Turning Salt lands into Productive Pastures | DPIRD

Turning Salt lands into Productive Pastures - Greg Tippet
"They are able to crop 80% of the farm whilst having doubled their sheep
stocking rate (2.7 – 6.2 DSE / available pasture ha) since the early 1990s.”

“Third generation farmer Greg Tippet farms with his family in the low rainfall (310mm) central agricultural region, south of Shackleton in the Shire of Bruce Rock. They have taken a proactive approach to salinity management by establishing up to 500-hectares of salt tolerant perennials in particular saltbush using their own machinery and seed. These saltbush areas are now utilised as a rotationally grazed feedlot system of areas between five and 15-hectares. The system started in August 1996; Greg undertook their first major saltbush planting, a block sowing 80-hectares with a mix of five shrub species and tall wheat grass. This successfully stabilised the land from erosion and further groundwater rise and more importantly provided grazing production. As the stands of saltbush become established the salt levels in the upper soil profile are reduced and annual legume species of sub-clover, grasses and broadleaf weeds return. Greg provides supplementary grain and hay into the feedlots, which the sheep eat first along with the green understory pastures; he has found that the saltbush provides about 10% of the sheep diet. The major benefit of the feedlots regime is that they supply feed during the autumn and end of spring feed gaps and makes for a good transition for the sheep onto the pasture paddocks and crop stubble. The bushes also provide barriers to wind as even when grazed the plants stabilise the soil and the water run on and off has less of an impact. These feedlot areas also take grazing pressure off other areas of the farm, so less compaction by sheep, erosion risk and promoting better soil structure and crop production. The shrubs are resilient to the grazing and the dry seasons with constant self-recruitment of new shrubs and pasture species. Greg has noticed that overall the perennial plants have lowered the water table by up to 1.5m in places, allowing remnant vegetation to regenerate from seed and prevented further expansion of salinity in to the productive paddocks. The saltland paddocks and feedlots have presented an opportunity to increase feed supply, particularly through the feed gap periods, allowing better management of available land for crop and pasture production. They are able to crop 80% of the farm whilst having doubled their sheep stocking rate (2.7 – 6.2 DSE / available pasture ha) since the early 1990s.”
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