Grazing lessons learned at Holowiliena
Fifteen landholders from the North Flinders district took the opportunity to learn about native plant identification and take a look at recently completed projects as part of the Stickybeak Day at Holowiliena Station in May.
As past recipients of the board’s Property Management Planning program, managers Luke and Frances Frahn have undertaken a number of projects to improve land condition and productivity on the property.
Among them are earthworks to encourage the restoration of landscape function and rehydrate droughted parts of the property. Grazing exclosures have been constructed and tree guards installed to promote regeneration of the native bullock bush.
The group heard from vegetation consultant Anne Brown, who shared valuable information about plant identification and their nutritional values.
Anne’s talk generated a lot of questions and discussion, with attendees learning about the importance of paying attention to what stock are grazing and when, and what species make for good indicators for assessing grazing impacts.
A tag-a-long tour, led by Luke and Frances, showed the projects they have completed since participating in the PMP program and using their tailored ESRM Property Management Plan.
Particular interest was shown in grazing exclosures that have been erected around bullock bush, and the soil conservation works completed to prevent further erosion and revegetate degraded areas.
Additional grazing exclosures established on the property in the 1980s were visited during the tour. These areas showed minimal change to the surrounding landscape, demonstrating that interventions like soil disturbance are critical to promoting regeneration.
