaction, but relatively
normal farming operations being able to be maintained.
On a positive note, a large part of the
eastern states have had great autumn breaks, some the best in recent history.
Sadly, other areas just a stone’s throw away, remain gripped in drought…and
many land management issues still abound, not hidden by a film of green.
At the Soils For Life office work continues
on, with all staff working from home. Later this month the ‘Fairhalt’ case
study will be published and next month the ‘Salisbury’ case study will be
released. We are always on the lookout for new case studies, so please contact us if you would like to
apply.
In the “office”, Narelle Luff has been doing
an outstanding job as operations manager, keeping the new “at home workplace”
going in as full swing as practicable. Recently there have been new additions
to staff: Jen Richards as Communications Manager; Katherine Brown from a soil
science background; James Diack, an Agricultural Scientist; and Rebecca
Palmer-Brodie from the field of social science. Welcome all to the S4L team!
Other happenings include the refinement of our
website to make valuable information and contacts easier to access. We continue
to post on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and are now active on LinkedIn as
well. Any feedback on any of these is always welcome!
On another front, I have been embarking on
some “slow travel” aiming to ride a push bike from Perth to Pambula…where is
Perth I hear you say! The ride is as a fundraiser for the country education
foundation, to raise funds for rural students to get opportunities in education
that they would otherwise miss out on. Have a look at cef.org.au/charlie for more info.
Unfortunately with borders closed, I was able to ride from Mildura to
Narrandera and then Adaminaby to Pambula before the lock down, covering about
750km of the state.
What does this have to do with Soils for Life?
Quite simply, “slow travel” enables me to observe changes in the landscape and
differences in management between places in a district. The management of
ground cover, species diversity, riparian health and weed infestation are some
of the things which stand out…the seven days of bike travel so far seemed to
go faster than the two of car travel to get there….with so much more to be
observed when travelling at a slower pace!
It really makes me realise that we still have
a long way to go with environmental stewardship and the long term health
security of this land we all love. There is still much to be done to get the
Soils For Life message out there…and implemented!
Niels and Marja Olsen with the help of their three sons Shaun, Jamie and Shane through careful management and the invention of the “SoilKee Renovator” have developed a property in Hallora, West Gippsland which produces healthy pasture year round. In 2019 the family were recognised for their exploits in sequestering soil carbon by being the first farm in Australia to be awarded carbon credits for doing so.
Angus cross cattle enjoying healthy pasture.
The Olsen family is focused on improving the health of their land to its maximum capacity, they are willing to share this journey with many land holders visiting their property each year to gain insight into how the Olsen’s have achieved spectacular soil and pasture improvements.
FARM FACTS
Olsen Family Farm, Hallora VIC
ENTERPRISE: Angus cross cattle breeding
PROPERTY SIZE: 124 ha
AVERAGE ANNUAL RAINFALL: 1000 mm
ELEVATION: 135 m
MOTIVATION FOR CHANGE
The over application of superphosphate fertilisers over the course of two years and the subsequent damage caused to their soil was the catalyst for Niels and Marja Olsen to reassess their farming strategy. Realising that healthy soil produces healthy food was a major factor in influencing their journey in becoming regenerate land managers.
INNOVATIONS
Regenerative landscape and livestock management regimes, including:
Increase paddock numbers to facilitate rotational grazing
Multi species pasture cropping
Carbon and nitrogen soil sequestration
Pasture growth improved to negate biannual “feed gaps”
Utilisation of the “SoilKee Renovator Machine”
KEY RESULTS
Significant improvements in soil health measures such as moisture content, biological activity and soil carbon levels. Pasture growth has increased significantly with up to 20 tonnes of dry biomass per hectare grown each year. Observations of biodiversity have increased on the farm with the number of birds, frogs and other reptiles seen greatly increasing. Landslips and washouts have stopped occurring.
