past, for John and Sue Holt.
Fencing off and revegetating
their creeks and dams has
put an end to the silting
that was sending acres of
valuable topsoil down the
creek and sullying the water.
It has also led to the virtual
elimination of the weed
Salvation Jane (also known
as Paterson’s Curse) from
their riparian areas.
Their story…
Better stock management was a catalyst for a series of improvements that have seen big changes on John and Sue Holt’s property. When the Holts took over in 1976, Burn Brae comprised a number of similarly sized paddocks, fenced without regard to the hilly and rocky terrain. All paddocks opened onto the creek for water. The Holts decided to make the job of mustering both safer, and easier, with a more efficient paddock layout. They were also interested in improving pasture management by fencing
according to land type.
They started by subdividing a paddock and creating a fenced off shelter belt along a ridge. One thing led to another, and the Holts have continued to divide their property according
to land type, fencing off and revegetating as they have gone. Areas that are not suitable for grazing — rocky areas, for example — are fenced off and revegetated, creating valuable habitat for an increasing number of animals, especially birds.
The success of their
revegetation efforts on other parts of the farm led them to investigate the possibility of rehabilitating their riparian land. Stock access meant that silting, erosion and bank instability were a major problem around their dams and creeks, and water quality was poor. In addition, they were losing time and money when they had to clean out a dam filled with valuable topsoil.
61 Fencing off and revegetating the area around this dam has created valuable habitat for wildlife. Photos in this case study John and Sue Holt.
These photos and those on page 65, show the remarkable transformation that has occurred by excluding stock
from the riparian area.
2005
1996
Today, erosion, bank instability and silting have all been reduced, and water quality improved, thanks to the healthy swathe of native vegetation growing along their riparian areas. Biodiversity is continually increasing, and weed control has been made significantly easier.
Fencing
The Holts have fenced according to land type, using natural landforms such as the creeks and rocks to guide their fencing. They have fenced following the contours of the creek, allowing enough room between the creek and the fence to direct sow with a tractor. Depending on rocks, the distance between the creek and fence varies between 20 and 50 metres.
John has used electric fencing along the riparian areas from the start, finding it cheap and convenient, and the best way to deal with the creek’s deviations. He uses 7 foot posts, located between 30 and 40 metres apart, knocked in at a slant away from the fenced paddock. As tension is not such an issue with an electric fence, he has kept the number of end assemblies to a minimum, only building box end strainers if the posts will not go in easily. The Holts’ fences comprise two live wires and three plain wires, with droppers. The fences are powered using mains power electricity.
John says that some
maintenance is required as a result of falling redgums and wildlife, but considers the benefits of fencing off riparian areas outweigh the problems.
Stock watering
The most expensive aspect of the Holt’s creek rehabilitation has been installing a reticulation system to water stock. John says that the expense has been worth it, however, believing that stock that have access to clean water are in better condition than those that haven’t.
The Holts pump water from their dams into tanks, using either a solar powered pump or windmill. While the windmills have been on the property for some time, John prefers the solar pumps for reliability and efficiency. There are no more than 600 metres between a tank and dam. Water is gravity fed to a trough in each paddock, using one inch polypiping, laid underground. The longest distance between a tank and trough is 1 kilometre. Over time, the Holts intend to increase the number of troughs in each paddock to reduce erosion around the watering points.
Revegetation
The Holts’ riparian areas act as valuable shelter belts for stock, and provide habitat for a large number of birds and other wildlife. They initially used a preselected seed mix, comprising a number of different types of plants indigenous to the area. Today, they collect and propagate seed themselves, but John admits that this requires a good deal of perseverance and commitment.
Their first sowing took place in 1992, which turned out to be a very wet year. Consequently, germination and growth were quick and vigorous, and encouraged the Holts to continue rehabilitating the rest of their creeks and dams. Had the weather not been so kind, however, they may not have been so enthusiastic. The Holts have experienced a number of failures with direct seeding, discovering that follow up rain at the right time is critical to its
success. The Holts now seed in August or September, and hope for enough spring rain to establish growth.
The Holts believe that excluding stock enabled the reeds and grasses to get a foothold, which helped to reduce erosion and silting. The reeds are particularly valuable during a flood, laying flat and slowing down the water flow, while the extensive root system of the phalaris grass has helped to stabilise the soil.
63 Above (main photo): This three-sided shelter belt was formed when the Holts fenced off and revegetated their creeks.
Above (inset): The Holts use one side of the shelterbelt as a laneway.
While many farmers complain that fencing off their riparian areas creates a weed control problem, the Holts have experienced exactly the
opposite. Native vegetation has covered the patches of bare soil where Salvation Jane (Echium plantagineu) was becoming established, and has virtually eliminated the weed from the Holts’ riparian areas. And apart from the odd thistle, the Holts have not noticed any other weeds in their fenced off areas.