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Low profile contour banks - game changer for Qld grazier
Just seven months after purchasing a 56,000-acre grazing property north of Quilpie, Dan & Louise Hoch together with brother-in-law Alan Truss have quadrupled the volume of feed on sections of their property despite under average rainfall.
Mr Hoch credits the success on 'Maybe' to the installation of low profile contour banks or spreader banks on clay pan country where water was causing erosion and running off with very minimal infiltration.
He says they found out about this new concept of spreading and slowing down the water during a field day hosted by Southern Queensland Landscapes.
"About six months before we bought 'Maybe' we had attended a field day at 'The Lake' near Quilpie, where soil conservation expert Ray Thompson gave a talk about spreader bank," Mr Hoch said.
"And when we saw the clay pan country on 'Maybe' we thought it would be the perfect opportunity to trial the concept and see if we could harness the power of the flood plains to re-establish native grasslands and increase feed volumes," he said.
Roughly 20km of low profile contour or spreader banks were installed on 'Maybe' over a two day period during December 2020.
"A spreader bank is built by a grader and surveyed to a perfect level not to stop but to spread water allowing the water to soak into the ground and grass to grow," Mr Hoch said.
"About two weeks after installing these contour banks we got about 2 inches of rain; and within a month of the work we had feed. I was just so surprised at how quickly the grass came up," he said.
"The result means a huge amount to our enterprise in the areas that we have installed the spreader banks and we would have easily increased production or volume of feed in these areas by 3 or 4 times."
"It means the grass lasts longer and instead of having to move stock away we can keep them in this area for longer."
At an approximate cost of $4 an acre, which includes dry-hire of a grader, Mr Hoch said it's not too expensive for the production value the banks create and that he plans on doing a lot more restoration banks on his property in the near future.
"I highly recommend trying the spreader banks to anyone who wants to give it a go and on problem areas of their property and suggest they do a trial and see how it goes; but I am sure they will like the concept and get the results they want.
"The introduction of the spreader banks has been a game changer for us and it will turn low production country in high production country long term."
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The Condamine Headwaters, a critical ecosystem in Southern Queensland, has long faced threats from sedimentation, habitat degradation, and thermal regime changes. The Blackfish Project, dedicated to reversing these impacts, unites scientists, landowners, and the community in a shared mission to restore and protect this vital environment. At its core lies the river blackfish, a sensitive indicator of the overall ecosystem health. Central to the project's success is the unwavering commitment of landowners like Paul Graham. Inspired by the project's vision, Paul reached out to SQ Landscapes seeking support for a solar pump and tank to divert his cattle away from waterways on his property. Paul's deep-rooted love for his land, captured in his humorous quip "I love my land more than I love my wife," is a testament to the powerful connection between people and place that drives conservation efforts.
The Board of Southern Queensland Landscapes recently met in Toowoomba. In addition to the Board meeting, Board and Executive worked through updating SQ Landscapes’ strategy. Company Secretary Pam Murphy highlighted the importance of the latest Board meeting and what it means for the company’s future. “The updated strategy will help SQ Landscapes deliver sustainable natural resource management (NRM) outcomes that improve the lives of people in regional communities now and for the future,” Pam Murphy said. “We’re excited to continue delivering value for our region and build Flourishing Landscapes and Healthy Communities across Southern Queensland under the guidance of the Board,” Mrs Murphy said.
Annual General Meeting When: Wednesday, 13 December 2023 Where: Online via Zoom Time : 9.00am for 9.30am start
When Sophie and Adrian McInnerney began adopting their “paddock to plate” experiment into their lambing business, they quickly discovered how a new and exciting approach to running their enterprise transformed their resilience and soil health. Multi-species cover cropping was the answer, and now their business has become a diverse enterprise that has embraced variations in livestock feed and crop rotation, building riparian fencing, and investing in healthier soils. This has opened the young couple to new opportunities to create new revenue streams, protect their business against natural disasters, drought, and prepare for economic hardships. Their property, “Bellhaven Brook”, located just an hour east of Goondiwindi, was the site of Macintyre Ag Alliance’s latest Multi-Species Cropping Field Day. With the support of Southern Queensland Landscapes (SQ Landscapes), the event aimed to promote the McInnerney family’s new land practices, offering an opportunity to educate land managers in the region of new ways to strengthen their property and enterprise. SQ Landscapes’ Goondiwindi-based Project Delivery Officer Keith Walker joined land managers for the workshop and highlighted how multi-species cover cropping could pave the way to rebuilding healthy soils and farming enterprises. “What was great about visiting ‘Bellhaven Brook’ is that you don’t have to be a scientist to understand this stuff. The idea is to just try and experiment like the McInnerneys did,” Keith Walker said. “These cover cropping systems are all about building your experience, experimenting and slowly developing a healthier and richer soil profile; which is the basis of all businesses; cropping and grazing alike.” Mr Walker said. “It was interesting to see the range of people, the ages from young and old, and the differences in enterprises. It’s a reminder that this genre of agriculture is starting conversations,” he said. “It’s all about implementation on the ground and getting the results for less money and experimenting with what people are doing.”
Cool burns, camels, and funding for local farmers were on the agenda at 'Risdon Stud' as land managers Nick and Liz Suduk hosted the Southern Queensland Landscapes and Department of Resources site visit to showcase the success of the Natural Resources Investment Program 2018-2022 (NRIP). Risdon Stud, south of Warwick, was primarily a high-intensity horse stud, but under new ownership with the Suduk family, the focus has been on restoring productivity and landscape health. “The Suduks participated in the NRIP project, where they received on-site guidance from First Nations fire practitioner Robbie Williams from Fire Lore, for cool burning in native vegetation areas,” Project Delivery Lead Natasha Mylonas said. “This was their first exposure to this type of burning and they have since embarked on a journey towards building their confidence in applying it elsewhere on the property,” Ms Mylonas said. “The NRIP project also supported livestock fencing, largely to exclude cattle from a large patch of remnant vegetation, combined with weed management in that remnant vegetation,” she said. “It is really difficult to muster out of the remnant vegetation, so the fencing has meant easier mustering of the cattle, as well as reduced weed spread and damage to the native vegetation in the patch.” “Outside of the NRIP project, they maintain a herd of agisted camels as part of their weed management strategy and experimented with fire to manage wattle regrowth,” Natasha Mylonas said.