The Hallora Story
Niels and Marja Olsen with the help of their three sons Shane, Jamie and Shaun have been managing and operating the family farm in Hallora, Gippsland, Victoria since 1985. Previously, the property was used for dairy cattle with Niels making the switch to a herd of breeder cattle in 2008. Over the years Niels has worked a number of off-farm jobs, supplementing farm income. In 2012 Niels with the help of his family designed and patented a machine to improve soil health on his farm, the machine was named the SoilKee Renovator.
Niels Olsen showcasing soil structure and root depth gained from utilising the SoilKee Renovator.
Multi species pasture cropping at the Olsen Family Farm.
Background
Niels grew up on a farm not far from his current property;
for many years he lived the life of a typical dairy farmer, milking twice daily
365 days a year. Niels farmed the way he had learnt in his youth, the traditional
West Gippsland way: growing pastures in the good seasons of the year to harvest
and store later to be fed out during the other seasons. This method of farming
was labour and time intensive.
In the 1990’s Niels started and managed an earth
moving business whilst keeping the farm running. The earth moving business
proved to be quite successful and Niels made the decision to invest some of the
profits back into the farm in the form of superphosphate fertiliser. In 1999
upon consultation from a local agronomist Niels purchased and applied a large
quantity of super on his farm. The results were fantastic; pastures looked
green and grew significantly more than they had the previous year. Niels
decided to increase the dosage of super the following year expecting to achieve
better pasture growth results. However, the complete opposite occurred; after
applying the super the Olsen’s paddocks turned brown and stopped growing whilst
his neighbour’s paddocks were green with fresh pasture growth.
This was the catalyst for the Olsen’s to recognise these
practices were harming the landscape and seemed unsustainable in the long term.
Marja and Niels were horrified at the damage they had inflicted upon their soil.
Their response was to seek out guidance and training, they started attending
workshops and field days focused on improving soil health. Armed with the
knowledge they had gained from the numerous workshops and field days they set
about regenerating soil health on their farm.
The Landscape
The property is comprised of 124 hectares split
into 28 paddocks, the water supply consisting of dams and an ephemeral creek
running through the property. The property sits at an elevation of 135m above
sea level with an average annual rainfall of 1000 mm. Prior to land clearing in
the late 19th century for agricultural purposes the landscape would
have consisted of what is now classified as a damp/ wet sclerophyll forest.
Numerous species of eucalyptus and acacia trees would have been present in the
landscape, only Messmate (Eucalyptus
obliqua) is present today.
The property consists of low slopes and rolling
hills with an acidic red ferrosol soil. The pasture species at the time of
purchase were mostly rye grasses and clovers with no native grass species
present. Signs of ecological health in the soil such as worms were rarely
observed prior to 2002. The pH of the soil ranged from 3.7-4.5 across the farm.
Prior to the use of the “SoilKee Renovator” landslips and washouts regularly
occurred across the property. Since the implementation of the “SoilKee
Renovator”, no landslips or washouts have occurred on the property. The soil
structure on the farm was improved by sowing deep rooted pasture species such
as legumes, improving the structure of the soil which greatly reduced the risk
of landslips and washouts.
Indicators of ecological health such as reptiles
and frogs were not regularly observed on the farm prior to adoption of some regenerative
management techniques, especially soil health, high soil carbon content, cover
and hydration. In recent years frog numbers have increased significantly and
they are now observed regularly. The dominant snake species on the property
used to be the Eastern Brown (Pseudonaja
textilis), since the increase in frog numbers Eastern Brown snakes are
rarely sighted on the property instead Tiger snakes (Notechis scutatus) have become common. Frogs are the preferred
food of Tiger snakes. The increase in frog numbers on the property directly coincided
with the ceasing of chemical inputs.
Birds such as Ibis’s were commonly observed in the
paddocks eating slugs and cockchafers, since adopting regenerative management
techniques Ibis’s are rarely if ever seen on the farm. During a short walk on
the property in November 2019 a Soils For Life ecologist observed 22 different
species of birds. These species included birds from most of the trophic levels including
raptors suggesting that the health of the landscape is in excellent condition.
