We figured if they are this keen to get together, who are we to stand in the way, hence we are expecting our lambs a little earlier this year. This shouldn’t be a big problem, but if there isn’t enough good feed in the paddocks by then, we may have to supplement them with some hay. Alternatively, they may know more about weather forecasting than we do, and spring might come early this year. We’ll have to wait and see…

Aside from the environmental and animal welfare issues of feed lots, keeping animals in confined conditions also increases stress and disease and necessitates the use of antibiotics, hormones and growth promoting additives. The goal is maximum growth at the lowest cost and animals are fed grain and various by-products to achieve this.

Ruminant animals are designed to digest cellulose. Their guts are full of bacteria which do this and, in effect, they are eating the bacteria and not the vegetable matter itself. Feeding ruminants grain decreases the pH of the gut, the increasing acidity supports the growth of lactic-acid producing bacteria which in turn further increases gut acidity. This is known as acidosis and is associated with numerous health impacts and if the onset is sudden (acute) it can even cause death. Animals in feedlots are fed some hay rations and given supplements to counteract this but in reality they are slowly being poisoned. It would equate to a human eating nothing but refined sugar and some vitamin pills; a huge amount of energy to facilitate rapid weight gain, which is mostly fat and not muscle, and just enough “nutrients” to stop us from keeling over. This is hardly a balanced diet and the meat produced is high in calories, saturated fat and has little nutritional value other than being a source of protein and fat.

Meat touted as “grass fed” is sometimes, nutritionally, not much better. The preoccupation of modern, conventional agriculture on production means that the focus of most grazing operations is on maximum performance. This means growing animals to their optimum weight as quickly as possible. This is accomplished by irrigating pastures and the use of NPK fertilisers, which are the plant equivalent of feeding grain to sheep and cattle. Plants are given all the ingredients to grow quickly (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) but the fast growth means they do not have sufficient time to accumulate trace nutrients, either because they are not present in the soil or because the plants use them more quickly than they can accumulate reserves. Additionally plants which are grown too quickly have weakened cell walls, as they can’t keep up with the accelerated growth rates, they are more susceptible to pest attack and are treated with various pesticides. A lot of these operations are mono-cultures, a paddock which only contains Lucerne, no matter how lush and green, does not provide much nutritional diversity. Animals raised this way are not susceptible to acidosis but they are essentially eating empty calories and they are also ingesting any residual pesticides and their break-down products. The resulting meat is lower in calories and has a better fat profile than grain fed but is still low in nutrients.

Sheep and cattle are pretty clever really, they have a much better handle on their nutritional requirements than us humans. The feedback from gut to brain is almost instant. Given the opportunity to browse a variety of healthy plants, raised on healthy soils, they eat what they need, when they need it. Their demands vary markedly, depending on season, whether they’re lactating or pregnant, going through a growth spurt, etc and they regulate their diet accordingly. They will eat plants which are mildly toxic but which contain elements which they require and they will quickly follow this by eating an “antidote” plant. Foraging animals sometimes have to walk a long way to find a particular plant so they get plenty of exercise. Stocking densities are usually lower and the animals travel through the pasture which breaks the life cycle of many parasites and the animals are healthier so they are less susceptible to infections anyway. And that’s good news for us, the less residual antibiotics, drenches etc we consume the better.

So what does this mean for us? We eat to fulfill our nutritional requirements, not only our energy needs but to obtain enough trace elements, vitamins, minerals and proteins to ensure correct metabolic functioning. If all we’re ingesting is carbohydrates, fat and protein we will tend to eat more and even when full not feel quite satisfied. We’re not nearly as sophisticated as the humble ruminant when it comes to food, we keep eating because we think we’re hungry when in fact we are chasing a small amount of something our bodies are craving, we just don’t know what it is. Little surprise really that our calorie intake has blown out with the advent of modern agriculture and we have an obesity epidemic.

