As part of the Sustainable Agriculture project DCQ has in conjunction with our Regional Agriculture Landcare Facilitator, Doug Allpass, spent the week out and about interviewing landholders on how they implement wet season spelling. The videos, key communications products to be produced under the project, feature local landholders and capture different approaches to wet season spelling and the expectations each landholder has. While there are consistent guiding principles, each landholder has their own approach as no two properties are the same.
On Toobrack near Longreach, Neil Rogers has plentiful feed and so he is stocking his paddocks to best manage feed. Tom And Belinda McLeish, on Cooinda at Winton, however, are dealing with very dry country. They are taking a long term approach and putting fences in to spell country according to soil type. It could take a few years before they reap the benefits.
Over on Eversleigh near Hughenden, John and Janene Wearing also have very dry country. Conscious of cattle numbers and carrying capacity, they have set a date to destock if rain hasn’t come by then. They will maintain a core herd capable of getting them through another dry summer should it come to that. Let’s hope it doesn’t.
In April next year we will revisit these properties to see how their plans have worked out .