Production
From 1985 till 2008 Niels operated the property as
a dairy farm with a herd size of around 150, in 2008 Olsens stopped dairying
and started a breeder operation and selling steers for slaughter. Initially they
kept the same herd of dairy cattle and used them as a breeder herd due to the
cost of replacing their herd entirely. In 2018 they replaced the herd of dairy
cattle with a herd of angus crosses. Niels and Marja have utilised rotational
grazing on the property from 2003 onwards, prior to 2015 the total yearly
grazing time per paddock was eight weeks. This has increased the grazing time
since 2015 to 12 weeks of the year due to increases in pasture production
gained from sowing multi-species utilising the SoilKee Renovator. Niels has
altered his production system from an animal-first perspective to soil first. Olsen’s
focus is on improving the health of their soil through methods such as multi
species cropping to encourage root growth and nitrogen and carbon intake from
the air. Olsens consider fungal activity to be vitally important in improving
soil health. They ensure that the soil is never deep ripped which can damage
and stop fungal activity from occurring.
Prior to 2012 Niels had a concept in his mind which
he thought could be the ideal method of farming for his property. However, he
did not have the tools to trial the concept. His idea was that by utilising a
machine which lightly disturbed the soil and planted crops concurrently, and
twice a year, he could grow enough pasture biomass to feed his cattle year-round
without having to cut and store fodder to be fed in the feed gaps of each
season. In 2012 this idea came to fruition, Niels had built and designed a
machine which he named the “SoilKee Renovator”. The machine consisted of
angular blades which “broke” the earth rather than “cutting” it at minimal
depth. The machine is utilised after grazing with 15-20% of biomass left from
the grazing mulched straight into the soil speeding up the process. Essentially
Niels had designed a machine which converted his pasture biomass directly into
mulch after grazing. This completely reduced the need for any fertiliser
application on the property.
Since 2012 Niels has not had to supplementary feed his livestock. The method of multi species pasture and cropping combined with the accelerated mulching enabled by the SoilKee Renovator, has significantly improved the health of the soil and the amount of pasture biomass produced each year. Niels has been able to grow 20 tonnes of dry biomass per hectare per year on some of his best paddocks, the less fertile areas of the property achieve 15 tonnes per hectare per year. The pasture growing season is now 9 months of the year. Undesirable pasture species such as kikuyu grass (Pennisetum clandestinum) which used to be present across the property has been out-competed by desirable species planted sowed with the SoilKee machine.
The Olsen Farm is an unusual farm in the sense that
all three of Niels and Marja’s adult sons still work on the farm and in the
family business. A lot of the production of the SoilKee machine is done on farm
by the eldest son Shane, who is interested in manufacturing and design
improvement. The middle son Jamie manages the farm with his father Niels and
does contracting work driving the SoilKee Renovator on other properties. The
youngest son Shaun helps in all aspects of the farm and family business. Marja
manages the administration side of the farm and the business whilst Niels
oversees operations. The sons are happy that they get to keep working on the
family farm, Niels and Marja are pleased that their sons continue to play an
active role in their lives.
Soil Health and Soil Carbon
Sequestration
Commencing in 2016 detailed soil tests were undertaken on Hallora to meet the reporting requirements of the Australian Government’s Emissions Reduction Fund carbon abatement reporting requirements. Results for the 2017 reporting period showed Hallora measured 12.2 t/CO2e/ha and in 2018 this had increased to 13.7 tCO2e/ha.In early 2019 the Soilkee Farm became the first farm in the world (as far as we can ascertain) to be awarded carbon credits for sequestering carbon with their soil.
Increased carbon in the soil has correlated with
increases in organic matter, water infiltration and holding capacity. Moisture
and organic material were previously measured to reach a depth of 50cm in the
soil, currently on some parts of the farm that depth has increased to 650cm.
The pH of the soil has also improved from 3.7-4.5 prior to 2003 to currently
measure at 5.5-7.9.
