Angus and Kelly began implementing rotational grazing and creating smaller paddock sizes in 2002, and they learned to continuously monitor the environment to match their stocking rate to carrying capacity. They regularly review their livestock numbers and trade in and out of livestock, which gives them more opportunities to sell to more diverse markets across the year and manage their risk. 

The Whytes emphasise that they haven’t made ‘one single change’ to get to where they are, but a series of changes over time. Angus says that ‘change equals [more] change’ and that since we last spoke to them, things have continued to evolve in managing Wyndham Station and more recently Willow Point. 

After about 10 years of rotational grazing, they noticed that their system and results had plateaued and that although rotational grazing creates changing circumstances for each paddock, ‘you can become too fixed in how you run that, and the system comes to expect the change.’ They asked themselves what other changes they could make to bring about genuine diversity through more change and continued improvement. They call this an approach of ‘planned chaos.’ Some of these changes have involved making better use of green grass when it is available and allowing more extended rest so that trees and shrubs can regenerate and produce more leaves. For some paddocks, this could involve a year of rest followed by less intense grazing and shorter rest periods, whilst for other paddocks, this may be a more intensive growing regime. 

Taking a ‘planned chaos’ approach means that the Whytes are continuously looking for and monitoring indicators in their environment and business and making adjustments based on what they see. They call this ‘communicating’ with the farm, and Angus says that when planning the year ahead, the only thing not up for discussion is this good communication. They continue to find better ways to monitor different aspects of their business through indicators that relate to the health of the environment, the well-being of the family, and the productivity of the farm.

They have observed significant improvements over the last 20 years, including increased plant diversity and growth and reduced erosion. In addition, they have experienced increased productivity and a more effective use of labour on the farm. These improvements have driven them to discover what was happening in their soil and landscape and why. 

As part of the Rangelands Living Skin project, producers are running low-cost trials of various, scalable practices that they hope will offer multiple benefits. The trials include a  trial chosen by the farmer (demonstration site), as well as replicated trials across the farms, and remote sensing data to reflect grazing management. 

Mechanical Intervention

The Whytes have created plot trials of mechanical interventions to create water ponding areas at Willow Point. Between February and June 2022, a grader was used to construct more than 60 U-shaped earth banks, measuring 500mm high and 2m across at the bottom. These areas were paired with various treatments such as liquid vermicast foliar spray, solid vermicast and biochar. 

The mechanical interventions in the landscape aim to encourage water infiltration into the soil and can be used to reclaim scalded country and rehydrate rangeland landscapes. When these areas fill with water, the sodic top layers of soil are diluted, which promotes vegetation growth.

The Whytes were keen to use this method to rehydrate a large clay pan area. Angus emphasises that mechanical interventions should always complement other management techniques to deliver long-term and more significant impacts. While the intervention might only be on 200-300 hectares of a paddock, they have found that the intervention might have a benefit right across the whole paddock. 

‘You know, mechanical intervention is wonderful. If it’s not paired with decent livestock management, the benefits will be short-lived. If we can pair it long-term with good livestock management, then we can get significant long-term change.’ – Angus

The Whytes have observed that the ponds have retained a lot of water, and seven months after construction, the ponds are already influencing the landscape. According to Angus, ‘there is certainly an increased growth of salt bushes and other annuals in places where there were previously no plants.’ 

Income Diversification

One of the key questions that the Rangelands Living Skin project explores is whether the practices trialled by the core producers can help to diversify farm income. The Whytes have diversified their income through trading livestock at different times throughout the year and will continue to diversify this through a goat enterprise, and by exploring ecosystem services markets.

Image 8. Trial design sample (Source: DPI, 2022).

Image 9. Biochar on the soil surface at Wyndham, October 2022 (Image source DPI).

Image 10. Replicated plot trial site – Wyndham Station (Image source Gus Whyte).