2 minute read
Farmers are also nature’s custodians
FARMERS ARE nature’s custodians
Warwick and Darryl Strong might have a lot of cropping land within their farming footprint, but it is the 12 hectares close to their home that is among their most prized — yet they don’t grow a single crop on it.
Out the back of Deniliquin in the Southern Riverina, the couple bought the property, Wongala, in 2000 to add to their existing farming footprint that includes rice, sheep and cropping.
The attraction was always in the farming land, but the 364ha did include a 12ha sandhill with remnant vegetation up one end of the farm and a 4ha box tree plot down the other.
Over the years these areas have become highly valued by the couple and enhanced to make the most of their unique features, including protecting the needlewoods and Australian bulokes, along with rare quandong and moonah trees.
Warwick said he was proud to have such rare trees growing in their natural habitat.
“Our initial options were to clear the land for farming or protect it and as farmers, it is up to us to leave things better than we found them along with something for the next generation.
In 2004, the area was fenced-off with the financial help of a government grant and the couple made the conscious decision to protect the sandhill from then on.
They are preserving the area and any logs that fall to the ground are kept as habitat for birds, reptiles and invertebrates.
The couple’s management does include grazing sheep for short, select periods to help keep the weed burden down and control fire risk, but the area is largely left on its own.
Quite a few scientists and environmentalists have visited the area over the years, especially to look at, and harvest, the quandong seed.
Warwick said the biggest threat to the sandhill was feral animals including rabbits but especially, cats.
“There are plenty of people out there who talk about saving the planet but don’t put in the hard yards spraying weeds or physically controlling feral animals.
“Farmers are the ones who truly care for the land and there should be some incentives out there to support that—fencing off remnant vegetation and controlling feral animals and weeds can be too costly for some farmers to afford on their own.”
Darryl and Warwick Strong have enhanced two areas on their farm to make the most of their unique features.
T H E
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