Land Management and Farming in Australia
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has just released results from a survey of agricultural land management practices undertaken in 2007/08.
54% of Australia’s total land area was managed by agricultural businesses – Tasmania the smallest (23%) Queensland the largest (82%). Grazing land accounted for 87% of land managed by agricultural businesses, 8% for cropping and 2% was set aside for conservation.
The most common land management practices undertaken were surface water management (74%), application of fertiliser (62%) and monitoring ground cover in paddocks (54%).
66% of all agricultural businesses reported having native vegetation on their properties, more than half reported rivers or creeks and wetlands were reported by 10% of all agricultural businesses. About half of all agricultural businesses that had such ecological assets on their property reported that they were protecting them.
Nationally 17 million hectares was prepared using zero-till compared with 9 million hectares prepared using one or more cultivation passes. Of all agricultural businesses managing crop residue, the main crop residue management practices undertaken were to leave stubble intact (43%), removal of crop residue by baling or heavy grazing (34%) and ploughing crop residue into the soil (33%). These management practices were used on 90% of all land managed for crop residue in 2007-08.
Of agricultural businesses grazing livestock on crops or pasture, 69% monitor the amount of ground cover in paddocks and 57% of these have established a minimum ground cover level target. By far the most common method undertaken by agricultural businesses for monitoring ground cover was visual estimates, with 96% reporting using this method. This proportion was generally reflected in all states except the Northern Territory where 17% reported using photo monitoring standards (comparison with photos of known ground cover levels) to monitor ground cover.
Is the glass half full or half empty?
On the one hand, this survey does suggest the billions of dollars spent on natural resource management and engagement of farmers in conservation has has an impact, but there are still half of all agricultural businesses in Australia who do not see that protecting ecological assets is part of their business and a similar proportion who are leaving their soils at risk to erosion. While I could not find a comparable earlier survey by the ABS, when I think back to the 1980′s, this survey suggests that there has been a major shift towards improvements in agricultural land management practices. However, there is still plenty of room for improvement. Failure to protect natural resources now such as soil, native vegetation and water will disadvantage the ability of future generations to enjoy the productive benefits of Australia’s agricultural lands.
Do we need to invent a “Landcare” for the 21st Century that picks up the other 50% of landholders and taps into the latest in science and technology? Is the current dry period across southern Australia an impediment to change, or a catalyst?
Written by Paul Dalby on 12 June 2009
You raise a very good point. I wrote this post yesterday before I discovered your blog: http://manuelinor.wordpress.com/2009/10/18/the-great-divide/
I believe the problem lies in the communication divide between the rural and scientific communities, which has unfortunately been ingrained in human society for too long. Many farmers have long associated anything to do with ecology or ‘green practices’ with the negative side of environmentalism, partly because of the negative coverage that ‘environmentalists’ often receive.
The world’s environmental issues (atmospheric pollution, synthetic chemical cycling in natural systems, food shortages, renewable energies etc.) have been burgeoning for decades. But they’ve only recently been saturated on our consciousness through media and government propaganda. If you look at it from a farmer’s perspective, they’ve seen droughts, water shortages and so-called ‘climate change’ for the last century or so…and then all of a sudden, city folk are all over them like a rash going on about emissions, carbon trading, water allocation markets and the like as if they’ve only just heard of it yesterday.
There are a lot of farmers around the world who are doing wonders for the environment (some of them without even realising it) and have been for years. I reckon a “Landcare for the 21st century” works both ways–it requires a lot more mutual respect between the farming and scientific communities, a lot more communication and knowledge trading, and a great deal less use of jargon and ‘catchphrases’.