Beef producer group cultivates pasture improvement in Somerset region

The group, which started meeting in 2020, is made up of producers from the Brisbane Valley region, who have been working on implementing strategies that increase their land productivity.

They meet every couple of months at the local pub and will often invite speakers from different organisations to talk on different topics.

Darren Fisher and his family of Warigul Pastoral run a Droughtmaster breeder herd at Moombra, south of Esk and have been involved in the local producer group.

Mr Fisher said his pasture improvement had come about from knowledge shared at their meetings.

"All of what I do are not my ideas, they come about through sharing knowledge that we've got in our group and trying different things," he said.

"There are probably six or seven people that meet on a regular basis and a few more that come when they get time."

Compost application had been one of the strategies that group members had used to rehabilitate pastures.

Mr Fisher said he'd been applying feedlot manure on his soil, which had significantly improved their pastures.

"We want to improve the quality of the soil as best we can and increase the soil organic carbon levels," he said.

"It has been a real big benefit to us, to turn ordinary country into productive country.

"It (the feedlot manure) is organic and the pens are cleaned regularly, so it is a bulk resource.

Mr Fisher said they had bought spreaders to apply the manure directly over the pasture, as well as incorporating it into the soil that had been ploughed.

They source the feedlot manure locally, which saves them money in carting costs.

"We are fortunate enough to clean the pens at the local feedlot," he said.

"We stockpile it and compost it."

He said the improvement in soil quality had increased their drought resilience and given them the ability to carry cattle through tougher times.

"I noticed that even through 2019 we still had quality pasture in the paddocks, right through the drought, in areas where we had improved the soil," he said.

"It works best when you have improved pasture as well."

As part of their pasture improvement they are starting to move towards multi species cropping.

"We are introducing legumes, herbs, daisies...all different families because they all have different microbial activity they attract," he said.

"Those different microbe families interact to help produce things like nitrogen and phosphorus, in a natural way."

He said input costs meant the investment in improvement projects currently outweighed the return, but believed it would pay off in the long term.

"I think the long term benefits that we are trying to achieve for biodiversity and the long term health of our soils and properties, is what we are all about," he said.

"Anything in farming is a long term operation, whether you are trying to improve the breed of your cattle or the quality of your property, it is all a long term thing."

The next strategy he is looking to implement is shelterbelts, to try to increase biodiversity and reduce the impact of winds drying out the soil.

"I have some open country that I think will benefit from creating a bit of shade for the cattle, biodiversity for other animals and cutting the effects of the wind across our property," he said.

He said producers were often criticised for not taking care of the land but he felt that the majority were working to improve it.

"A number of farms in the area are carbon neutral," he said.

"I think what we are doing in our area needs to be voiced to the general public so they understand.

"I think we look after the country better than most. It is a long term process that benefits us to ensure that it stays as good as it is, if not better.

"We are doing something about it, we are sequestering carbon and using best practices."

Beef producer Amanda Roughen started the producer group, utilising funding provided by natural resource management group, Healthy Land and Water.

They did their first project with Healthy Land and Water in 2021.

"Healthy Land and Water, our regional NRM group, partners with producers to deliver improved adoption outcomes for land management and regional sustainability," she said.

"With funding from the Future Drought Fund, producers from our region have worked with the HLW team for the past few years to better understand their soil fertility and the importance of building resilient ecosystems.

"This has led to implementation of practices such as leucaena/desmanthus planting, and multi species pasture cropping.

"Working with trusted local advisors, and connecting with other producers over a number of years has been integral to the success of this federally funded initiative."