Case Study: Practical Innovation on the Coast
About the Farmer
Tim Chirgwin is a lifelong Kangaroo Island local with a strong reputation for hands-on innovation. A semi-retired fencing contractor, Tim lives in Cygnet River with his partner Zushka and has raised his family on the Island. His family property stretches from tidal saltmarsh to sandy rises, offering a unique mix of coastal farming challenges.
With a practical mindset and a self-taught engineering skillset, Tim is known for his DIY solutions—constructing everything from water catchments and compost brewers to biochar kilns and custom mineral licks.
“The good ground pays. The rest—use it for what it’s worth, or go do something else that pays better.”
Tim’s property is located at Grace James Corner, near Nepean Bay, Kangaroo Island, SA
- Property Size: 525 ha (270 ha arable, 255 ha saltmarsh/coastal)
- Enterprise: Sheep grazing and pasture improvement
- Rainfall: ~450 mm/year
- Livestock: Black-faced sheep (crossbreds and Suffolks), breeding rams
- Pastures: Mixed annuals, salt-tolerant perennials (trial), clover-based systems
Some of the challenges face by Tim include:
- Soils: Low fertility, high salinity, nutgrass invasion, low organic matter
- Water: Brackish groundwater, dryland limitations, high cost of mains
- Grazing: Balancing mob size, paddock pressure, seasonal variations
- Trace Elements: Copper and cobalt deficiencies linked to swayback
- Trees: Keen to preserve scattered mallee for shade, shelter, and ecological function
- Logistics: Isolation impacts ram sales, freight, drought and extra cost for inputs
- Pasture establishment getting the perennials established and then grazing management right to keep them going.
Innovative Practices
💧 Water Security: DIY Catchment Success
🌱 Salt-Tolerant Pasture Trials
Tim trialed a range of perennial species including:
- Messina Neptune (salt-tolerant, inoculated)
- Tall Wheat Grass
- Puccinellia
- Prosper Tall Fescue
- Mate Phalaris
- Chicory and Plantain
Despite a poor season that impacted establishment, some species—like Tall Wheat Grass—are persisting. Tim is confident that with improved grazing management, these species could thrive.
Understanding soils at depth is key to establishing pasture. Pasture species selected for Tim’s property were based on their ability to improve water logged, heavy clay soils.
Tim hosted a forage shrub and salt bush workshop on his property with Jason Emm. The perennial mix was recommended to increase ground cover and increase fodder instead of forage shrubs such as salt bush that do not like their roots in waterlogged soils.
🐑 Animal Nutrition and DIY Licks
Tim is experimenting with various mineral supplement and is currently using:
- DIY mineral mixes , Pat Coleby Lick Pack, ASP and Compass Feeds.
- He also adds molasses, charcoal, and trace minerals (Blue Cap) to grain as a feed supplement. Tim is always inventing ways to streamline jobs to make them more efficient such as coating the seed with mineral supplements and biochar.
“We need to understand the limiting factor—sometimes it's copper, sometimes just too many sheep.”
🧪 Soil Biology and DIY Inputs
Tim is deeply engaged in biological farming.
🌳 Tree Management
Tim is passionate about tree management on his property, particularly Narrow-Leaved Malles. Scattered mallee trees are intentionally retained across paddocks to provide windbreaks and vital shade for lambs. Tim sees them as a key part of his farm's resilience and function.
What’s worked