Nitrogen nodules on the roots of peas planted in the pasture are numerous and large in size and commonly observed. Worm castings are evident across the property and the soil structure has altered to feel spongey under foot. During autumn the fruit of fungi in the form of mushrooms and toadstools are visible across the paddocks indicating a healthy fungal biota existing beneath the soil.
Conclusion
Over 34 years of management the Olsens have
continued learning about their landscape and the importance of the soil
underneath it. Niels and family have altered their management practices to
focus on building soil health and resilience across the farm to ensure long
term viability. The most significant innovation that Niels has implemented on
the farm is the use of the SoilKee Renovator, which has improved the health of their
soil in conjunction with growing significantly more pasture biomass across the
property. Other innovations include monitoring soil, introducing multi-species
pasture and switching from dairy to beef.
The improvements the Olsen family have made to the
property are an outstanding example of land holders implementing and practicing
innovative regenerative management techniques particularly focused on nurturing
soil health. The Olsen’s have achieved:
Soil microbiology enhancements
Soil hydration improvements
Improvements in carrying capacity of land
No low season feed inputs
Air penetration of soils
Biodiversity
Family wellbeing
Carbon sequestration in the soils
Australian Carbon Credit Units which can be traded.
The Olsen’s started viewing and managing their property as a system and as a result the ecology of the farm has improved dramatically, so too have the social benefits as the family that works together, stays together.
Ecological summary
The ecology of the Olsen Family Farm speaks for itself, the soil is thriving, full of worms and root systems packed with nitrogen nodules and soil carbon levels are excellent and still rising. Above the ground a diverse range of birds and frogs are now regularly seen in the grassy paddocks.
Economic summary
Despite the publicity about the Olsen Family Farm being the first in Australia to acquire ACCU’s under the federal governments Emissions Reduction Fund, the fact remains an integrated approach to regenerative agriculture pays off. Increasing natural capital and the resultant ecosystem service benefits provides greater productivity and landscape resilience, the ACCU’s are the cream on top!
Social summary
The entire family works together on managing the property and their associated business ventures. Being able to work on the family farm into adulthood provides each of the three sons a great deal of job satisfaction. Needless to say Niels and Marja are pleased to have all three of their sons around.
Are you our next case study? If you have a story of change to tell about your regenerative landscape practices, we’d love to hear from you! Find out more here.
Bill and Rhonda Daly (Milgadara), Dr Shane Powell (University of Tasmania) and Kirsty Yeates (Soils For Life) (front, L-R) join these farmers to talk about their needs in designing a tool to monitor soil biology.
The Soil CRC is all
about giving farmers the knowledge and tools they need to make decisions on
complex soil management issues. Soils For Life is proud to be a partner in what
is Australia’s largest collaborative soil research initiative. The recent eNose
Workshop in Young, NSW with the University of Tasmania was certainly an example
of the focus on farmers!
There aren’t too many on-farm ways to assess and monitor the health of soil microbial communities. We all recognise that delicious, earthy smell of healthy soil or recoil when we smell a soil that we just know isn’t right. Using these aromas, researchers from the University of Tasmania (UTAS) are leading a Soil CRC project to develop an electronic nose (the ‘eNose’) to help monitor and diagnose soil health.
Dr. Rob Hardy in the lab building an eNose prototype.
There are some real challenges to building a tool to monitor
soil biology. Dr Rob Hardy (UTAS) is exploring ways to build a suitable sensor
array from low cost, off-the shelf components. To make sure the technology is
useful, useable and provides the information that farmers are looking for, Dr
Shane Powell (UTAS) teamed up with Kirsty Yeates from Soils for Life and we
headed out to Young to find out what farmers think.
Bill and Rhonda Daly, from Milgadara, are well known at Soils For Life for their long-term focus on building healthy living soils as well as sharing their knowledge. You can read about their story here. It was a great place to start and they were only too happy to host us, along with a group of farmers from around the region for the day.
A tour of YLAD’s compost facility demonstrated how to quickly build a healthy, humus-rich compost. Getting the temperature right, as well as the soil moisture, the right microbes and ratio of carbon to nitrogen inputs were all critical to high quality compost.