Eating nutrient dense food is more satiating and we tend to eat less as a result. So what are these nutrients we crave so much and what do they do? Over the next few months we will be presenting posts on the role of the following in our metabolic function:

• antioxidants (vitamins C, E & beta-carotene)

• B vitamins (thiamin & riboflavin)

• omega-3 fatty acids

• CLA (conjugated linoleic acid)

• minerals (calcium, magnesium and potassium)

We are located on the edge of a ridge, the top of the catchment. Almost all the rain that falls on our farm drains into, and forms the headwaters of Cambells Creek which flows into Meroo Creek and eventually the Maquarie River. After rain the flows can be significant, the steep hills funnel water into valleys which feed the main channel. Water levels rise and fall quickly after heavy rain, indicating that the creek is acting like a drain. The water is concentrated into the main channel and leaves the farm, there is little recharge of the floodplain. Base flow is usually a slow trickle, fed by subsurface water flows and a number of springs. The creek runs through three paddocks and, currently is the only source of water for stock when they’re in these paddocks.

So, where to start? With a survey of where things are at now of course.

The main features are marked on the map, click on the links for more details.

A. Incised channel

B. B is for BIG headcut

C. Pond

D. North creek crossing

E. Incised channel

F. Spring

G. Gully erosion above spring

H. Incised channel

I. Headcut

J. South creek crossing 1

K. Incised channel

L. South creek crossing 2

We can’t rehabilitate the creek to the way it once was. Partly because the time and expense is prohibitive and partly because it has evolved to a new state (natural systems are not static, they change over time). But mostly because we have no idea what things were once like.

The long term plan is to restore the floodplain, which will capture a lot of the water and sediment which currently runs straight down the channel and leaves the farm. To do this we need to stabilise the headwalls, reduce the current rate of erosion, allow water to reach the floodplain at peak flows and recover swamp/wetland areas. This won’t stop water and sediment moving downstream but will greatly reduce the rate at which it happens, eventually reaching an equilibrium state where water and sediment moving downstream during a flow event is replaced from upstream.

The strategy for this area is to slow down the water, especially during high flow events. This will reduce the erosive power, less velocity in the water means it carries smaller particles and the bulk of erosion occurs through sediment scouring (smaller particles at less velocity = less scouring potential). Slower flows will also mean sediment is captured and retained, alluvial soil is built on the banks and more vegetation can grow. More vegetation means slower water flows, less erosion, more sediment build up, more vegetation growth, so on and so forth.

Ultimately we would like to fence out this area. There will be little more benefit from stock trampling the banks and exclusion for a couple of seasons will allow the vegetation to recolonise and really take hold. This means fencing and an alternative water source for stock in the creek paddock.

The headcut is ~2 m from
lip to base of scour pool.

The headcut during a flow event.

Headcut (green arrow) location in relation to the pool (blue arrow).

 The scale of this headcut is a little intimidating, it’s too big to be fixed by human power alone. However, this is the most significant degradation problem we have to deal with. If left unattended it will continue to move upstream and destroy the pool located ~40 m upstream. It will also drain the wetland and compromise the portion of the creek which is in relatively good shape. We could potentially loose the entire functioning floodplain. For now, we watch but down the track we will be constructing a big Zuni bowl.

This photo is a wonderful demonstration of the power of water. The water tank at the back was located upstream, half way up a hill and it was round. At the end of 2010 we had a lot of rain and during one storm the tank was washed down and wrapped around a tree.

The solution here is to build a new creek crossing which is properly stabillised and minimises the length of the track. Then with a little bit of work the eroded areas can be stabillised, start to collect sediment and re-vegetate.

A bit of work is needed in the section closest to the creek crossing to stabillise erosion but otherwise it’s just monitoring and grazing management. The biggest gains here will be seen when work done upstream starts to take effect.

This could potentially compromise the spring but the affected area is quite small and the erosion is happening at a very slow rate so it’s not a high priority at the moment.