The Central West was fortunate to have Gabe Brown speaking at the Stipa Conference last week at Eurimbla. It was a full house at the Eurimbla Hall on Friday. Eurimbla is located north-east of Cumnock for those who haven’t been fortunate enough to drive out that way.

Gabe and his family run 5,000 acres of owned and leased land in Bismark, North Dakota, practising Holistic Management with a focus on improving soil health and no-till farming in his largely grazing operation.

When they took over the property from his wife’s family in 1991 they continued the traditional cropping program with synthetic fertilisers and then had to address the imminent onset of weeds in the cycle and low water penetration. It was then that he started looking into soil biology and maintains the mantra of ‘solve the problem, don’t just treat the symptom’. 

Gabe spoke a lot about mimicking nature to solve problems and the important role that stands of native vegetation can play in developing a sense of what the quality of the soil would have been originally and even testing using this soil on a small patch to gain an appreciation of the difference that the microorganisms make in that section of planting. Following on from that, the mycorrhizal fungi from these natural areas develop a symbiotic relationship with plants and increase tolerance in adverse weather conditions.

Gabe believes that monocultures are a detriment to soil health and may plant up to ten species to establish layered pasture. He also recognised the importance of flowering plants to increase bee activity and pollination. 

The Carbon/Nitrogen nutrient ratio is of importance when selecting species for planting, for optimal growth and development of plants. Diversity below the ground level is just as important as above. The follow-on impact of all of these combine to reduce soil temperature and increase regeneration. We were encouraged to look at yield verses profit and to recognise the important difference between the two. 

At the workshop we were also fortunate to have Col Seis who has been pasture cropping for many years and Graeme Hand, the CEO of Stipa Native Grasses Association. Both of these men have a wealth of experience that was fed through the talk.

The last of the Lachlan Valley Branch of the National Parkes Association walks was held this week and their last function for the year will be the Christmas Party at Bumberry Dam on December 4 from 5pm. BYO drinks, nibbles etc. Call Martin Bell on 0429 346 586.

Only a few more days left with our current Skillset Green Army Team. They have been working hard and I will talk more about them next week.

I hope that they will be able to take with them fond memories of their time working with us and be able to pursue jobs and gain more experience once they graduate from the program. I will certainly miss them. Visit www.centralwestlachlanlandcare.org

 Until next week, happy Landcaring!