Opinions and ideas of what to use my farm for

6 posts
Sat, 01/16/2016 - 19:50 #1

Member for

8 years 10 months
Chris1
Last seen: 03/08/2018 - 21:05
Joined: 01/16/2016 - 19:36

Opinions and ideas of what to use my farm for

Hi folks, I'm seeking opinions and ideas for possible uses for my farm. When I bought it it was wall to wall grapes. I've removed half of them already and the other half are coming out straight after harvest in February. I can't wait to see them go! This will leave me with 24 acres of cleared farmland. I have a high security water allocation although it a bit expensive but it's a bearable cost. I have 8ML of water storage via two dams, one of which fills naturally after good rain. The other is fed by irrigation water only but I'm planning on adding piping between the two in order to fill both dams when water flows into the naturally fed one. The soil has been depleted by the vines but the best sign of potential for cropping or pasture grasses is that my neighbour has 40 acres of lucerne which grows well. I have a millet/cowpea mixture growing in one paddock which has done well. I'm interested in ideas for viable uses for my land. I have everything needed to cut, rake and bale but I'm not opposed to keeping livestock. Any input is both welcome and appreciated. Cheers.

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Mon, 01/18/2016 - 02:03 #2
barb
Last seen: 09/17/2019 - 18:07
Joined: 11/23/2011 - 09:38

Hi there,

would need to know what climate, rainfall and soil you have to be able to advise. One thing, to improve soil fertility a crop of lucerne wouldn't go astray, as it would help to put some nutrient in the form of nitrogen back into the soil. The Cow pea should help to raise your nitrogen level in the soil too, as most legumes, but not all, will. Cow pea is grown by the cane farmers in my region, in between cane crops, to replace nitrogen taken out by the cane.

 

Hope to hear from you soon.

Cheers,

Barb

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Mon, 01/18/2016 - 08:54 #3
Chris1
Last seen: 03/08/2018 - 21:05
Joined: 01/16/2016 - 19:36
Hi Barb, Thanks for your reply. My farm is in the Hunter Valley. Average rainfall is around 700mm, most of which seems to have fallen in the last week! Soil quality is not ideal as mentioned but I think that's probably due to my unirrigated vines not being fertilised for years before we bought the place. It's sandy loam type soil with a clay pan anywhere from 600-1000mm below the topsoil. I had a soil test done before I removed any vines and the agronomist's opinion was that it was workable ground but the vines had drained it of nutrients, hence the mulching crop that went in after I removed the vines. Nitrogen was listed as a key issue so I've spread poultry manure and added various treatments to improve it since. I am leaning towards a small stand of lucerne (around 12 acres) purely because it's a good seller but that will leave me with another 12 acres. I suppose I'm interested in any niches which might be worth investigating too. Cheers!
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Tue, 01/19/2016 - 23:24 #4
barb
Last seen: 09/17/2019 - 18:07
Joined: 11/23/2011 - 09:38

Hi,

Lucerne, great idea. Not only will it bring in a bit of cash when cut and baled, it will also add nitrogen to your soil and so reduce greatly the amount of Urea type fertiliser and so on, needed.

 

The roots of leguminous plants have nodulating bacteria on them calle Rhizobia, which draw nitrogen from the atmosphere and convert it into ammonia to be used by the plants as nitrogen. This can save you a lot of money in time and fertiliser for your pastures. Many of the Legume family - Fabiacea can do the same job as Lucerne (alfalfa); Peas, beans, white Lupin developed for livestock feed (not the coloured as they are pisonous to stock). Also in your climate, the clover family is quite useful for fixing nitrogen in the soil. In my sub tropical climate, the stylos do the same job. I planted Secca stylo and Veranha here to do this about 10 years ago and it grew very well in my very poor, sandy soil, whereas, lucerne is not all that successful here.

 

When sowing pasture seed, I usually use coated seed, coated with Lime and a little fertiliser. A bit more expensive, but most of the seeds will strike and not be taken away to be eaten by ants.

 

 I'll be interested to see how things go along.

Cheers,

Barb

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Thu, 01/21/2016 - 22:14 #5
Chris1
Last seen: 03/08/2018 - 21:05
Joined: 01/16/2016 - 19:36
Thanks for your reply once again Barb. I'm still learning the basics of farming but I think I can make my property reasonably productive, albeit in a smallish scale. The only other possibility I'm interested in, which would make my farm easier to manage on top of having to work my day job, would be to put livestock on the ground where I don't intend to grow Lucerne (primarily because I won't have enough water to support all 25 acres under irrigated crop). I realise that the herd would be small but it'd beat slashing unused ground. Open to suitable suggestions for stock to keep/sell/eat on 10-15 acres of potentially improved pasture. Cheers, Chris.
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Fri, 01/22/2016 - 17:01 #6
barb
Last seen: 09/17/2019 - 18:07
Joined: 11/23/2011 - 09:38

Hi, 

Perhaps you could put a few weaners on it. I suggest starting with about 6 Angus or Murray grey and see how you go with them. They are fairly quiet breeds and if you aren't used to handling livestock, getting them when they are younger and smaller will give you a chance to get used mustering and dealing with them while they aren't as big and strong as adult cattle. You will need a small yard and loading ramp. I wouldn't suggest Dexter or Low Line cattle, because they might be hard to sell on. 

 

When you get them home to the block, I suggest calling them up and giving them a small amount of feed in the yards each day. That way they will be used to coming when you call and they will be used to going into the yards for you, without the necessity of having to muster them up.

 

The other thing is, if you want to put horses on the block, don't put more than a few on it, because they are a big animal with an appetite to match. If you are going to put stock on the property then you wil need to get a PIC code - Property Identification Code, for the property if it doesn't have one already.

 

Cheers,

Barb

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