Stacking enterprises that complement your grazing enterprise such as privately owned native forest.
Just a few additional income streams can be harnessed from this valuable renewable resources are:
Accumulating anecdotal and empirical evidence about the potential returns to silvo-pastoral systems in eastern Australia suggests they may generate greater returns than grazing alone in the medium and long-term, particularly on undulating to steeper country
(Donaghy et al. 2010).
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Owen Thompson is a fifth generation farmer in Queensland, Australia. Listen to his advice on Native Forest Management that he and his family have learnt on their property 'Goorah'. In 2010, Owen and his wife Linda were awarded Qld Tree Farmers of the Year. Video from PFSQ (Private Forestry Services Queensland) Chapter 3: Native Forest Management - Property Management.
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The video attached has been shared by Volunteer Fire Fighters Association.
Bill Gammage discusses
'The Biggest Estate on Earth'.
Before white settlement, some of the local landscape looked like parkland.
Author Bill Gammage explains the complex systems of land management used by Indigenous Australians.
Highly recommended reading. This book can be found at all good book stores
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The video attached has been shared by ABC Australia
Fire power – Australia’s friend and foe
| Living with Fire #1 | ABC Australia
Although the Australian continent is shaped by fire and flood, large-scale devastating bushfires are a man-made modern phenomenon. That's the view of distinguished historian and author Bill Gammage, who argues that Australians have failed to understand their environment. He says Australia could better deal with increasing fire risks today by understanding how Aboriginal people used it as an ally. Tim Lee reports.
Recommended reading. The Biggest Estate On Earth-author Bill Gammage. This book can be found at all good book stores
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When he reads country, Victor Steffensen is drawing on a sophisticated, historical and complex understanding of the nuances of seasonal shifts, of minute observation of nature. The intimate knowledge of ecosystems and how things are interrelated, of fire and water, the significance of the timing of flowers blossoming, the breeding behaviour of animals, the particle nature of trees and the ground they stand on.
It is knowledge, he believes, that can heal our country and prevent hot catastrophic bushfires like those we've just experienced.
"When we burn the right fire in the right ecosystems, we enhance our native vegetation," Victor says.
In the above short video from Australian Story, How Indigenous fire management practices could protect bushland
If you have any questions on how we can help you implement Cultural Land Management practices on your lands please get in touch with Fire Lore team in our Southern Queensland region. Robbie and Fire Lore team did some training for our local community made up of farmers, volunteer firefighters association which I learnt a lot and thoroughly recommend to others
Fire Lore website and contact details link below:
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Video of short documentary About trees on Taylors Run.
Family Trees is filmed at The Hill, Kentucky, NSW, Australia on the Taylor family farm. A story of regeneration and the role of trees in a silvopasture system. Michael Taylor is a 6th generation wool grower and sheep and cattle grazier and talks through the family story during the 2019
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Video of .Harvesting sawlogs from conservation plantings
Thanks Rowan for sharing this inspiring video.15 Apr 2023
We planted our eroded creekline in 1987 with a range of native tree species. Within a few years we were enjoying the conservation, shelter and aesthetic benefits. Now, we get to harvest sawlogs.
Rowan Reid Forestry Scientist and owner of Bambra Agroforestry Farm Lecturer in Agroforestry at Melb. Uni since 1991
Author of "Heartwood - the art and science of growing trees for conservation and profit" www.agroforestry.net.au
See link to Bambra Agroforestry Farm and recommend to watch more inspiring videos and read great info.
Link below:
https://www.agroforestry.net.au/main.asp?_=Home
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Regenerative Grazing plays the most valuable tool to managing a balanced Grassy Woodland ecosystem. If tree sucker regrowth or woody weeds are dominating ecosystem, this is due to low stock density, low forage grazing utilisation and not long enough rest period for perennial grasses. Other causes tree sucker regrowth or woody weeds can be due to disturbing soil and creating bare ground with machinery, overgrazing, hot season burning.
High level of regeneration outcomes is obtained by combining grazing practises of See Landscape Function Grazing Management for more detail. a), Root Driven Recovery, Long Pasture/Ecosystem Recovery of 12 to 15 months. Period based on STFPA
b). Safe to Fail Practice Areas (STFPA)
c), Ultra High Stock Density, High Pasture/fodder Utilisation - Non-Selective Grazing - High Herd Effect.
