{"id":45370,"date":"2019-04-23T10:56:08","date_gmt":"2019-04-23T00:56:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nofibs.com.au\/?p=45370"},"modified":"2022-05-02T13:02:00","modified_gmt":"2022-05-02T03:02:00","slug":"clear-waters-a-must-for-farmings-future-tallawang-reports-on-newenglandvotes-watergate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/clear-waters-a-must-for-farmings-future-tallawang-reports-on-newenglandvotes-watergate\/","title":{"rendered":"Clear waters a must for farming’s future: @tallawang reports on #NewEnglandVotes #Watergate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The most crucial element of a productive landscape is water: rainwater, surface water and ground water. Water has managed to get a lot of column inches over the past few months, with dried up rivers, fish kills, Royal Commissions, mud throwing and buck passing. All good for newspaper sales, but do they assist in the development of sound policy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As farmers in the foothills of the Liverpool Ranges in the southern half of the New England electorate, my partner Nicky and I have focussed on improving the hydrology of our property \u2014 the irrigation and drainage \u2014 and to increase our soil organic matter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This has had the result of enabling us to have grass longer into dry spells and to recover faster with any rain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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‘Tallawang’ in the Liverpool Ranges showing different approaches to land management. Photo: supplied<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Three days after our latest rainfall I took the two photographs that appear in this article. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the fence-line shot, the country in the top right-hand side is our neighbours’. It hasn\u2019t been ploughed, it’s just been managed differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that’s the key: management. We can have all the ‘agriculture’ and ‘water’ policies we like, but the fact is they’re interlinked, and climate change poses a threat to them all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Grass recovery at ‘Tallawang’ after recent rain. Photo: supplied<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The current government produced a White Paper on Agriculture<\/a> that failed to mention climate change and seems to have disappeared when previous Agriculture and Water Resources Minister Barnaby Joyce lost his job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which points to the other key: leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Independent candidate for New England Adam Blakester<\/a> (@AdamBlakester<\/a>) has a suite of policies aimed at producing productive landscapes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forward-looking policy<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Adam aims to pursue the establishment of a national strategy and funding to support the future of farming. A forward-looking policy that addresses the needs of a productive and profitable landscape. It will look into nutrient, soil, water and climate systems, cycles and risks, land management education, environmental stewardship and succession planning \u2014 enabling new generations of farmers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The policy includes support for farming as a vital industry in times of droughts, floods or other natural disasters. It also:-<\/p>\n\n\n\n