The holistic management approach: Etiwanda Station, NSW
The holistic management approach: Etiwanda Station, NSW Report
DKCRC Working Paper
- Author(s): Walsh, D
- Published: 2009
- Publisher: Desert Knowledge CRC
- Volume: 57
Abstract: Etiwanda is managed using a Holistic Planning approach. Holistic Planning looks at and integrates all aspects of the enterprise including land, livestock, economics and people. The decision to implement this approach was made after the family attended a Holistic Management training programme about ten years ago. Before that, the Moselys had been trying to work out how to deal with the scrub problems on Etiwanda. They had been running goats to try and fix this issue but it wasn’t working so they started looking for new ideas. As Andrew Mosely explains, “with the new knowledge we started to look for the root cause of the scrub problem. We then began to focus on the soil health and the health of the perennial grasses as the best way to deal with the problem. We then started on the fence development program to enable us to manage our plant recovery periods”. The strategy is “planned grazing with long rest periods”. Of the 28,000 hectares, 18,000 ha are fenced into 18 paddocks ranging in size from 150 ha to 1,000 ha. The fencing is still under development, but currently consists of hinge-joint perimeter fencing and electric fencing to subdivide the paddocks. Two mobs rotate through two separate paddock complexes on the property. The sheep, cattle and goats graze together in the same paddocks most of the time. Each paddock is currently rested for 120 days. The Moselys are looking to extend the rest period to 150–180 days. The aim is to not dip below this threshold as they believe that this is the minimum period that pasture plants require in order to recover following grazing. Andrew notes that drier periods require longer recovery periods.
- Urls: http://www.nintione.com.au/resource/DKCRC-Working-Paper-57_CAGSP-Etiwanda-Station-NSW.pdf, https://web.archive.org/web/20180405112710/http://www.desertknowledgecrc.com.au/resource/DKCRC-Working-Paper-57_CAGSP-Etiwanda-Station-NSW.pdf
- Publisher Location: Alice Springs
- Keywords: New South Wales, CAGSP, pastoralism