Smarter farming pays off
A TABLELANDS grazing family is looking to the future, with a makeover for their farm that includes earthworks, tree-planting, fencing, a solar-powered water supply for cattle and a new way of managing pastures.
Trevor Petersen said he and his family chanced on the opportunity while looking for help to manage an erosion problem along waterways running through their Malanda property of 10 years.
“An old cattle crossing was completely washed out and
February floods took a section of bank out,’’ he said.
“We lost a lot of soil down the creek — something had to be done.”
The Petersens now have a modified creek crossing after earthworks including bank reshaping, rock and gravel placement.
The family is putting up fences either side of the crossing to keep cattle off more than a kilometre of water course.
Terrain NRM’s Vanessa Drysdale said 5000 trees and grasses would be planted along the waterway, a tributary flowing into Williams Creek and the North Johnstone River. “We do the earthworks and revegetation, and the Petersen family undertakes the fencing and installation of off-stream watering infrastructure,’’ she said. “The family is also responsible for implementing the grazing management practice changes.
“This combination will stop an estimated 120 tonnes of fine sediment a year from flowing into the Johnstone River — the equivalent of 15 to 20 truckloads. Changes on properties, however big or small they are, really make a difference.”
The work is part of the $2.3m Upper Johnstone Integrated Project, funded by the Queensland Government’s Natural Resources Investment Program.