I vividly recall the moment when I handed farmer Kevin Moir of Wilga, WA, his soil map after weeks of hard work putting together a range of mapping technologies.
Kevin studied the map intently for at least ten minutes without saying a word. “Oh, I wonder if he understands it?” I wondered as I fretted, waiting for a comment.
Then, after what seemed an eternity, he turned to me, smiled and said, “Gee, I can sure see that I’ve got many of my fences in the wrong place, haven’t I?”
That was a triumphal moment for me as I grasped the success of the mapping process in showing Kevin new ways to farm his property.
Kevin then referred me to a paddock in the Southwest corner of the farm to explain his point. “See this paddock, it’s too large and too difficult to manage because of the contrasting soils at each end”, he explained.
The western end of the paddock comprised unconsolidated sands which were relatively structureless but with a drainage barrier in the subsoil which meant that they became very wet and cold during the winter and grew little pasture. By contrast, the free-draining gravels at the eastern end of the paddock remained dry and warm and grew the bulk of their feed in the winter and early spring. They had stopped growing by mid-spring and usually had started to dry off.
“Obviously, I need to fence off each half and manage each part differently, according to its soil characteristics,” Kevin said. “I can see how I could apply this philosophy of fencing by soil type along soil boundaries, but how do I manage a paddock like this?” Kevin said, then pointing to the large paddock in the South-eastern corner of the property (ringed in blue in the map below.
“I need you guys to now show me how I can make money out of using all the detailed farm resources information you have gathered for me” he said, wondering whether we were up to the challenge.
The Topoclimate Farm Plan that we developed for Kevin Moir’s property exceeded his wildest dreams and was a good example of how a farm plan and skilled consultants can help you to think outside the square and significantly improve your profitability. The Plan included
• Significant re-fencing of farm to move from 28 paddocks to 45 paddocks with fencing along soil boundaries where ever possible.
• Change from set-stocking to rotational grazing system with cells of paddocks for each class of stock.
• Fodder banks of salt tolerant shrubs planted for salinity management.
Other features of Kevin Moir’s Topoclimate Farm Plan were:
• Three large areas of lucerne to provide both seasonal and drought management fodder (hay and silage) of high quality.
• Specified soils with seasonal wetness issues direct drilled with spring/summer/autumn mixes of grasses and legumes.
• Specified soils with free draining gravel-based soils direct-drilled with winter/spring/autumn varieties of grasses and legumes.
• Bush areas grazed for fire hazard reduction only.
So, how did the Farm Plan deal with the problem paddocks mentioned earlier?
You can see that a fence has been proposed for the south-western paddock and that different direct drilled pasture mixes are proposed to deal with the dominant different soil types of each half.
You can also observe that the larger southeast paddock has been divided into four separate paddocks to fence off the main soils from each other and to protect the areas of remnant bush from being over-grazed.
Different seed mixes are proposed for the two cultivated paddocks according to the dominant soil type.
So, what benefits could Kevin and Elly expect from implementing their Topoclimate Farm Plan?
The main benefit would be a significant increase in stocking rate for the property resulting from the changed grazing system and the increase in the amount of feed being grown and conserved.
In 2000, the property carried 2506 stock units including 2136 Merino ma ewes and 564 ewe hoggets. We firstly compared that carrying capacity with other farms in the district and found that the range was from 3.5su/ha to 12 su/ha. The property therefore had considerable potential for increases in stocking rate as it was currently carrying 4.18su/ha under the set stocking, 27 paddock regime.
We estimated that Kevin could easily double his farm’s carrying capacity from 2500 SU to at least 5000 SU with the safeguards of conserved feed to protect against the risk of dry spells or droughts or extended cold, wet periods.
After much discussion on the proposed changes, Kevin bought into the concept, which was a major change in his farming system. He realised that undertaking this programme provided him with a way of achieving his personal goal of spending more of his time on the property and less engaged in off-farm work to provide sufficient income to support his extended family.
So what did the plan mean to Kevin financially? He estimated that he was producing a gross income of $200,000 per year from the 2500 SU so he estimated that if he doubled the stock numbers to 5000 SU, his fixed costs - power, rates, etc, would remain static but he would double his gross income to at least $400,000 per year.
Kevin considered the $200,000 annual improvement in farm income was a huge return on the $15,000 cost of his Topoclimate Farm Plan.
“The Plan has changed my whole approach to farming and I have been challenged by the flow of new ideas that Gary and his team have constantly been putting in front of me.” Kevin said. “the Topoclimate Farm Plan has been the best investment I ever made.”
For further information on Topoclimate Farm Planning or to make an enquiry, click this link Topoclimate.
