soil-conservation-people-religion-and-land.pdf - South West NRM

The New Deal
The present situation reflects a response to producer
organizationsf desire to both take responsibility for, and
give the initiative in, "whole farma1 planning. This starting
point alone, gives "farmer-ledln planning a better chance of
success than the previous departmental approach. However,
several other differences between old and new strategies must
be exploited if real progress is to ensue.
Three basic questions require consideration:
1. Who should do the planning?
2. What level of precision is required in mapping and
description? 3
3. How should management and financial decision-making be
integrated with physical planning?
Wherever possible, landholders should take the lead in
evaluating the potential and hazards of each section of their
properties. This should be followed by the landholders own
mapping and decisions on a land use programme which meets the
objectives of sustainable production. This should be done on
the basis of orthophoto maps, using transparent, overlays and
wax pens in the initial stages in which alternatives are
considered. Group sessions in which individuals can be
assisted and queried by their peer group could ensure that a
range of alternatives are compared.
A rational analysis should be made of the usefulness of the
detail on topography and soils as included in past plans.
Serious consideration must be given to the use of generalized
mapping of slopes, soil and vegetation types, bearing in mind
that for practical management, slight variations in country
will be combined in manageable-sized paddocks for production
purposes. It is the writer's contention that in most cases a
workable plan can be drawn up without detailed topographic and
soil surveys, provided the landholdersf local knowledge of
their-=-properties is sufficient to identify units of the
landscape which require different management. This applies to
suitability for clearing and or cultivation and to
differential carrying capacity and erosion proneness.
In addition, full use should be made of existing fences and 1
treelines before these are replaced or removed.
There is every chance that landholders can make great strides
in improving land care by implementing management which:
(i) increases soil organic matter;
(ii) reduces soil losses;
(iii) improves f erility ;
(iv) reduces toxic chemical residues.
On most properties these changes can be commenced without a
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