Bill and Rhonda show us around YLAD’s compost facility.Great compost takes precision. Here’s Bill Daly monitoring the conditions in this newly forming compost pile.
It’s been a long dry period but with a quick, intense storm the night before we moved out to the paddock to see mushrooms popping up through the soil. It was perfect to dig into the soil and see what we could smell.
Even after a tough season, a short sharp storm the night before had fully soaked in and we easily dug into the soil.
As a microbial ecologist, Shane Powell, knows only too well how complicated living soil can be. She shared insights into the many roles that the microbial communities have: nutrient cycling, decomposition, causing disease, suppressing disease, building soil structure and even promoting plant growth.
Dr Shane Powell shares insights on soil biology and leads the workshop to find out what farmers need in an ‘eNose’ tool. An early assembly of the ‘eNose’ using off the shelf components.
From here, we moved into a pretty lively discussion. Everyone
shared what problems they were trying to solve and talked about the type of
things they were prepared to do to find out more about their soil biology. A
lot of ideas were generated about how the device could be used and what it
could add to the information farmers currently use to help manage their soils.
For everyone that came along to talk about soil biology and
share their ideas, we say thank you! This is what the best, collaborative
science is all about. Space to focus and think about what farmers really need,
as well as support from the science community to develop much needed new
technologies and understanding.
There’s a lot to do but keep your eye out and we’ll let you
know how the project goes.
It is wonderful to see some rain at least in eastern Australia. So I would hope we are all doing what we can to re-hydrate parched landscapes making the best use possible of those techniques to “slow the flow”! The highlight of the month has been a very well patronised Maia Grazing field day, “Grazing in Extremes” near Ebor NSW where the emphasis was on information and best-practice sustainable grazing techniques and management promoting the creation and nurturing of productive healthy soils and pasture. There was an impressive list of speakers including Dr Christine Jones, Jim Gerrish and Bart Davidson to name a few.
Chairman Soils For Life welcomes over 350 people to Wilmot Cattle Co. for the Maia Grazing field day.
The field day featured world-class speakers on soil health, wise grazing practice and what natural capital is all about and why it is so topical now, together with a very touching account of Alex and Nic Anderson’s journey down the path to adoption of regenerative practice in harsh climatic and seasonal extremes.
Well over 350 people listen to Bart Davidson’s address on the importance of farm planning. CEO Rod Chisholm fields enquiries from farmers looking to get tips on making a start with regenerative practices. Attendees gaining insight into soil health and and wiser grazing practices.
We took dozens of enquiries on the day and
gave away numerous copies of case studies and pamphlets.
If you would like to find out more,
check-out our website and social media feeds and perhaps consider being the
subject of a case study if you have a good regenerative farming practice story
to tell. On another note, I am leaving
soon for family reasons and returning to Brisbane. It has been a great year and
I encourage everyone to learn as much as you can about regenerative farming
practice and implement against a well-considered plan!
Weeds are one of the major
problems affecting Australia’s natural ecosystems and agricultural vegetation.
Weeds have major impacts on the health, safety, amenity, economic well-being
and quality of life of Australians (McNaught et al. 2006). However, deciding
what is and isn’t a weed is complicated but important. Statements such as “all
plants are good” or “all non-native plants are weeds” are inflexible statements
and do not encourage viewing the environment in question as a system made up of
numerous functioning parts.
The Cambridge Dictionary definition
of a “weed” is any plant that is considered to be undesirable in a particular
location (Dictionary 2016). It is a rather loose definition; it is open for
personal interpretation. For example, the blackberry (Rubus fruticosus agg.) was brought to
Australia from Britain in the 1840’s, it was introduced for its fruit and
suitability for growing into hedges (DPIE 2020). Shortly after introduction,
the plant spread widely throughout the south-east of Australia choking up
waterways and pastures and by the 1880’s many people considered it to be a weed
(DPEI 2020). However, some people look for the positive effects that weeds can
provide in an environment. In landscapes that have been highly modified for
agricultural production Blackberry bushes provide habitat for smaller bird
species such as the superb fairywren (Malurus
cyaneus) (Nias 1984). Whilst providing habitat for a few species of birds
is important, the value of this service must be considered alongside the
negative impacts weeds can have on the environment.
