Mapping the Mallee delivers environmental benefits

Farmers are using EMAP aerial maps to make better on-farm decisions

At a glance

• Almost one million hectares of Mallee farming land has now taken part in Environmental Management Action Planning (EMAP).
• Includes tailored workshops, one-onone case management and planning through farm maps.
• Farmers have received assistance to develop future plans which balance productivity and environmental gains.
• Over 22,000 hectares of biodiversity planning and 1600km of fencing identified.
• Plans covering 200,000 hectares earmarked for practice change.

Next time you drive the 250 kilometres along the Mallee Highway from Murrayville to Swan Hill, take a look at the farms along the roadside.

You’ll be impressed.

Over the last six years, almost all of the farms lining the highway have taken part in a program to plan for sustainability and productivity on their land.

Many now are reporting changed management practices and a better vision for the future due to knowledge gained from EMAP workshops.

Others have welcomed back biodiversity to their land.

So, what is EMAP all about?

Introducing EMAP

EMAP project officer Peter Hamence says the program is a joint initiative of DPI and the Mallee Catchment Management Authority (CMA) and involves other regional service providers.

For participants, it includes a two-day workshop, tailored to each area and one-onone sessions with a case manager to develop a sustainable plan that meets farm business and local environmental needs.

The initial project idea grew out of a series of aerial images taken in 2003.

With the images in hand, Mr Hamence said DPI and the Mallee CMA started thinking about how they could be used to benefit farmers.

At the time whole farm planning (WFP) had been around for a while, but environmental management systems (EMS) were just emerging.

With input from a local steering committee a plan was hatched to combine the two, integrating WFP and catchment outcomes through farmer engagement, facilitation and training.

EMAP began in 2005 as a pilot project through a partnership formed between DPI, SuniTAFE and Mallee CMA.

The initial target area chosen for the pilot was the Tyrrell basin, a 400,000ha area near Sea Lake and Manangatang. This had been identified by the Mallee CMA as a high priority area for potential impacts from rising water tables and salinity, Mr Hamence said.

He said the initial target was to get about 30 per cent of the local farmers involved.

“We knew we could get 10 per cent, but we thought if we could get 30 we would be doing pretty well.”

They did this and more.

“Within three years of commencing the pilot we had achieved over 70 per cent engagement of the Tyrrell basin,” Mr Hamence said.

Almost 400 Mallee farmers have now taken part in EMAP and completed their plans.

The collective area managed equates to around 50 per cent of the agricultural land in the Mallee region, including dryland and irrigation properties.

“We have just finished the last target area at Underbool and we achieved in excess of 80 per cent contact engagement,” Mr Hamence said.

Sample aerial map used as part of the EMAP program

Keeping it local

So, why does it work?

DPI works with the Mallee CMA to identify regional catchment priority targets such as salinity or soil health and targets engagement through existing networks and local case managers.

Using an existing farmer contact group such as a local branch of the Victorian Farmers Federation or Landcare, the EMAP program enters the area and through advertising, word of mouth and community groups begins to engage with farmers in the area.

“During the engagement process we’ll ask farmers to complete a self-assessment that will help inform us about the topics and types of speakers we should get for that group,” Mr Hamence said.

“That makes sure the content is relevant and of interest to local farmers.”

Based on this information, the EMAP team designed an initial workshop with group sizes of 15 to 25 participants, who range in age from teenagers to 80 years and older.

The topics reflect key regional, district and local issues.

“As an example, we engaged bee keepers to talk to almond growers about pollination as well as experts talking about a range of new or changing technologies,” Mr Hamence said.

He said guest presenters from CSIRO, agribusinesses and farm consultants and DPI discuss new industry developments they are working on.

Sourcing the best speakers possible for the topic and the group in question is critical, with local speakers utilised where possible.

“We find it important to have locally credible presenters. If it’s a specialist topic we get someone to come in, but where possible we try to find people within the region that have knowledge of the area and the things that relate to the farms,” Mr Hamence said.

More than 22,000 hectares in the Mallee have been identified for biodiversity planning

Case management

Peter Hamence addresses an EMAP workshop

Once participants are engaged in EMAP, case management forms an integral component of the project and its success, with case managers assigned immediately to help them develop a vision for their farm.

After completing the workshop, participants receive a visit from their case manager to work on their property plan.

“We’ll sit at the kitchen table and talk through their future and their ideas,” Mr Hamence said.

“We capture their ideas and intentions on the mapping then we get it professionally digitised and provide it in printed and digital formats.”

After the initial 2003 aerial photography, the region was again photographed in 2009.

Mr Hamence said both seasons were poor in terms of production, which resulted in less vegetation and crop cover, meaning they functioned as good soil maps.

“We overlay contours on top of that and use digital elevation model images as well. It provides a visual picture of the shape and relative elevation of the property. People can use it to draw out greater detail and make decisions about their property.”

He said it could also feed into variable rate cropping decisions, where sowing technology is calibrated according to soil type and elevation.

Ultimately, Mr Hamence said the maps improve the fit between what the land is able to produce and what growers should put in to get the best return.

“They can better match their inputs to expected yield, varying fertiliser and seeding rates to better match soil types and variation across their property,” he said.

“By cutting down on the amount of fertiliser and input costs, in poor seasons they’re (farmers) cutting down their potential losses.

“They can better manage soil health, impacts on the environment and reduce their carbon footprint.”

Mr Hamence said case management also linked farmers to a number of incentive and support programs to assist them with their property plans and goals.

He said through the program, the Mallee CMA is able to identify natural resource management based actions and assist farmers to make their plans a reality.

Farmer in focus

One farmer who has benefited from incentives following the EMAP program is Steve O’Callaghan, who runs a 2200ha cropping operation at Ouyen East.

Mr O’Callaghan took part in the program in 2009 and since then has implemented a number of initiatives on-farm that have improved his productivity, sustainability and even the aesthetics of his property.

He said finding out about the evolution of the Mallee during the workshop was “mind blowing”.

“The various land formations and how they developed was the thing that intrigued me the most.”

A former agronomist, Mr O’Callaghan already had a solid knowledge of soils, but he said the workshop showed him about using soil contours on aerial maps to better define the various production zones on the property.

Seeing the soils and contour map assisted him to maximise operational efficiency and optimise production inputs, according to soil type capability.

Since then he’s had more aerial photography done and continues to meet regularly with EMAP project officers Graham McKechnie (DPI) and Graham Sporn (Mallee CMA).

“I would talk to them once a month. They’re local fellows and they understand what I’m trying to do,” Mr O’Callaghan said.

“I can’t talk highly enough of them. They know this part of the world backwards and are always willing to listen and suggest new ideas.”

Mr O’Callaghan has since managed to get funding for environmental works on his property, including two grants to minimise soil erosion and reduce the impacts of salinity.

As a result of the works, Mr O’Callaghan has already brought over 50ha of land back into use.

Where before the area was saline, eroding and a harbour for rabbits, the environmental impacts are now reduced and the land is back in production, continuing to maintain groundcover and reduce erosion.

“The works have made this part of the farm much more efficient to manage,” Mr O’Callaghan said.

He said even a small grant can make a real difference.

“It may sound small, but so far it has been well worth doing.”

The work associated with the eroding dune is just one of the programs Mr O’Callaghan has implemented since taking part in the EMAP workshop.

“I’ve taken a 5–10 year view of it, rather than one or two years.

“My ideas have also changed over time and I’ve identified more and more projects I can work on and identified more areas that need looking at.”

Mr O’Callaghan estimates he’s implemented 50 per cent of the work he planned when he initially took part in the EMAP program.