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AGRONOMISTS WORTH THEIR SALT
Landmark Property Magazine – July 2005

Landmark’s commitment to solving one of Australia’s greatest environmental concerns is evidenced by the dedication of agronomists around the nation.

Paul Lomax and Peter Bostock are salt of the earth. The dictionary tells you this means they are people “regarded as the finest of their kind”, which is certainly true.
It’s just that their work has taught them that salt of the earth is not always a good thing.

Paul and Peter don’t know each other and live on different sides of the country. But they share a common goal born from a deep affinity for the environment and together they represent Landmark’s commitment to solving one of Australia’s greatest environmental concerns.

Both men were raised on farms – Paul in Gippsland, Victoria, and Peter in the vast expanses of West Australia. They have studied and worked on the land all their lives and as agronomists are eminently qualified to assist farmers and the community in the fight against dryland salinity.

Paul and Peter are two of more than 200 agronomists working with Landmark around Australia delivering essential information to farmers, analysing their soil and helping them find manageable solutions to living with salinity, if not eradicating it.

It will be a long, hard struggle, perhaps unwinnable in either man’s lifetime but it is so serious that as Peter says: “If we can at least stop it from getting worse, then that would be a big success.”

Paul agrees. “I don’t think we will ever completely eradicate the problem. It’s a matter of defining ways to work with it.”

Dryland salinity – in its simplest terms, the concentration of salt in the soil – has been caused by inappropriate land clearing and water use practices in roughly the first 150 years of European settlement. It was very much a case of what we didn’t know did hurt us.

The hardest hit area is West Australia with about 80 per cent of the 5.7 million hectares of land that has “a high potential to develop dryland salinity”. Unless something is done, the projected figure for affected land in the year 2050 will rise to 17 million hectares.

Salinity issues were first identified early in the 20th century – in 1911 in Victoria and 1924 in WA. But it is generally acknowledged that neither government nor farmers took it seriously until the 1980s and 1990s. As Peter said, until then it was reasoned that the only way to combat salinity effectively was to fence off salty areas and plant clumps of trees. “But that doesn’t give a financial return to farmers.”

Instead, the problem worsened. It has now reached the stage where today’s land owners and agribusinesses are not only paying a price for the decisions of their forefathers but have an obligation to leave a legacy of productive solution for their own descendants.

The good news is that research has shown there are ways to not only improve the soil but to improve the productivity of the land. Paul is currently working in the Bendigo area where he has been excited by the results of Lucerne as a deep rooted crop which is effective in reducing the water table while simultaneously increasing stocking rates.

The role Landmark has in managing salinity comes via its partnership with the CRC for Plant-based Management of Dryland Salinity. Landmark’s project officer Kevin Graham says this unique partnership between a CRC and agribusiness hinges on the relationship Landmark staff like Paul Lomax and Peter Bostock have with their clients.

“It's acknowledged that the nation needs landscape-scale change to tackle the challenge of salinity. However, changing farming systems can be expensive and risky – and farmers need to have confidence in proposed solutions and easy access to one-on-one support.”

Mr Graham says the early stages of new landuse practices are particularly worrying for farmers.

“Landmark agronomists have local knowledge – they know their clients, their businesses, and the environment they're working in ¬– making them the vital link between researchers and farmers.”

Landmark has a key role in demonstrations across the nation in sites as diverse as Dalwallinu in WA, Keith in South Australia, Bendigo in Victoria, Barraba in NSW and Ayr in Qeensland.

These sites are using perennials as rotational management tools for annual cropping and pasture programs, with the objectives to address rising water tables and its mobilisation of salts and to demonstrate the potential productivity from management options that integrate land and natural resource management practices.

The focus of outcomes are increased livestock and crop productivity and profitability, while reducing land degradation.

Paul Lomax has been at Landmark in Bendigo for nearly three years and before that was at Birchup for seven years. Peter Bostock has been at Landmark in Wongan Hills in WA for eight years. After getting their diplomas of applied agricultural science they both spent time managing properties themselves and getting experience elsewhere before joining Landmark.

Paul says he enjoys the educational aspects of what he is doing and has found that by showing the economical advantages of crops like Lucerne he can present the environmental advantages as a bonus.

Peter and Paul agree the onus is on everyone to work co-operatively in stemming the salinity tide. Paul says the problem can’t be contained by boundary fences and Peter adds: “You can’t solve the problem on your own but you can do a lot yourself regardless of what your neighbors are doing.”

Landmark Objectives in the fight against Dryland Salinity

1. Extend the adoption of lucerne and other perennials into profitable farming systems.
2. Develop and resource a two-way knowledge exchange network between the CRC, Landmark staff and their clients and other land managers
3. Extend the education and knowledge exchange processes to other lucerne production stakeholders, including other agribusinesses.

How does it work?

The CRC and Agency staff will:
• Conduct ongoing training workshops
• Provide up to date and practical information in a lucerne compendium and on a dedicated website
• Ensure easy access to expertise (via the website and key CRC contacts)
• Establish relevant and accessible demonstration sites
• Facilitate farmer feedback and participatory research

Why focus on lucerne?

A perennial plant, Lucerne offers the broadest range of tested proven options for integration into profitable farming systems. It is used as a pasture plant for animal production, and can take advantage of unseasonal rain and offer feed during the lean summer months. Lucerne also adds value to cereal cropping systems by providing a break in the cropping cycle for weed and disease management, and contributing to soil nitrogen for subsequent crops. It significantly reduces the amount of water leaking through to the watertable.

The CRC is developing a range of other perennials. However, it will take some time before they are ready to hit the ground. These new plants and systems will be promoted through the partnership as they become available.

For more information: http://www1.crcsalinity.com/landmark/index.htm

A brochure on this project is available from your local Landmark office.

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