Some plants are labelled as “weedy”
because of their ability to outcompete other plants, invade and colonise disturbed
land and create monocultures. Monocultures caused by invasive species can have
detrimental effects on local wildlife, reducing their habitat and food supplies
(Ferdinands et al. 1984). A characteristic of many weeds is their ability to more
successfully occupy some locations where native plants once thrived, thus pushing
native plants to the fringes. For some species this results in localised
extinction and in extreme cases can result in total species extinction (Groves
& Willis 1999). In some agricultural landscapes some weed incursions have
proven so extreme that agricultural production is forced to stop completely.
The prickly pear invasion of the 1930s in central Queensland is a case in
point.
Currently in Australia some
plants are considered to be noxious weeds and various state governments legally
require that landholders must undertake methods to control noxious weeds,
failure to do so can result in fines. African lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula) and serrated tussock (Nassella trichotoma) are two examples of plants which must be
controlled within the state of New South Wales (NSW DPI 2019). African
lovegrass and serrated tussock are known for their ability to outcompete other
grass species, native and non-natives alike, they are both largely unpalatable
with little nutritional value for livestock or native animals (NSW DPI 2019). Strong
cases have been made for actively controlling and removing African lovegrass
(Curhes et al. 2009) and serrated tussock (Sinden et al. 2004).
African Lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula)Close up of Tussock grass (Eragrostis curvula) in messy formation on dry ground
There are, however, those who advocate
for the value of weeds: permaculturists use the term “naturalised” rather than
“invasive” species. This term change within the permaculture movement stems
from the consideration that all plants can be useful and provide a function to
the environment (Holmgren 2011). Their argument is that naturalised species
fill an important function/s which was previously lacking from the environment.
An example of a weed which provides an ecological function is galvanised burr (Sclerolaena birchii). It is native to
the rangelands of Australia and appears typically after periods of drought and is
found in areas that have been highly disturbed e.g. overgrazed by livestock. Galvanised
burr acts as a scab, covering bare ground and aiding soil health in repairing
after periods of high stress (Auld 1981). As such, invasive plants like
galvanised burr can be used an indicator of land condition.
Galvanised burr (Sclerolaena birchii) provides ecological function
Within the regenerative
agriculture movement there is no uniform idea or opinion of weeds. Some land
managers subscribe to the theory that every plant has a function and should be
promoted whilst others recognise the damage particular plant species can cause.
Some regenerative land managers in grazing landscapes have shown that their
understanding of the vulnerabilities of weed ecology and biology can be used to
control and remove weeds. For example, promoting the succession of pasture
species through paddock rotations involving intensive short grazing periods combined
with long recovery times without any grazing can result in weeds being
outcompeted by desired pasture species.
The term “weed” means many
different things to many different people. When assessing if a plant is a
“weed” it is worth considering that some plants that are considered weeds can
provide valuable ecological functions at different times and in certain
circumstances. Conversely, plant species which dominate an ecosystem and cause
extinction of other species through the creation of monocultures should not be
encouraged, either inadvertently or deliberately. Use of the term “weed” should
be used advisedly and should involve consideration of the likely positive and
negative effects that a plant species has on the landscape.
References:
Auld, B.A. (1981). Aspects of the
population ecology of Galvanised Burr (Sclerolaena birchii). The Rangeland Journal, 3(2),
pp.142-148.
Curhes, S. Leigh, C. and Walton,
C. (2009). Weed risk assessment: African lovegrass Eragrostis curvula.
Dictionary, o. (2016). weed
Meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary. [online] Dictionary.cambridge.org.
Available at: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/weed [Accessed
7 March 2020].
Ferdinands, K., Beggs, K. and
Whitehead, P. (2005). Biodiversity and invasive grass species: multiple-use or
monoculture?. Wildlife Research, 32(5), pp.447-457.
