Archives for June 2018

Furrow-closer on the cards

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Ian Brooks from Reef Catchments and Ryan Axiak.
Reef Catchments Ian Brooks (left) presents the award, received on the family’s behalf by son Ryan Axiak, who actively works on the family farm.

Congratulations to Fred, Janelle, and Ryan Axiak – recent winners of the Reef Catchments Practice Adoption Award at the Plane Creek Productivity Services (PCPS) Productivity Awards Night.

Fred tells us more about what they’ll be doing toward reduced fertiliser use – including using a furrow-closer they have manufactured.

“This year we’re going to go from using liquid one shot on top of the ground, to putting our fertiliser in the ground. We decided to give it a go to try something different and basically we’re aiming to use less fertiliser.

“It is more work for us, but we’re hoping to perhaps grow our cane with a little less nutrients and cut out the losses.”

In addition, the Axiak’s have manufactured their own furrow-closer – with the design plan provided by SRA and EHS manufacturing.

“There’s a lot of stool splitters around but they can still leave the furrow and the ground open. If you get rain, you can still lose a lot of fertiliser,” Fred said.

“Furrow-closers come along behind the disc openers and fill the furrow in. We’re hoping it will make a bit of a difference. We manufactured it ourselves mostly because of the cost. We estimated we could manufacture it for about half the cost.”

The Axiak’s farm about 10km south of Koumala.

Could Syntropic Farming work for you?

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Does the thought of a food forest appeal to you? Syntropic farming mimics a forest’s interdependent plant relationships.

Reef Catchments recently sent Wendy Eiteneuer from Pioneer Catchment & Landcare Group Inc to Cairns to take part in an introductory Syntropic Farming Course. Wendy shares her learnings with us below.
Participation in the course was thanks to funding from the QNRM (Queensland Government’s Natural Resource Management Investment) program.

Syntropic Farming mimics a forest’s interdependent plant relationships – methods can be applied in food production. If planned correctly it is said a Syntropic system can produce an almost continual harvest of vegetable, fruits, herbs, flowers or forestry timber over a 20-40 year span.

– By Wendy Eiteneuer

Syntropic Farming is the brainchild of Swiss farmer and scientist, Ernst Götsch. Ernst moved to Brazil in the 1980’s, and spends his time there refining his Syntropic Farming methods and passing on his knowledge to others. Ernst has rehabilitated thousands of acres of cleared and degraded land back into the lush rainforest it was originally, while also producing abundant food crops.

I recently attended an Introductory Syntropic Farming Course on the Atherton Tableland, presented by Thiago Barbosa. Thiago has been a long-time student of Ernst Götsch, and now practices Syntropic Farming in Australia in the Byron Bay region of NSW as well as passing on the information through courses and workshops like the one I attended. I found the course to be very informative, and I feel that this is an exciting concept that can be used to improve agriculture in our region.

Syntropic Farming is a system that can be replicated anywhere, regardless of the location, land size, or soil type. It results in improved soil quality while also facilitating significant reductions in water and nutrient inputs. The five key principles of this method are:

Ground Cover – no bare dirt ever. If earth is not covered by a living plant it must be covered with mulch.
Maximise Photosynthesis – maximising the amount of photosynthesising foliage sequesters carbon, improves soil quality and produces abundant supplies of food.
Natural Succession – as a rainforest has a natural succession where there is always new life to replace old, so does a Syntropic Farming system.
Stratification – using plants with differing light requirements creates a multi-layered system of great diversity, creating resilience.
Management – managing a Syntropic system involves harvesting, pruning and monitoring to maintain groundcover.

What Syntropic Farming does is reproduce the interdependent relationships within a rainforest. If planned correctly a Syntropic system can produce an almost continual harvest of vegetable, fruits, herbs, flowers or forestry timber over a 20-40 year span. A key characteristic is that a wide variety of plants with all different lifespans and light requirements are planted at a very high density, just as you would see within a rainforest.

View the YouTube video, ‘Life in Syntropy’ below for more information.

 

 

Eungella a growing food bowl

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Eungella has the beginnings of a food bowl, with a few producers gaining momentum. We have multiple garlic growers, beef producers and a dairy. We anticipate in 2019, finger limes will be available commercially.

Eungella Finger Limes is located on Bee Creek at an altitude of 650m. Grower Jock Hansen, says there is untapped potential in Eungella.

“With a subtropical climate we can grow produce that is usually grown in South East Queensland and northern New South Wales. We can harvest and deliver this produce fresh to supplement the tropical produce available in the Pioneer Valley,” he said.

Jock is enthusiastic about farming in Eungella for many reasons. With high and consistent rainfall, there is little need for regular irrigation of crops. The surrounding rainforests ensure clean air and the soils are free-draining, nutritious and high in minerals.

Jock and his wife purchased the lantana infested bush block in 2014 and transformed it into an orchard. They place a strong emphasis on producing food with sound ecological practices. They chose not to use synthetic pesticides or fertilisers, and instead make mild manure-based fertilisers and compost teas to maintain soil nutrition.

In 2017, Reef Catchments assisted Jock with riparian tree planting to stabilise the creek banks to stop erosion, with the planting of wetland species along the bank of a high-flow system.

Jock has become a member of the Horticulture Working Group which discusses important changes in best practice.

Local food a standout success

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Reef Catchments is a proud sponsor of the annual Greater Whitsunday Food Network (GWFN) Farm to Plate Dinner and Bus Tour thanks to the National Landcare Programme.

