Gippsland - How Now Gippy Now - June 2010 Edition
Healthy Farms, Healthy Corner Inlet
Corner Inlet, a RAMSAR listed wetland is a spectacular place to live and work near.
Local dairy farm managers are aware that their management practices can impact on the wider catchment and the inlet itself.
Yanakie couple, Peter and Lynne Truscott, milk 300 cows on 215 hectares and have long tried to do their best by the environment. They are very aware that farming practices on the landholdings that surround it play no small part in the health of Corner Inlet.
Peter is pleased to see the birdlife increasing as he plants more trees beside the creek which runs through his Yanakie dairy farm and into Corner Inlet.
Lynne says the mangroves in the Inlet are definitely looking healthier.
They are delighted to have their longstanding environmental practices recognised by the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) and the West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority (WGCMA) and assistance provided so they can continue to follow best practice principles in the management of their farm and its environment.
The Truscotts are part of the Corner Inlet Connections Project that stretches from the hills to the sea. The aim of this project is to reduce the flow of nutrients and sediments into Corner Inlet to improve the health of the inlet, particularly its seagrass meadows, so sensitive to the quantities of nutrients in the water.
Of course, farms are only one source of the sediments and nutrients. The clearing of the hills, mining operations of years gone by and bushfires – such as the huge one last year at Wilsons Promontory – have all had their effect on the inlet.
In recent months, DPI and WGCMA have been working with landholders such as the Truscotts with a focus on fencing of creeks, soils, fertilisers and effluent management.
With the help of Daniel Watts from DPI Ellinbank, the landholders have drawn up effluent, nutrient and fertiliser management plans. Often it is a case of putting down in writing guidelines and procedures which the farmers have long had in their heads.
The Truscotts have upgraded their effluent management system and make the most of the nutrients and water from the ponds.
“We recycle the waste water for washing the dairy yard and spraying onto our paddocks in the summer time,” Peter Truscott says.
“We hire a slurry tanker to apply the effluent onto the more distant paddocks.” One of the benefits of this re-use of wastewater is that less fertiliser is needed, and consequently the farmer saves money.
With the help of soil and effluent samples he took, Daniel recently drew up a guide for fertilising the Truscott property.
“It coincided with a course we did with DPI on fertilising dairy pastures,” Lynne says.
“The plan shows that sometimes we can do with less fertiliser. The mix is adjusted according to the soil samples.” The Truscotts, like other farmers – currently over 500 in Gippsland alone –frequently refer to the DairySAT (self-assessment tool) which Dairy Australia recommends to dairy farmers for improving productivity and environmental outcomes on their farms.
They have found it a useful guide for best practice in everything from effluent management to native vegetation and waterways, but are pleased to note that many of its recommendations they have adopted already.
Contact:
Daniel Watts
DPI Ellinbank
Tel: 5624 2222
