Trees bring farm to life

Eric Frei · 8th December 2011, 09:23 AM

Trees bring farm to life - ABC Rural - Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Quote:

When he first arrived at Nambrok, the McGauran family property between Sale and Rosedale, Matt Kilby found says the farm was barren.

"I found about 1 per cent of this 3,000-acre (120-hectare) property had tree cover. The land was dry and scalded. There was no grass. Erosion was happening where the bulls had been walking to and fro the watering holes. And I thought wow, what an opportunity to show the public what we can actually do!".

Part arborist/part farm consultant, Mr Kilby has spent the last 18 months working with the McGauran family to restore part of the farm, by planting trees and introducing swales.

He says the fact that former federal agriculture minister Peter McGauran comes from a property with almost no trees is indicative of the way many Australian farmers view the land.

It's attitude he's determined to change.

"The first thing we did was put in a swale. A swale is a ditch which runs dead level to contour. The idea of the swale is more or a tree planting system." he said.

"We plant all our trees on the top side of the swale. We plant fertility building trees and all the leaf mulch falls into the swale or ditch, and turns into humic acid when it fills up with water. So all the nutrients are then spread back onto the surface and spread completely around the landscape." he said, describing the swale as a natural way to irrigate.

Mr Kilby, who works along the east coast of Australia, and in the middle east to restore soil and farm productivity.

He says he's ideas have had a mixed feedback from farmers.

"Farmers are a very conservative bunch. and talk is cheap and so what we're doing is getting out there and doing the work.

"It might take me 10 years to convince people, but we've got to have a go. We've got to show farmers that there is a more sustainable way of farming... building our soils back, building profitability and building nutrition in our food."

Drouin Tree Service · 8th December 2011, 01:46 PM

Theres a long way to go with planting trees on farms,I remember watching a doco on Gerry Harveys farm (Harvey norman owner) and the tranformation with planting etc was really amazing.

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colinjely · 18th December 2011, 08:17 AM

A great post on a great topic. If you go to the Australian Permaculture website, there is a series of videos called 'Greening the Desert', where they do this in Jordan.

A great book to read is 'The Untrained Environmentalist' by John Fenton. John appeared on the ABC's Landline program. He planted 100,000 trees on his western district sheep property in 50 years and still managed to run a profitable property.

BBBTree · 8th February 2012, 02:32 PM

What kinds of trees would grow out there semi-desertous terrains, and be good for the compost on the ground? Eucs might grow well out there, but their leaves are toxic, right?

Eric Frei · 8th February 2012, 08:37 PM

What is native to the region.

There'd be acacia, callitris, banksia, hakea, brachychiton, melaleuca, grevillea, leptospermum etc.

BBBTree · 8th February 2012, 08:43 PM

The reason I was saying is that I might be able to interest people in reclaiming some of the land out here. Trees dropping leaves and creating shade will work, and the swales to boot too.....well, I might be able to make somebody's day with that plan.

Tim Bryan · 27th March 2012, 10:50 AM

yeah, he did good job. Let's look at that field. It'll bring a lot benefits.

8th December 2011, 01:46 PM	#2
Drouin Tree Service Veteran Heritage Status Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Australia Posts: 1,727	Re: Trees bring farm to life Theres a long way to go with planting trees on farms,I remember watching a doco on Gerry Harveys farm (Harvey norman owner) and the tranformation with planting etc was really amazing. Natural Sequence Farming Home __________________ Drouin Tree Services \| Excavator Hire - Drouin and SE Gippsland \| Landclearing Melbourne

18th December 2011, 08:17 AM	#3
colinjely Sappling Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Blackburn Posts: 11	Re: Trees bring farm to life A great post on a great topic. If you go to the Australian Permaculture website, there is a series of videos called 'Greening the Desert', where they do this in Jordan. A great book to read is 'The Untrained Environmentalist' by John Fenton. John appeared on the ABC's Landline program. He planted 100,000 trees on his western district sheep property in 50 years and still managed to run a profitable property.

8th February 2012, 02:32 PM	#4
BBBTree Sappling Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: California Posts: 27	Re: Trees bring farm to life What kinds of trees would grow out there semi-desertous terrains, and be good for the compost on the ground? Eucs might grow well out there, but their leaves are toxic, right?

8th February 2012, 08:37 PM	#5
Eric Frei Admin - Owner Palm & Tree Services in Brisbane Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Brisbane Posts: 12,993	Re: Trees bring farm to life What is native to the region. There'd be acacia, callitris, banksia, hakea, brachychiton, melaleuca, grevillea, leptospermum etc. __________________ Protect your rights to work - Join Australian Tree Association My businesses:- Qualified Brisbane Palm and Tree Lopping \| Stump Grinding Brisbane \| Brisbane - Gold Coast Consulting Arborist

8th February 2012, 08:43 PM	#6
BBBTree Sappling Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: California Posts: 27	Re: Trees bring farm to life The reason I was saying is that I might be able to interest people in reclaiming some of the land out here. Trees dropping leaves and creating shade will work, and the swales to boot too.....well, I might be able to make somebody's day with that plan.

27th March 2012, 10:50 AM	#7
Tim Bryan I'm new here so be nice Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: US Posts: 4	Re: Trees bring farm to life yeah, he did good job. Let's look at that field. It'll bring a lot benefits.

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