Dealing with salinity in Wheatbelt Valleys - Department of Water

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Table 4: Relative cost of contractor vs farmeroperated direct seeding Activity Farmer cost Contract cost Contract cost 0 150 Seed costs 4 Inc. Vermiculite 14 Inc. Machine hire 15 Inc. Tractor value 6 6 Operator time 10 Inc. Spray costs 15 15 TOTAL 64 171 While the cost per hectare is one thing, farmers will need to know that they can achieve economic returns from the saltland. Will there be enough money from the stock to pay for it? Our experience shows that these costs can be recouped in a short time frame. On “Bundilla”, we have been able to increase the stocking rate from under 2 DSE/Ha to more than 8 DSE/Ha without additional clovers. With the addition of balansa, this should increase further. If we assume a cost of $6.00 per head to run the 8 sheep per Ha, cut 6 Kg of wool per head at $3.00/Kg and the fertiliser cost is $20.00/ha, the total cost will be $68.00/ha for a return of $144.00/ha. A gross margin of $76.00/ha. WHERE TO NOW? So now we have seen that “Bundilla” has achieved increased profitability and sustainability in the productive use of saltland. Does it finish here? Can we sit back and relax? No! We need to push on to make this increasing area of saltland more productive. We need to look at other industries that are themselves both profitable and sustainable. What do we have? – 7 – THE FUTURE PASTURES AND THEIR ANIMALS? Lloyd Animal production from saline land will always be the “main show in town”. Most will see this as sheep and cattle, with goats as perhaps another option. However, we should not be constrained by our current thinking. Are there other animals we can use to graze saltland pastures? What about our native animals? The kangaroos on “Bundilla” certainly enjoy the pasture. Is it possible to farm these and other native species? In 1998, the Saltland Pastures Association (Inc.) proposed to the State Salinity Council that there are one million hectares of saltland in WA that could be revegetated with current knowledge and technology. This proposal was accepted by the Council and now forms part of the State Salinity Strategy released in April 2000. The proposal looks at the revegetation of one million hectares of salt-affected land with halophyte shrubs for fodder production, carbon sequestration and environmental improvement in the Wheatbelt of WA (Malcolm & Lloyd 2001). The Association received funds from the SSC under the 2000 Community Support Program to develop a Business Plan for the implementation of the project. The preparation of the Plan has been contracted to the Department of Agriculture, and is managed by a committee of the SPA. Fodder production from saltland is well documented in this paper and other places (Barret-Lennard & Malcolm 1995). New plants, both annual and perennial, need to be developed to improve the profitability. There needs to be research into grazing strategies and overall management of the areas set aside for fodder production. Discussions are continuing with the Australian Greenhouse Office to gain carbon credits for halophyte plantings. While this may be some way ahead, there are potentially significant financial gains to be made in this area. The environmental aspects of the proposal should not be overlooked. While it is estimated that we could lose a large number of native species of both fauna and flora through the salinisation of the landscape, the revegetation of large areas of saltland will encourage the return of native plants and animals. Farmers will be encouraged to plant conservation areas within the One Million
Lloyd Hectares project to provide wildlife corridors and havens for fauna. AQUACULTURE AND OTHER SALINE WATER USES Another area that requires mention is the “grazing” of fish in saline water, either pumped from the groundwater or surface water. Fisheries WA has developed the Outback Ocean project to grow rainbow trout during winter. While this may seem strange to some people, it is creating widespread interest amongst farmers who are looking to diversify their farm operation. What does the future hold for aquaculture? There are opportunities for both extensive and intensive aquaculture using saline water in Wheatbelt WA - opportunities in increased income for communities, increased employment in the fish processing and tourism potential. The uses for saline water can be separated into use of the water itself and the processing of the water for salt. Apart from the fish production mentioned above there is potential for algae and brine shrimp production. In South Australia there is interest in trials the growth of an organism in saline water for the production of a petroleum – like product. There is also growing interest for generating electricity using the differential salt concentrations in a body of saline water. In many areas, salt is used in swimming pools. There is an opportunity to market the salt from saline groundwater for its environmental benefits and even perhaps extract a premium for “Envirosalt”. OTHER REVEGETATION OPPORTUNITIES In addition to grazing animals on saltland pastures or in salt water, there are a number of other areas that can achieve production from saltland. These include other plants, and other products from water. As mentioned previously, the SPA project to revegetate one million hectares of saltland will largely rely on plants for animal production. However, there are other opportunities for profitable production from vegetation. Seed Production There will