Sustainable Farming

Billie Bean has been talking to farmers about how they manage the land. In his travels, he met Lawry and Jenny Pitman who farm 3100ha near Corrigin in the West Australian wheatbelt. Lawry and Jenny are very concerned about looking after the land they use to grow food, so Billie decided to interview them for "The Bean Files".

Interview with Lawry Pitman

Billie: - "Can farmers produce great food and keep the land healthy at the same time?"
Lawry: - "Yes they can. Most farmers are trying but some areas still need special treatment."

Billie: - "Is it a hard thing to do?"
Lawry: - "Yes it is very difficult and also very costly."

Billie: - "Can farmers do it on their own?"
Lawry: - "No, farmers can't do it on their own. They need expert advice on each situation and will sometimes need extra funding to enable them to do the right thing for the land."

Billie: - "Does your land have any health problems now? What are they?"
Lawry: - "It sure does. We have problems with salinity, erosion, acidity and non-wetting soil. The structure of our soil is also declining. This means that instead of being soft, and crumbly for roots to grow through, it's hard and roots can't grow properly in it. We've also lost lots of our native plants and animals."

Billie: - "What can the rest of us do to help farmers look after the land?"
Lawry: - "Help with tree planting is good. Just by being involved with Billie Bean is helping you understand our problems. Once you understand our problems you may want to help share some of the cost of healing the soil. This is something city people will have to think very carefully about."

Billie: - "What are you doing on your farm to keep the land in good condition for the future?"
Lawry: - "We are rotating our crops, keeping the stubble or plant residue on the paddock, using no-till seeding techniques, working on the contour, building banks to control water and planting many trees."

Use the internet to visit Tocal in the Lower Hunter Valley in NSW.

Start by going to the article about Tocal at Sustainable Industries Inc. Tocal is a 2200 ha property dedicated to promoting sustainable agriculture. They have a list of things that have to be considered in looking after the land. These include:-

• Managing the diverse range of native plants and animals on the land (biodiversity)
• Pollution control
• Weed control
• Managing wetlands and waterways
• Keeping soil fertile and in good condition (soil conservation)
• Conserving cultural heritage
• Maintaining the landscape

You can see that looking after the land is not so easy!

For a bit of fun, go to Splash! for a game about water quality and the environment.