Clem Sturmfels, Land Management Extension Officer
Recent bushfires have had devastating consequences for many farming families, destroying infrastructure such as fences, sheds, and water systems. Amongst this devastation, they also offer an opportunity to review and update farm layouts.
Farmers are encouraged to consider if their current layout is still the most effective for their business and to reflect on the following questions:
- are you making the best use of more productive areas on the farm?
- are you protecting areas vulnerable to soil erosion, structure decline, and inundation?
- can you better protect areas of bush, native grasslands, and waterway frontages?
- would a new laneway system make running the farm easier and more efficient?
- are your gates and troughs in the best location to maximise production and allow the efficient movement of stock and equipment?
Along with those questions, consider reviewing your fencing requirements. Do you need traditional fencing, or might electric fencing offer more flexibility and lower cost? Would you consider virtual fencing sometime in the future?
Rather than putting fences where they were prior to fires, consider re-fencing along land management unit or land class boundaries. Land class fencing allows you to better manage different land types on your farm and can result in better pastures and crops, improved productivity and the protection of soils, wetlands, and remnant vegetation.
While slope is a key criteria in determining land class, it's also important to consider the depth and structure of soil, the presence of stone or rock and the risk of water logging or inundation.
In normal times these are the sorts of things you might consider over a longer period of time. It might involve discussions with your family and employees, attending a whole farm planning course and preparing a plan of your future farm using a large, laminated aerial photo or computer mapping program.
A video providing an overview of whole farm planning is available on Agriculture Victoria's Feeding Livestock website www.feedinglivestock.vic.gov.au/pasture-resources/pasture-tools/
To assist with land classing, Agriculture Victoria has also developed an application which can be used on smartphone, tablet or computer. The application is available via our Learning Management System at https://learning.agriculture.vic.gov.au/
For more on fire recovery support and information, visit www.agriculture.vic.gov.au/bushfires or call 136 186.
