Farm Forestry is helping landholders diversify their income, improve natural resources, and is establishing a reputation as a 'saving grace' in farm production.
Project Details
Project: Farm Forestry
Property: ‘Cresso’
Location: Ladysmith, NSW
Size: 484 ha
Enterprises: Cropping, Wool, Lambs
Key Points
8.8ha Farm Forestry plantings
Salinity managed in conjunction with Perennial Pasture establishment
More plantings set for 2007
Plans for paddock shelter-belt plantings
A New Direction
Ladysmith landholder Chris Plum is doing things a little differently. Since planting Farm Forestry on his property, Chris has seen the benefits of a project offering a potential income, production benefits, and improved water quality.
Stock Savings
“We were shearing in February of 2005. One day the temperature would be 40 degrees, the next, 14 and raining,” explains property owner, Chris Plum.
“Given the irregular weather conditions, I was faced with the unfavourable options of putting off the shearers, or shedding the stock.”
But Chris did have another option, thanks to the farm forestry plantings he had established 18 months prior.
Chris moved his shorn sheep in amongst the trees in one of the plots.
“That February one bloke lost a couple of hundred sheep, but I lost only one.
“The trees protected the stock from the harsh conditions and all but one of my stock survived.”
Good Preparation Essential
At just 18 months old, the forestry plot on ‘Cresso’ (located in the mid Murrumbidgee catchment) was able to provide adequate shelter to protect stock.
Murrumbidgee CMA Farm Forestry Officer, Rob Kuiper, says strong growth rates are a result of good preparation and seasonal conditions.
“The ground was ripped at the right time, and cultivated to maximise root growth,” Rob explains.
“The soil was then mounded to lift it higher and avoid waterlogging of the roots in the early stages.
“Weed control is critical to ensure strong growth, and Chris’s weed management ensured the trees got the best start in life.”
Chris says if he was to do anything differently, he would not mound in areas away from wet or saline areas.
“It’s a bugger to get the stock out of, so I’d only mound where it was necessary for the health of the trees.”
Salinity Benefits
While the trees are certainly doing their bit to address salinity in the area, Chris thinks farmers need to adopt a ‘catchment-wide approach’.
“A lot of my salinity problem is a result of run-off from other areas. Projects like these need to be taken up across a whole area to achieve it’s full potential.”
Chris also manages salinity on his property through the establishment of perennial pastures, and is planning further native vegetation plantings as shelter belts.
A Change in Thinking
“Ten to twelve years ago I wasn’t prepared to give up land for something like this,” Chris says.
“Back then I would have only done it because the trees and the fencing were paid for.
“But today the thinking has changed, and I realise [farming practices] we were doing back then just aren’t sustainable anymore.
“I read articles and saw what others were doing, and learnt you could use land for forestry and vegetation plantings without compromising productivity.”
Chris believes other farmers will need to change their thinking if we are to
maintain a productive landscape and continue sustainable farming.
Future Plans
With 13.9ha of existing Farm Forestry
plots, and more planned for 2007, Chris is looking to the future to boost productivity and manage salinity on the property.
“I now see the benefits to establishing windbreaks for every paddock,” he explains.
Chris is planning 30m-wide shelter-belt plantings of native vegetation for his paddocks, along with further establishment of perennial pastures.
“The under-storey is just as important as the trees,” he says.
“It provides habitat and food for native birds and wildlife in the area.”
