Bibbaringa Field Day/Paddock walk - August 2nd 2010

Click here for the Field Day Flyer

Around 40 of us headed out to Gill and David Taylors to hear their story and also hear further on Evergraze and native pasture issues.

What was really interesting to hear was the focused way Gill and David have developed a vision and goal for their life and business and are now putting that into place. Bibbaringa is part of that plan and the way they manage the property and the decisions they make all refer back to their overall goals.

It was fascinating to see Bibbaringa and hear the story so far and see the place in only Year 3 of a 10 year holistic program. Already Gill and David have transformed the appearance of the property with a massive tree planting program and a major increase in groundcover and litter build up. We talked about alot of issues including grazing management, fertilizer, groundcover, phosphorous levels, moisture retention, soil carbon and biota, weeds, fire and general farming philosophy It was a really interesting morning so thank you so much to Gill and David for opening the place to us in these early days of development.

Our grazing group had already planned to continue some of the Evergraze measurements on the property, with Gill and David’s OK, (funding has ceased from Evergraze.) It was clear on the day that people are interested and want to hear and learn more about holistic management and the changes in time that may develop.

The sorts of changes over the longer term that were raised, as of interest to watch, included  

• Perennial pasture persistence, size, establishment of plants and increase and density of native perennials in the pasture mix.
• % of legumes
• Pasture condition. So measurements such as
• How much dry matter a bit after autumn break and after winter,
• groundcover,
• pasture condition in terms of how much dry pasture and % of green

There was also an interest in factors that can be measured by soil tests such as

• The change in phosphorous levels over time both total and available phosphorous.
• measure of biological activity in the soils,
• total and organic carbon content over time

 

After Gill and Davids presentation Jeff Hirth and Kate Sargeant also discussed some of the Evergraze projects and presented some of the results of the work being done by Jim Virgona out at Stu and Fi Andersons. A field day there on September 2nd will update us all on that. What was clear is that there are definitely ways we can change the management of native pastures for the benefit of the environment, the farm system and ultimately the bottom line – your profitability.

Ian Locke gave a great presentation on the changes he has implemented on his place with the management of his native pasture hill country which was a fantastic practical demonstration on putting the theory into practice.

A lovely BBQ lunch with Gills home made soup, cakes and biscuits topped off a great morning. Thank you everyone that was involved.