Case Study Report: Australia

Core Activity: Environmental rehabilitation; Organic farming; Sustainable agriculture

Summary

The case is situated in the Mallee, a semi-arid zone in Victoria, Australia. This is marginal land made up of large dryland holdings of cereals and sheep, it is dry and prone to wind erosion, and only two miles from the Big Desert National Park. Anthony Sheldon's believes that, if sensitively restored and worked responsibly, the Mallee is good, reliable farming country. His property is 1,000 hectares, and

carries 1,600 sheep. He has used his own deep understanding of the land with advice from Kym Kingdon, a permaculturalist, to change away from traditional methods of dryland farming. Anthony Sheldon's farm contributes to sustainability by: practicing "chemical free" organic farming; the use of gypsum is making the soil more fertile and workable; the introduction of alley farming and the planting of "living haystacks" provides shelter and fodder for stock, helps prevent soil erosion and reduces water evaporation; modification of farming practices have reduced weeds; his new farming methods have increased biodiversity and encouraged natural predators to return; and he is actively involved in educating and inspiring others about this new approach.

The objectives were to:

• restore the property to a level which could sustain a balance between crops, stock and local biodiversity;
• improve the fertility and productivity of sandhills;
• create a wind break from prevailing winds;
• reduce the effects of erosion;
• reduce financial and environmentally costly inputs;
• develop an organic approach to broadacre farming.

Duration: This case has been developed since 1985.

The process was initiated by: Anthony Sheldon and Kym Kingdon.

• stop soil erosion;
• declining production;
• increasing weed problems;
• to reduce an increasing reliance on chemicals.

Within a remarkably short period this case has:

• established shelter belts;
• assisted in dune reclamation;
• provided stock fodder supplementary feed areas using native species;
• improvement in the structure/humus levels and organic carbon levels of soil;
• the regeneration of biodiversity;
• dramatic reduction in inputs;
• dramatic increase in productivity and quality of crops and livestock.

Anthony Sheldon's farm contributes to sustainability by:

• practicing "chemical free" farming (he no longer uses superphosphate, other fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides);
• the use of gypsum is making the soil more fertile and workable;
• the introduction of alley farming and the planting of "living haystacks" provides shelter and fodder for stock and helps prevent soil erosion;
• modification of farming practices have reduced weeds;
• his new farming methods have increased biodiversity and encouraged natural predators to return; and,
• he is actively involved in educating and inspiring others about this new method.

Anthony Sheldon runs a 1,000 hectare sheep and cereal farm in the Mallee in north west Victoria. The Sheldon family have farmed this area since it was opened up for selection in the 1910's. This Mallee area was heavily cleared in the 1920s, exposing the sand dunes to massive wind erosion. The Big Desert scrub lies only two miles away. However Anthony believes that, if sensitively estored and worked responsibly, the Mallee is good, reliable farming country. His farm has been nominated for two state Landcare awards for his improvements to the environment and productivity.

• healthier stock, as a result of a improved diet and green feed in summer;
• a noticeable drop in fly strike and reduction in the need to drench stock;
• improvement in quality and evenness of fleece, the fleece is softer and whiter, mircron has increased to 17.5

• in 1986 he began applying gypsum to the low lying clay areas of the farm to break up heavy soils and make the land more fertile and workable;
• Anthony has modified his seeding machinery and sows cereals densely to discourage weeds. The crops are 95-100% weed free;
• when mature, the wood lots, native shrubs and alley farming will provide shelter and have a beneficial effect on the water table. These will also stem soil erosion.

• Anthony has returned to the four year rotation system used in the Mallee by earlier generations using wheat, barley, pasture and fallow;
• He is now experimenting with alley farming: planting rows of Saltbush at 200 metre intervals across the best cropping ground;
• In 1992 Anthony began ‘chemical free farming’. He no longer applies superphosphate, other fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides;
• Anthony no longer tills the sand dune areas of his property which are now reserved for sheep. He has planted ‘living haystacks’- rows of Acacia, River Saltbush and Old Man Saltbush - which provide shelter and living fodder for the sheep and stabilize the dunes. This provides the equivalent of 2,000 bales of hay every four months. As the sheep are no longer grazing on pasture there is a reduction in soil erosion. Between the rows Anthony is encouraging deep-rooted perennial pasture such as lucerne, evening primrose and clover;
• Anthony has reduced paddock sizes which has assisted in: reducing wind erosion, improved conditions for stock as nearly all fence lines have shrubs;
• some sand hill areas have been exclusively fenced for stock only and within these enclosures the alley distances have been reduced to approximately 20 metres, as these areas will no longer be cultivated for cropping;
• Anthony has incorporated slow release organic rock mineral fertilizers, in addition to this, he sprays when required, microbial soil activator to increase microbe populations and activity above and beneath the soil level;
• savings from the use of well maintained older equipment have allowed more resources to be directed toward land restoration.

• more than 14,000 trees (wood lot and wind breaks) have been planted, with the goal of planting 30,000;
• 70,000 fodder shrubs have been planted with the aim to build this to 250,000 in the next 4 years;
• the extensive planting of trees and shrubs have increased biodiversity of birds, plants and insects;
• use of perennial plants have reduced annual weeds.

• This case would be suitable for similar dryland environments that are trying to maintain sustainable farming on marginal lands with wind erosion problems;
• The fundamental factor is for farmers to understand the local indigenous environment in which they farm and to learn to adapt to and re-built this landscape. All plants should be sourced from local indigenous varieties.

Factors that make this case sustainable:

The application of gypsum stopped water logging and run-off. The use of shelter belts of trees and shrubs reduce wind and assist in reducing the loss of water from evaporation. This means that rainfall becomes more effectively used, a greater proportion of water is able to infiltrate the soil and become available to plants for growth. The use of shelterbelts assist in increasing crop and pasture growth.

Senior Curator, Technology Program

Museum Victoria

Melbourne

AUSTRALIA 3001

b. Museum Victoria's "Future Harvest" exhibition, education kit, website, 1998.

c. "Broadacre organics works wonders on cereal crops", South Australian Stock Journal, 18 September 1997, p. 25; "Permaculture to keep farmers on the land", South Australian Stock Journal, November 1998, p. 4.