Farm plans: Reinventing cropping and grazing techniques

In the two years since receiving his Whole Farm NRM Guide, Grant Bain has been very busy putting it to good use on his 1400ha property located between Mingenew and Geraldton.
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In the two years since receiving his Whole Farm NRM Guide, Grant Bain has been very busy putting it to good use on his 1400ha property located between Mingenew and Geraldton.
Grant Bain picturedon his farm in 2014, before he established his perennials.
Grant Bain pictured on his farm in 2014, before he established his perennials.

All of the planned fencing has now been completed and Grant has nearly finished dividing his farm into paddocks of about 25ha – ensuring his cattle can be very efficiently managed. In addition to the new fencing, perennial pastures have been planted on the entire property and are thriving.

What does this mean – no more cropping?

Not exactly. Grant is still cropping by seeding directly into the perennials, and is finding this to be productive as fodder rather than as a harvested grain. He is currently running 1000 head of cattle and once everything is at full production he expects to be able to increase this to 1500 head.

 

“The mapping process has saved me so much headache and time driving around in circles on my paddocks measuring fence placement,” Grant said.

“This means I’ve been able to focus on perennial establishment, get the fences in faster and start good rotational grazing.”

NACC Natural Resource Management Officer Heather Legge has worked closely with Grant over the years. She said there had been a lot of new fencing installed on this property and it had resulted in good pasture management and good Natural Resource Management.

“This is what NACC is all about,” Heather said.

“It is great to see the work that went into the whole farm NRM guide, especially the map, being put to practical use.”

This project is supported by NACC, through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.

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