Wooleen Station, Outback WA needs support
Submitted: Tuesday, Nov 25, 2014 at 15:45
ThreadID:
110252
Views:
3334
Replies:
7
FollowUps:
7
This Thread has been Archived
Member - There Yet
I have seen the stories on TV and have been very impressed with the work and strategies David and Francis are putting in place at the station. They have done some remarkable work in restoring the land to the natural habitat for fauna and flora. I am not one for running out and signing any petition that comes along, but I do believe that this one is worth it.
http://www.savewooleen.com.au/
Cheers Kerry
Reply By: ExplorOz Team - Michelle - Wednesday, Nov 26, 2014 at 13:21
Wednesday, Nov 26, 2014 at 13:21
Interesting discussion this just sparked here.... one view presented is farming land is designated by government to ensure that we have areas set aside for food production which is a critical issue for our growing world
population and important to Australia as a primary producer. Perhaps in the Government's eyes, they don't wish for farmers to choose a more cost effective operation from land set aside for food production, eg. tourism as then that is a commercial business and valuable farming land should not be used for that. The flip side to this however is that if the land is already over-grazed and of poor soil quality for food production, then its going to take a lot of pesticides and fertilizers etc to improve the soil which means the food produced her will take up these chemicals into our food chain and that's not desirable in a food market that is more and more pushing for organic.
AnswerID:
542206
Follow Up By: Sigmund - Wednesday, Nov 26, 2014 at 15:23
Wednesday, Nov 26, 2014 at 15:23
It's protein production, a subset of food production. It's a costly way of feeding people on several levels.
FollowupID:
828455
Follow Up By: Member - John and Val - Wednesday, Nov 26, 2014 at 17:14
Wednesday, Nov 26, 2014 at 17:14
Hi Michelle,
I think what we are seeing in these leasing arrangements is just a remnant of earlier times when seasons may have been going through wetter times and before years of overgrazing not just by sheep or cattle but by feral animals too. A real trap for the early farmers and graziers was to see land in good seasons and extrapolate from that year to thinking the seasons will always be good. The SA Goyder line is a classic story in that regard.
Also the rangelands are overall suited to grazing rather than agriculture ie growing crops. So the parcels of land are very large compared to land in better watered
places. Too large for fertiliser and herbicide applications to be viable either practically or financially. I agree with what is being tried at Wooleen - reducing grazing pressure to give the native ecosystems a chance to get back into some kind of balance. Tourism is the obvious income generator while that is happening, as many outback properties have already discovered.
I would love to see the day when beauraucracies could come up with such a rational way of looking at things as you propose. I wont be holding my breath though.
Cheers,
Val.
| J and V
"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
- Albert Einstein
Lifetime Member My Profile My Blog Send Message |
FollowupID:
828457
Follow Up By: Bazooka - Thursday, Nov 27, 2014 at 14:13
Thursday, Nov 27, 2014 at 14:13
Hoofed belching protein at that Sigmund.
FollowupID:
828487
Follow Up By: Bazooka - Thursday, Nov 27, 2014 at 14:16
Thursday, Nov 27, 2014 at 14:16
Should have added that there's plenty of far more valuable crop land being "resumed" by miners and others on the east coast. Money talks.
FollowupID:
828488
Follow Up By: Kilcowera Station Stay - Thursday, Nov 27, 2014 at 14:21
Thursday, Nov 27, 2014 at 14:21
And there is absolutely no reason why grazing and tourism can't operate together on the same place. They compliment each other beautifully.
FollowupID:
828490