Then and now - working with Territory soils for 30 years ft. Fergal O'Gara, Northern Tropical Agriculture

06/28/23 • 0 min

Managing soils in the Northern Territory comes with its own unique set of challenges. So, how do we overcome these challenges, and what steps can we take to not just protect Territory soils, but improve them for the generations to come?

My name is Steph Coombes, and in this episode I sit down with Fergal O’Gara - an agricultural consultant with over 30 years experience in tropical agriculture, how land manages can sift through the overwhelming amount of data and management options available, to effectively and sustainably manage their soils.

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

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

Previous Episode

The challenges in protecting native vegetation ft. Danny Hayes, Mainoru Station

Mainoru Station is a 1300 km2 cattle station, 250km north east of Katherine. In the 10 years since Danny and Cathy Hayes purchased it, they have been relying predominantly on native vegetation for the cattle production system.

In this episode Danny shares the challenges he has in managing his native pastures, including below average rainfall, grazing pressure from both cattle, feral animals, and wildlife, and of course weeds.

He also discusses the Territory Conservation Agreement he entered into, how and why he chose the site he did, and what he hopes to achieve.

A Territory Conservation Agreement supports land managers to protect areas of conservation importance on their properties.

They are a 10-year voluntary agreements between Territory Natural Resource Management (TNRM) and a land manager.

The program is supported through funding from the Australian Government's National Landcare Program. The agreement is a contract, but it is not registered upon the title of the property or binding to future owners.

My name is Steph Coombes, and for this episode I travelled to Mainoru Station to learn about how Danny manages his native vegetation, and what impact the Territory Conservation Agreement will have.

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

Next Episode

Go local when it comes to Microbes ft. Jeremy Bradley, Beechwood Biological Solutions

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.