Eighteen years ago, they switched to running their enterprise under biodynamic principles, with a huge focus on improving soil and pasture health to shore up fodder supply.
Glen farms just outside Malanda, running Glenview and milking 150 Aussie Reds in a 15-a-side Herringbone dairy. Glenview has been biodynamic since 2006, when the decision was made to supply to Mungalli Creek Dairy, a local biodynamic operation, in pursuit of a premium price.
The first significant change Glen made was to feed supply, as there were no biodynamic-certified grain products on the market available for purchase. Quickly, a plan was put in place to conserve fodder.
“All the advice was that you can’t conserve tropical pasture – but we had no choice but to start doing it and learn what we could and couldn’t do,” Glen says.
In the wet season, Glen cuts pasture after 2-3 weeks of growth, rolling it and wrapping it for silage to be fed out during the winter and into the dry season. Following the cut, the area is grazed, dependent on rainfall and subsequent regrowth.
Further south, pasture is often left to grow for much longer – 6-12 weeks – however the early cut in a high-rainfall climate prevents overripening, ensuring better feed quality. Cutting early also curbs weed competition problems.
But it’s not just a matter of knowing when to cut, as Glen also had to work out what types of pasture species to sow, and the best way to do so.
In May this year, he invested in a specialised minimum tillage machine that plants seasonal crops and pasture seeds into existing pastures. He is using it to sow a multi-species pasture mix sourced from a Victorian forage supplier.
Glen hopes that this machine will enhance both the quantity and quality of feed, leading to increased milk production, while also sequestering carbon in the soil and improving its nutrient and moisture-holding capacity thanks to minimal disturbance.
“The bottom looks like a rotary hoe, with a seed box on top, but across its 3.5-metre diameter. It only digs up seven furrows, which only equates to about 15 per cent of the paddock being disturbed,” Glen says.
“The permanent pasture comes up through the dirt, so it’s just a matter of top dressing that permanent pasture.”
Compost and natural fertiliser focus
Another strategy to boost soil and pasture health has been through the creation of compost out of farm waste products and spreading it on the farm’s non-irrigated country (about two thirds are non-irrigated). Between 100-150 tonnes of compost is created and spread each year.
For the past five years, Glen has also invested in a number of worm farms, with the worm leachate and castings also spread where needed. Pasture density has improved dramatically across areas where the spreading has occurred. The benefits show up in the vat too, with a 10 per cent lift in milk production coinciding with the onset of spreading.
Shading and revegetation benefits
Rather than diving below ground to improve soil health, Glen has also looked above the surface. He has planted shelter belts to allow for more uniform use of all paddocks, ironing out any nutrient imbalance problems.
When Glen bought the farm in 1999, half of the north-west area had been used as night paddocks for 50 years, while the southeast had been day paddocks due to trees in that area. By installing shelter belts in the north-east, both day paddocks and night paddocks could be anywhere.
“In 2010, we took part in a nutrient management project, which showed that the northwest side had high potassium levels, likely from decades of concentrated manure deposits during night grazing only,” Glen says.
“Now, those nutrient levels are more balanced.”
With shelter belts in place, as well as five per cent of the farm having been planted to rainforest in 2000, about eight per cent of Glenview is now revegetated.
“Switching to biodynamic practices and honing in on soil health has been a really profitable choice for us,” Glen says.
“We’re looking after the environment, our land, and our cattle – and there are clear benefits to the health of our herd, and to milk production.”
To find out more about how Dairy Australia supports farmers to better manage climate and environment, visit dairyaustralia.com.au/climate-and-environment or contact your regional office.
