Our Territory, Our Future

When Doris Baylis and her husband took over the lease of Mataranka Station in 2016, they knew they would be busy - busy with infrastructure maintenance and cattle work, that is.

What they didn't bargain for was an annual, ongoing problem with wildfires.

It was, you could say, a true initiation by fire.

After losing almost 12,000ha to fires in 2017 and 2018, which equated to 15% of the properties grazing land, they knew they could no longer rely on traditional fire management.

So, they entered a Practice Change Partnership with Territory Natural Resource Management.

A Practice Change Partnership supports farmers to implement sustainable agriculture practices that will help protect native vegetation and biodiversity, and support the productivity of their operation.

These may be in the form of strategic weed and fire management plans, a change in water points, implementing new ag technology and different grazing methods for example.

The project is supported through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.

My name in Steph Coombes, and in this episode I travelled to Mataranka Station to learn about how the Practice Change Partnership between Mataranka Station and Territory NRM works, and what the outcomes have been so far.

This episode is supported by the Australian Government's National Landcare Program.

Jeremy Bradley is a biological farmer and Senior (Adjunct) lecturer in regenerative agriculture at Southern Cross University.

Alongside his wife Cathy, he runs Beechwood Biological Solutions – a business which develops and distributes soil improvement products.

Using local microbes, Jeremy and Cathy have increased the soil organic carbon on their own farm by 45% to a depth of at least one metre and have shared their experience widely with the Landcare and farming community.

My name is Steph Coombes, and in this episode I sat down with Jeremy to learn about the hidden potential of using local microbes and fungi, and how they can be used in the Northern Territory.

This episode is supported by the Australian Government's National Landcare Program.

When the Trembath family acquired “Lonesome Duck”, a 1000ha grazing and cropping property in the Katherine region of the Northern Territory, they managed the land using conventional farming practices.

It wasn’t until around 25 years later that the property began to transition from conventional to regenerative farming practices.

By his own admission, Jeremy states that in his early years managing the property, his choice to continue doing things as they’d always been done resulted in the soil health declining. It was until he was gifted a book on regenerative agriculture that Jeremy decided to do things differently and have soil health as the central focus of the entire agricultural operation. But, making the decision is one thing – knowing where to start, and actually starting, are a whole different story.

My name is Steph Coombes, and in this episode I sit down with Jeremy to learn about the practice changes he has implemented on Lonesome Duck over the past several years, what’s worked, what hasn’t, and where to next.

This episode is supported by the Australian Government's National Landcare Program.

This episode is part 2 in a 3 part series about principals of feral animal management in northern Australia.

My name is Steph Coombes, and in this 3 part series, I’m joined by Brett Ottley and Stu Barker, the team behind Wildscience - a company which uses science and on the ground experience for wildlife and feral animal management.

In part 1, we explored what a feral animal is, how they came to be in Australia, and how their populations have thrived.

In part 2, we discuss how the population ecology of feral animals differs from domestic animals, and how that impacts their management.

Be sure to tune in to part 3 to hear about the management options and factors that need to be taken into consideration to ensure effectiveness.

This episode is supported by the Australian Government's National Landcare Program.

Carbeen Park is a 8000 ha grazing and broadacre property in the Katherine region.

In additional to a 40 hectare pivot, and large scale dryland fodder production program, the property is also home to a cattle feedlot with registered spelling and dipping facilities.

In 2022, a local business, the National Feed Company, acquired the lease to Carbeen Park with plans to use the property to supply hay to their local feed mill.

However, there is much more going on at Carbeen Park that meets the eye.

My name is Steph Coombes, and in this episode I sit down with Munro Hardy, manager of Carbeen Park, to discuss the approach being taken to reinvigorating the property, and how their plans to generate cashflow are being guided by a focus on soil health.

This episode is supported by the Australian Government's National Landcare Program.