eric harvey of "gilgai": a passion for solutions (part 1)

GilgaiA Passion for

Solutions

Our CREEDS

C – Celebrate, Challenge and Commitment

R – Respect, Responsibility, Reward, Recognition

Restore and Repair

E – Ethical Business Dealing

E – Expect Excellence, Education

D – ‘Do No Harm’, Discipline

S – Share,

Self: Awareness, Monitoring, Motivation

Our Belief

Soil Health

Plant Health

Animal Health

Human Health

www.eatwild.com

www.soilfoodweb.com.au

Our Passion is Soil Health

We define our Soil Health as:

“Soil with a good mineral balance, high organic matter, high diversity and high

active microbial biomass that will produce High Quality Healthy

Agricultural Products at Low Cost”

• Human Health and Disease are directly linked to Nutrition

• Nutrition comes from Food / Agriculture

• Current system of food production has degenerated our food, health and environment

The Link

THE BIG PICTURE

The plant you see is the ‘above-ground part’ of -

A complex symbiosis (relationship) with soil microbes in the root zone

3. How many are present.

4. Are they the right kinds for the desired plants?

The Biology

1. Understanding soil health requires knowing what organisms occur.

2. Which ones are working.

www.soilfoodweb.com.au

The Biological Approach

“If you don’t know what organisms are present in your soil, on and in your

plants leaves, much of your management is being left to

chance.”

www.soilfoodweb.com.au

Our Monitoring Tools

– Soil Health and Landscape Function• “Quickchecks”• Land Function Analysis • EAL and SFI

– People• “Vanguard Satisfaction Index”• Annual Appraisals

– Financial Security• Return on Assets Managed• Profitability

Monitoring & Evaluation Of Solutions

• Solutions are evidence based (data from June 2000)

• Software “PAM QA+ with Mapping and Individual Animal Records, Pasture Watch

Individual Animal Records

Paddock Performance Monitoring (DSE/grazing days/hectare/paddock)

‘Pastures from Space’ shows

Our Carrying Capacity monitored against Pasture Growth Rate

Paddock Pasture Growth Rate

Paddock Grazing History and Rainfall

TDM (Ground Cover)Production & FOO

“Quickchecks” Land Health Monitoring

“Quickchecks” (Broken Dam)

“Quickchecks” Monitoring (Broken Dam)

August 2006 May 2008

“Quickchecks” (Broken Dam)

“Quickchecks” (Broken Dam)August 2006 May 2008

“Quickchecks” (Broken Dam)

“Quickchecks” (Broken Dam 29 05/2008)

“Quickchecks” (Broken Dam 05/2008)

www.co2science.org/articles/V5/N11/COM.php

‘People Monitoring’

Satisfaction comparisions 2005 and 2006

0.00

0.20

0.40

0.60

0.80

1.00

I feel accepted by friends

My family is close

I have freedom to spend tim...

Say what I like Clear expectations

time we spend together

We are able to make decisi...Family members make deci...We have lots of argumentsAny criticism of me is fair

We work well to solve pro... common sense of purpose

fun things together2006

2005

Definitions: Experimentation, Testing

& Assessment

AND/OR….

Ordeal, Hardship & Learning

THE TRIALS

Trials and Tribulations

• Our Land Purchase

• Our Grazing Trials

• Our Beef Trials

• Our Sheep Trials

• Our Cropping Trials

• Our Compost Tea (Biology Trials)

Firbella Properties Pty Ltd

‘Cooee’ 2004

‘Firbank’ 2000

‘Glenara’ 2006

‘Murga Ridge’ 2006

‘Gilgai’ 2000

‘Comobella’ 2000

‘Loisville’ 2007

Basalt

Macquarie Thrust Sheet

Cudal Thrust Sheet

Surat & Gunnedah Basin

Our Surface Geology

Sandstone

Loams & Clay Loams

White Clays

Sodic soils

Our ‘Soil Profile’ and Erosion on “Glenara”

Sodic Soils on ‘Murga Ridge’

White Clay on ‘Firbank’

Red Sandy Loams on ‘Gilgai’

Heavy Black Self-Mulching Basalt on ‘Firbank’

Our Grazing Trials

Set stocking, Rotational grazing

Time controlled cell grazingFeed controlled cell grazing

Our solution: A mix of the above (Mainly cell grazing)

Infrastructure Established For Cell Grazing(with assistance from CW CMA & Stipa)

WATER

• 9 new dams (total storage of 100 megs)

• Solar powered borehole

• Mobile Pumping Station

• 74 new Cell Centre watering points• 44 kilometres of 2” piping

Our Cell Centres

Ballimore Rd Pdk 26/09/2008

Infrastructure established For Cell Grazing

(with assistance from CW CMA & Stipa)

WIRE

• 68 kilometres hinge-joint fencing

• 43 kilometres of electric fencing

• Converted 87 paddocks to 184 paddocks

Our Hinge Joint & Electric Fencing

Livestock Grazed Together

Our Grazing Trials

East Middle – 12/02/2008

1200 DSE/HA

Ballimore Rd 26/09/2008

Our Beef Trials

5 beef breeds with cross-breeding and pure blood lines on progeny

performance.

Our Solution:

Simmental Purebred

One of Our Simmental Cows with her 3 month old Calf

Joels September 2005

Our Beef atRAS Sydney 2006

10 month old Simmental Steer – 456 kg

The Meat from

‘527’

Brisbane ‘Ekka’ Entrant 2006 542kg at 13months, 71% meat yield

Our Sheep Trials

Merino sheep and

cross-breeding

Our Solution: Pure Merino medium fine wools

“The Flock”

Shearing Time

Our Wool Clip History

Our Cropping Trials

We cropped cereals, legumes, forbs and pasture through conventional, direct-drill

& zero-till methods.

Our Solution:

Native and exotic perennial pasture mix established by our Method