Groves, R.H. and Willis, A.J. (1999).
Environmental weeds and loss of native plant biodiversity: some Australian
examples. Australian Journal of
Environmental Management, 6(3), pp.164-171.
Holmgren, D. (2011). Weeds or
wild nature: a permaculture perspective. Plant Protection Quarterly, 26(3), p.92.
McNaught, I., Thackway, R., Brown, L., and
Parsons, M. (2006). A field manual for
surveying and mapping nationally significant weeds. Bureau of Rural
Sciences, Canberra.
Nias, R. C. (1984). Territory
quality and group size in the superb fairy-wren Malurus cyaneus. Emu 84:
178-180.
NSW Department of Primary
Industries. (2019). African lovegrass (Eragrostis
curvula) [online]. Available at: https://weeds.dpi.nsw.gov.au/Weeds/Details/3
[Accessed 7 March 2020].
Sinden, J. Jones, R. Hester, S. Odom, D. Kalisch, C. James, R. Cacho, O. and Griffith, G. (2004). The economic impact of weeds in Australia. Technical Series, 8.
Hear from Brian Hughes, Senior Consultant at Primary Industries and Regions South Australia, talk about the effects of fire on soils and farming systems and his experience of changes in the landscape and how they recover. Unsure about what might come back, Brian suggests pasture testing by wetting up a small region (up to 30cm in diameter) to see what might return.
The effects of the drought keep on mounting and it would seem
the most recently casualties have been many of our native trees. Many Landcare
and community members have reported dead and dying trees, and most have
observed it seems to have intensified in recent weeks.
Speaking today with Dr Mason Crane from Sustainable Farms,
part of the Australian National University’s Conservation Landscape Ecology
group, this dieback we are currently seeing is widespread. North of Sydney,
down along the coast and reaching into the far south of the state also.
“Extensive tree dieback was seen during the Millennium
Drought”, observed Dr Crane, “however what we are seeing now is possibly on a
scale we have not previously observed.”
Weaker trees, due to existing stresses of isolation, stock
pressure and shallow soils, are most vulnerable. Particular species like the
shallow rooted Stringy Bark, the moisture favouring Blakelys Red Gum, or
species on the edge of their range may be the first to go.
Trees become water stressed, and stressed trees tend to send
more nitrates into their leaves. Insects are attracted to leaves with higher
nitrate levels so concentrate their feeding, overwhelming the tree and
compounding the stress it is under. Fertilisers and stock camps also increase
the nitrates in tree leaves.
Trees will try and recover using their epicormic re-growth,
however if conditions remain dry their reserves eventually become so depleted
this is not possible.
The final blow will come after we do receive drought breaking
rain. Many trees that have managed to hang on will have suffered extensive root
dieback. If strong winds accompany the lifesaving rain, many trees will be blown
over.
Saving our trees is not easy. Dr Crane explained “ground
cover is the best help. Ground cover helps conserve moisture and regulate soil
temperature”.
Trees that are fenced off will have mulch protecting them and
greatly reduced stock pressure. Whilst it is not possible to do it for hundreds
of trees, putting straw or some kind of mulch around particular trees of
concern will help.
For the future, when revegetating is back on the agenda,
prioritise protecting as many trees as possible. Paddocks containing lots of
trees should be treated differently to others, for example; only used
occasionally for off-shears. Where possible, fencing for new plantings can also
incorporate some existing trees.
Our resilient landscape has its limits. We can no longer take
trees in our landscape for granted.
Illawong’s approach to regenerative practices, incorporating old paddock trees in new plantings.
TURNING “DISASTER” INTO DELIGHT AT ILLAWONG
Bryan Ward’s property, Illawong, comprises 160 hectares and carries up to 140 beef cattle at any one time. While this is a relatively small property, it is perhaps typical of thousands of farms producing beef in Australia. There’s a trend to smaller holdings, many operated by people with little farming background.