Short Video from Gardening Australia
These goats help native plant revegetation | Australian native plants | Gardening Australia. Colin Arnold has about 40 years’ experience as a horticulturalist and nurseryman for the past 40 years and is passionate about been using goats in revegetation situations. He has been working in revegetation – trying to remove weeds and replace them with indigenous plants along waterways and other bush reserves – but after several decades he found nothing much was changing. “Our waterways were still infested with weeds and we need to use a lot of herbicide, but I’d like to see that change.” His solution was to try using goats. They’re flexible creatures are renowned for eating just about anything and they proved him right by chomping through all manner of introduced plant species. Colin points to a weeping grass (Microlaena stipoides) that has reseeded on its own and the goats leave alone; right next to it is the weed fumitory, which the goats will eat. Finally, he shows a native mint (Mentha australis), which used to be in the area but is rarely found now because the microflora and microfauna in the soil is struggling due to weeds. By protecting the soil and maybe even inoculating with microflora and fauna, these plants can thrive again.
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Actively managing the native forests on a property has the potential to return multiple benefits to the landholder, particularly in the form of a dual income stream and improved environmental outcomes.
Most privately owned native forest in the region is grazed by cattle, sheep, goats. Income streams from this valuable renewable resource are milled timber, fire wood, biodiversity stewardship & carbon credits.
Natural capital is now recognised as a vital economic commercial value to your land resource in the eyes of banks, commercial lenders, government entities and investors.
Private native forests cover an extensive area and often constitute a high proportion of a property’s land-use, they remain an important grazing resource.
Management of degraded Grassy Woodlands
The area available for grazing production on a given property could potentially be improved where tree thinning is used to enhance pasture growth in crowded stressed tree sucker regrowth ecosystems.
Various management tactics can be utilised to shape or modify landscape into a resilient profitable ecosystem. Most crucial tactic is to start with good grazing management. Combined with regenerative grazing management tactics available are, mechanical means, cool season burning or prescribed fire is often used by landholders to encourage pasture growth and grazing production in these forests through the control woody understorey plant species. Lack of grassy woodland management results in landscape degenerating, resulting in declining productivity every year and can be very costly to clear every consecutive decade. Grazing production is reduced in these circumstances as the woody plant species competitively exclude perennial grasses which can result in loss in ground cover with knock on effects of loss of valuable soil through erosion in large rain events
For further information see link below of: Improving productivity of the private native forest resource in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales
Prepared for Forest & Wood Products Australia 2020. PDF Link:
https://era.daf.qld.gov.au/id/eprint/7489/1/Final_Report_PNF_PNC379-1516.pdf
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Very helpful book available upon request by Kimberlie Rawlings, David Freudenberger and David Carr. This handbook is designed to assist private land managers. It will particularly help those contracted through the Environmental Stewardship Box Gum Grassy Woodland Project to improve the amount and condition of box gum grassy woodland on their properties. It focuses on elements specific to the project, which include:• the State and Transition Model for box gum grassy woodlands• required and optional management activities• monitoring guidelines for Environmental Stewardship contract holders.The handbook covers the underpinning science and management requirements of box gum grassy woodlands. Because it is not limited by the quality of the woodland remnants, it will help contracted land managers go beyond their contractual obligations. This hand book should also assist those who are not part of the Project, but who are considering how best to manage box gum grassy woodland remnants on their property. It provides an understanding of how these woodlands work, how they can fall apart and importantly, how they can be repaired.
Very helpful book. Click On Link below:
A guide to managing box gum grassy woodlands
https://www.fwpa.com.au/images/resources/-2020/Final_Report_PNF_PNC379-1516.pdf
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Special Broadcasting ://www.sbs.com.au › Watch The Forest Maker for free with SBS On Demand, your ultimate destination for diverse entertainment. Stream now!
