Re-gen farm
The Environmental Cowboy’s next
A DRY Hope is the latest film venture of Environmental Cowboy Khory Hancock.
The documentary explores the stories and successes of farmers across NSW and Queensland that are using regenerative farming practices.
Growing up on a 30,000-acre cattle station to the west of Carnarvon Gorge gave Mr Hancock a strong understanding of the practicalities of farming and he is able to combine that with a dual degree in environmental science and environmental planning.
A Dry Hope explores the ideas around farming against drought, exploring practices that can make properties more resistant to the effects of drought conditions.
“I wanted to do a film project on some of the longerterm solutions, because I saw that a lot of people are blaming the government and sayin’ ‘we need more funding from the government’ and so on,” Mr Hancock said.
“The government is not going to help, longer term, with any of these solutions.
“Climate change and droughts are going to increase and increase in frequency and intensity, winter rainfall is predicted to decline dramatically in the eastern coastal area of Australia in the next decade by
15 per cent, evaporation rates are predicted to increase another 20 per cent in the next 10-20 years and you’ve also got heatwaves coming through.
“We need to look at longer-term strategy and not just financial solutions.”
He said in the process of travelling for the film and other work, he noticed the clear outcomes for farmers that engaged with regenerative farming.
“Travelling, I could clearly see the different management regimes and the impact that has on the land, sheep and cattle grazing practices from one property to the next and I always wondered why,” he said.
“And it came down to management practices”
An introduction to David Ward, a Dubbo-based agronomist specialising in regenerative farming practice, was a changing point and the two have collaborated to present a range of farmers that have adopted new approaches and are showing results in terms of on-farm drought resilience and improved product and profitability.
It is these stories that comprise the yet-to-befinished film, which requires completion funding.
“I didn’t expect to get the stories I saw out there: this is a much bigger film project than I originally thought,” Mr Hancock said.
The film includes alternate approaches to pasture development, management of creek systems, soil carbon development and a whole raft of holistic land management practices.
Mr Hancock referred to one Dubbo property owned by Eric Harvey, which had shown a dramatic transformation due to transition from traditional to regenerative practice and which was being monitored by CSIRO.
“It was quite amazing, the grass that I saw,” he said.
“Over a two or three-year