Biodiversity: the secret to thriving farms

Attendees enjoyed a barbecue lunch featuring produce from the Pattisons farm, next to the campfire.

Conversation topics included farm dams and wetlands, woodland and pasture biodiversity, salt bush, alternative fertilisers and biochar.

Mrs Pattison said the event was eye-opening.

“I’d call it a pretty successful event,” she said.

“We had almost 40 people in attendance, who got a lot out of the workshop and from the other speakers.”

Also presenting at the workshop were Luke Harrington from ReGen Farming, Roger Knight from WMLIG, Emily Wilson from Local Land Services and Nigel Jones from NSW BCT.

Pattison Pastoral’s main enterprise is beef cattle production, which has grown since the Pattisons bought their first farm in 2011.

In 2019 they moved to ‘Minmi’ near Burraboi, 60km north-west of Deniliquin, and a lot of their produce is sold at Pattison Pastoral butchery in Deniliquin

They produce Angus predominantly, but also Hereford and Black Baldy.

On the 4200 acre property, they have between 250 to 300 breeders at any one time.

The practical benefits of native biodiversity that Pattison Pastoral experiences made them ideal hosts for the event.

“We’ve found more diversity in pasture leads to a wider range of nutrients, healthier cattle and better weight gain overall,” Mrs Pattison said.

“We have been achieving very high weight gain with a grass grazing system and pasture rotation.

“We also have our paddock to plate butchery in Deniliquin so that the community has access to meat produced under conditions we think are ethical and top quality.

“We’re constantly working to improve through native pastures and water supply.

“We have also been a part of the Murray Irrigation’s Restoring Murray Waterways, and in our experience with that has been a benefit to business.”

At the event, Mrs Pattison shared the example of how native salt bush has provided multiple benefits for their farming.

“I spoke about how we use biodiversity, how we got accredited with Land to Market Regenerative Farming accreditation based on ecological monitoring, our experience using salt bush as a stock feed and why we think natural capital is not separate from business and management of landscape.

“The workshop was held next to a salt bush plantation, alongside a dam built to host livestock and native flora and fauna.

“We have 15 hectares of Anameka salt bush that was planted by Tulla Natives in 2021.

“We’ve found that cattle are better grazing salt bush than sheep, even though salt bush is often promoted more for sheep.

“Salt bush helps the cattle process the dry feed in the summer months, as it is high in protein and helps the rumen with the digestive process.

“Perennial native pastures provide great benefit when summer rainfall events occur, as they’re then able to graze the beneficial green feed that comes.

“Predominantly, pastures in this area are winter dominant annuals that can’t utilise summer rainfall.

“Having more perennial (pastures) takes out the boom and bust nature of winter annual pastures.

“Saltbush also creates a micro-environment for the pasture, protecting the surrounding pasture base from the harsh environment.”

Having high biodiversity levels could also further benefit farmers, with exciting new developments taking place through the local land improvement group.

“The Western Murray Land Improvement Group has some funding to help farmers access the biodiversity credits available.

“Similar to the well-known carbon credits scheme, it could be lucrative to farmers potentially if they have that level of biodiversity.

“We will put in an expression of interest. On the property, we are home to several species that are endangered, including the southern bell frog, which also factors into the biodiversity level.”

Anyone interested in the biodiversity credit program is invited to contact WMLIG via its website, www.westernmurraylig.org.

You can also follow the group’s Facebook page, and subscribe to its newsletter via the website.