Held over two days, the dinner and bus tour saw more than 220 people turn out to support and celebrate our local farmers and fare. It was the fourth annual milestone for the Farm to Plate events.

Reef Catchments General Manager, Katrina Dent, teamed up with Mackay Regional Council CEO Craig Doyle to MC the dinner, which was attended by 155 people.

“Reef Catchments partnership with the Greater Whitsunday Food Network aligns closely with our organisations’ values and objectives of our funding partners in the Australian Government National Landcare Program,” Ms Dent said.

“Reef Catchments have a very proactive sustainable agriculture team working with farmers across the region, and we are proud to support landholders through diverse programs.

“As an example, we have just finalised five years of Queensland Government support for sustainable agriculture to support farmers to improve soil health and water quality.”

The Dinner

Matt Golinski and local chefs surprised guests with their creativity. The outstanding dishes featured local seasonal produce paired with interesting and lesser known ingredients including the betel leaf, used to wrap Cloudbreak Eungella beef, seasoned with fresh ginger and garlic from Eungella’s Holistic Pantry.

Reef Catchments Regional Landcare Facilitator Juliane Kasiske, said it was fantastic to see all the planning pay off.

“A lot goes into these events, and it is great to see everyone in the food and agricultural space get together and finally relax and just enjoy the delicious produce our region has to offer,” she said.

“Everything just tastes extra good when you know the food you are having is fresh off the farm. What really excited me was to learn about the achievements our farmers have made.”

The farm tour

The day after the dinner, the farm-to-plate bus tour headed up the range to Eungella providing a unique opportunity for people to see first-hand how local food is produced and processed.

Two buses, carrying 73 people, visited Eungelladale Dairy and Cloudbreak cattle farm.

“Most of us would know of the produce coming from the coast including the obvious items such as fish, sugar, lychees, pineapples, strawberries, corn and tomatoes,” Juliane said.

“However, it was a new experience to explore some of the produce coming from the sub-tropical rainforest of Eungella.”

At Eungelladale Dairy, Dale Fortescue explained the many steps it takes before milk arrives in the shops – starting with healthy soils and controlled grazing to ensure lush pasture, healthy cows, and nutritious milk.

Dale shared his dream of adding cheese production to his output.

“Dairy farming takes a lot of commitment,” said Juliane.

“I would love to see more people support our local food producers. Eungelladale is unique, it carries historic value being the only local milk processing plant left in our region, and we need to keep it alive.”

At Cloudbreak, Kel and Mandy Tennent invited the group onto their farm (a former dairy), where guests took part in feeding the Lowline cattle and enjoyed a hearty Ploughman’s overlooking the beautiful hilly countryside of Eungella.

Attendees were able to purchase fresh Eungella beef and other produce, including turmeric, garlic, and ginger, all grown in Eungella by the Holistic Pantry.

The bus tour included a picnic at Broken River, where participants heard from Jock Hansen about his exciting journey growing organic produce, including gourmet finger limes.

The bus tour introduced members of the local community to low mileage food, food diversity, and sustainable food production, and gave them a chance to experience the lifestyle of a farmer.

Reef Catchments would like to thank the Greater Whitsunday Food Network for their ongoing passion and drive in fostering our region’s local food culture.

The 2018 Farm to Plate Dinner and Bus Tour was made possible thanks to the hard work and dedication of members of the Greater Whitsunday Food Network, and to the sponsors – including Reef Catchments (through the Australian Government Landcare Program), Mackay Regional Council, Star 101.9, and 4MK.

Oaky Creek Disaster Recovery Project

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Group of people at meeting about Oaky Creek.
Oaky Creek community consultation – working with impacted stakeholders.

Oaky Creek was a torrent of water as flooding associated with Tropical Cyclone Debbie ripped down the channel and spilled over the banks. Multiple landslides at the top of the catchment added gravel loads into the creek which were then spread across adjacent cane land. 

Oaky Creek channel.

At some sites the creek moved more than 10 meters, taking away arable land and leaving vertical drops of more than six meters. The movement and changes of the creek has landholders and stakeholders concerned for their farmland, infrastructure, and the safety of operations around the creek. The remaining bare and unstable riparian areas are highly prone to future erosion if they are not stabilised.

To assist in stabilising the creek, Reef Catchments was successful in obtaining National Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangement (NDRRA) funding to remediate and build resilience into Oaky Creek. Alluvium Consulting was engaged to undertake a stability assessment and hydrological modelling of a priority nine kilometers length of Oaky Creek.

Three community consultation events were held to engage with landholders and stakeholders and to draw out information on the history, current uses, and future requirements of the creek.

The consultation and assessment highlighted that more than 60,000m3 of sediment has been lost along the creek during the past nine years, with historical flood-driven straightening of the channel, and vegetation loss from disease along sections of the creek during the past 50 years.

Alluvium’s assessment has provided prioritised sites for rehabilitation including bank re-profiling and rock reinforcement. Alluvium has also recommended a comprehensive and structurally diverse revegetation program to complement other works to join up and improve riparian vegetation along Oaky Creek. Once vegetation has become established it will help to bind sediments, buffer water flowing past, and reduce future erosion.

“The right catchment vegetation and riparian management can reduce the speed and volume of water entering the river system and the speed at which water drains from an area. This greatly reduces flood heights and speeds in downstream catchments.” Ref Qld Gov Wetland Info.

Works, planned to begin during the coming months, are to be completed before the end of December 2018. The project is expected to see up to 4 000 tonnes of rock armouring and 50 large woody debris structures built to stabilise the channel and more than 10,000 plants will be planted along the creek.