Being in tune with nature

Even though I was not brought up on the land, I always had an affinity with it. As soon as I left school I became a jillaroo. In the early 1970s, I was the only jillaroo in the Riverina.

Before we bought Bibbaringa, we owned and operated Pooginook Merino stud in the Riverina region.

In 1992, we started managing Pooginook holistically. We started in a drought and continued to refine the process of holistic management.

When you’re on the land you become very attuned with nature. You notice when birds are coming and going, what the insects are doing and how it all relates to impending weather. Your projections aren’t always right, but they often give you a good head start to make management changes.

So we’ve just built on what our forefathers have taught us, and the knowledge that we’ve accumulated over the years. We try to be seen as leaders in land management in whatever climatic conditions we are in.

Watch: Building a ground cover blanket for resilience