be a requirement for approximately 100 tonnes of seed each year for 10 years to achieve the aims of the One Million Hectares project. There is scope to develop this seed production – 8 – enterprise into a significant export industry. Not only could the seed production be for woody perennials, but could also include grass and clover species developed for saltland. Other Woody Products CALM and CSIRO have identified several native tree species with some salt tolerance which are suited to a variety of end uses. High quality timber from eucalypts, firewood from a wide range of species, and brushwood fencing and cineole production from broombush are just a few. With more research, this list can be expanded. Of course, some of these will not grow well and be profitable in all saline sites, and will mainly be confined to the more moderately saline areas, but it really will be a “horses for courses” situation. CONCLUSIONS While there may be debate as to the amount of agricultural land that will become saline in the next few decades, there is no debate that the increase will be large. As a community, we cannot ignore the inevitable – that there will need to be changes in our attitude to saltland. This land can become very productive. The examples of some farmers in developing saltland pastures to graze animals are just the start of this change of attitude. We must all “think outside the box” and try to see where the future might lead us. Will we accept the challenge? Will we be prepared to change the way we farm both saline and non-saline land to make it more productive and more sustainable? Saltland is Australia’s fastest growing agricultural resource. What we do about it is our challenge. Are we prepared to change? The future is in our hands. REFERENCES Barret-Lennard, E.G. & Malcolm, C.V. (1995). Saltland Pastures in Australia – a Practical Guide. Correal, E. & Sotomayor, J.A. (1996). Effect of Straw Supplementation on Intake and Browsing of Atriplex nummularia (Oldman Saltbush) by Segurena ewes, under Pen-feeding and Free-grazing Conditions. In: Proceedings of Workshop on Native and Exotic Fodder Shrubs in Arid and Semi-arid Zones. Hammamet, Tunisia, 551-557. Malcolm, C.V. & Lloyd M.J. (2001). Revegetation of One Million Hectares of Wheatbelt Saltland in Western Australia. In: Proceedings of 7 th National Conference of
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Foreword Dealing with Salinity in W
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1Day one: Monday 30th July. Field t
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Papers Dealing with Salinity in Whe
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Ali and Coles biggest challenges fa
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Ali and Coles erosion, maintenance
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Ali and Coles expected under these
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Ali and Coles Coles, N.A. & Ali, M.
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Commander, Schoknecht, Verboom and
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APPRECIATING AND CREATING OUR HISTO
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services. The Government responded
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WHEATBELT VALLEYS IN DIFFICULTIES T
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argue that they were really abnorma
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1990s, the wheatbelt valleys in par
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Page 105 and 106: INTRODUCTION The Lake Chinocup Catc
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Page 131 and 132: Pannell Pannell, D.J. (2001). Dryla
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Secondly, there is a set of practic
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within three categories: relationsh
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CONCLUSIONS Actions to protect and
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FIELD TOUR LOCATIONS FIELD TOUR NOT
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COLES FARM “Avon River Basin Over
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Conference Outcomes Dealing with Sa
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with Salinity in Wheatbelt Valleys:
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with Salinity in Wheatbelt Valleys
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Photo Gallery 2 Dealing with Salini
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APPENDIX 1 BACKGROUND HYDROLOGY AND
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WHEATBELT HYDROLOGY Flow in the Yil
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Flow (ML) STREAM SALINITY Salt Rive
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APPENDIX 2 WATER MANAGEMENT OPTIONS
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APPENDIX 3 MANAGING WATER AND SALIN
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SUMMARY- TIMELINE OF RECENT SIGNIFI
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RECENT HISTORY OF WATER AND SALINIT
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Figure 1. Hydrological cross-sectio
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Depth (m) 316 315 314 313 312 311 M
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FURTHER INVESTIGATIONS AND MANAGEME
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Dealing with salinity in Wheatbelt Valleys - Department of Water

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