Link to full film below:
https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/movie/the-forest-maker/2188955203566
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Root Cause Analysis
Treating the symptom can lead to the initial problem reoccurring and many cases worse. It is important to identify the root cause of the problem and treat it accordingly. This is called Root Cause Analysis (RCA) from the business school of hard knocks. RCA is the quality management process by which an organisation searches for the root of a problem, issue or incident after it occurs. While it may be tempting to simply address symptoms of the problem as they materialise, addressing symptoms is an inherently reactive process that all but guarantees a recurring—and often worsening—series of problems- lead to high costs/high risk/low return on investment. Root cause analysis helps organizations decipher the root cause of the problem, identify the appropriate corrective actions, and develop a plan to prevent future occurrences. It aims to implement solutions to the underlying problem for more efficient operations overall
Example of a Symptom within a Box Gum Grassy Woodland:
Regrowth of woody weeds/trees/bush driving the decline in health and economic agriculture production and natural capital
Example of Cause: High Disturbance
High Disturbance in a Box Gum Grassy Woodland can be caused from tree clearing, regrowth clearing, hot season lightning strike fires, overgrazing &/or under grazing, over stocking from wildlife & domestic livestock & feral animals.
Within five years after high disturbance, land condition & landscape function decline, hundreds of small seedlings per hectare can grow into a much worse problem than the original open woodland or woodland. Once the mature mother trees are killed, eucalypt saplings start to grow and new seedlings establish. At the same time, suppressed sandalwood, wattles, limebush and cypress pine start growing. False sandalwood may grow slowly (about 30 cm a year), and does not become a real problem for 5-6 years, but the other species can grow to 1.5 m in a good year. If the soil has been disturbed by pulling, seed of many species may germinate. Seeds of currant bush, whitewood, sandalwood, cypress pine and wattles may have been lying in the soil, while seeds of rubber vine and bitlerbark can blow in from nearby frontage country.
Longer term problems with high disturbance
nature in some sort of harmony. Without this balance and all of all interconnections
your land is potentially subject to degradation and loss
of future productivity.
Once the surface soil is saline, all production will be lost. Woody weeds and regrowth. Seedlings and root suckers of trees and shrubs keep growing larger every year.
.To achieve a high Return On Your Investment (time, money) in a Healthy Box Gum Grassy Woodland
Questions need to be asked in direction to take. Is it ecologically sound, economically viable, and socially responsible
Healthy box gum grassy woodlands typically have widely spaced trees (30–40/ha) with a grassy ground cover that includes a stunning diversity of productive perennial native grasses, forbs (wildflowers), sedges and organic litter and all combine to consist 70 to 100% ground cover.
The number
of trees will likely be lower where annual rainfall is below 500 mm and higher where rainfall is above 500 mm. Tree crowns in woodlands typically shade 20–75 per cent of the ground at midday, and trees may reach 30 m tall.
Valuing the Benefits of trees which are often overlooked
Livestock Production
Livestock production may be slightly higher under a light
tree canopy in higher rainfall districts where there is
less competition for water. Shaded green grass may be
more digestible, and the grazing stock may suffer less
heat stress in summer. The grass will be protected from
light frosts in winter; minimum temperatures can be
2 degree celsius higher under living trees
Some plant nutrients may be cycled from greater soil
depth by the tree roots, but the overall effect of this on
pasture growth is minimal. However, soil microorganisms
are more active in cooler, shaded soil and
these can improve soil structure and infiltration rates.
Trees for shelter belts or stock camps should always
be retained-even on your best country.
Biodiversity
Large, old trees and standing dead trees are unique and irreplaceable features of our landscapes. Termed ‘habitat trees’, they provide numerous living places and other resources for many kinds of animals and plants. Habitat trees have lots of hollows, cracks and crevices of various sizes, where animals may live, breed or shelter. This is now seen as an important economical value to farmers as can be rewarded economically via Land Stewardship Biodiversity Credits via Land Restoration Fund and linked to carbon farming such as soil carbon and tree carbon projects
Learning From History
Treating the cause
We recommend not spend so much money pulling a large area or thinning that
you cannot afford to manage the regrowth that is sure to come.
Develop only an area that you can look after.
We highly recommend after initial investment in tree clearing is to follow, with the most important investment which is treating a major cause with high level of grazing management such as:
Landscape Function Grazing Management
Few quick critical points to Landscape Function:
a), Root Driven Recovery, Long Pasture Recovery of 12 to 15 months.
c), Ultra High Stock Density, High Pasture Utilisation - Non-Selective Grazing - High herd Effect
see section on Landscape Function Grazing for more details in Landscape Function chapter
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