Mosaic Map: NRM funded projects
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Re-fencing project at Moonthadella
An aerial view of 'Moonthadella' Station in Queensland channel country would reveal paddocks of a very different shape to the usual patchwork of squares.
It took the ongoing drought to show station owners Bruce and Maureen Scott they had to do something very different, if they were to get through the dry spell.
Funding
Bruce and Maureen received nearly $23,000 from the Australian Government to radically change the fencing on their property. With this funding added to their own, they were able to pull out old fences and replace them with fencing that follows land and plant type, rather than line-of-sight.
Activities
"We were looking at our long-term sustainability and to achieve that we needed to limit grazing in certain areas," said Bruce, who is also Mayor of Barcoo Shire. "We wanted to be able to exclude stock from parts of the land when it came under pressure. At the same time, we were trying to build up our bank of native seeds by spelling paddocks in times of growth."
The work took place on a creek flat and drainage area around a tributary of Cooper's Creek and Thunda Creek, which had been extensively grazed for many years.
The project helped Bruce and Maureen not only to change the fencing, but to extend a water pipeline and develop watering points to keep stock away from the drainage area.
Achievements
With changes to the fencing and increased ability to manage cattle movements, they hope to stabilise the erosion occurring in the area that drains toward Thunda Creek. They also aim to control mimosa weed encroaching on wetlands, and regenerate the natural Bluebush and Mitchell Grass at risk of being lost from the area.
"We've seen a marked increase in plant species since we changed the fencing," said Bruce. "Now we're controlling grazing in the drainage area, it's starting to revegetate.
"The line of the former boundary fence gives us a good benchmark and we're starting to see the growth on either side of it becoming more even, with annuals and perennials and small shrubs like saltbush and bluebush appearing on both sides of the former fence."
Bruce said graziers in the region were becoming more aware of the need to apply "a holistic system" to land management. "The key to agriculture today is the need to be sustainable in the future," he said.
More information
- Bruce Scott, 'Moonthadella' Station owner: moothandella@bigpond.com
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