Soil sold short for profit

Several farmers and SCS workers told The Land this week the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) intends to rationalise the service.

Any such move could hike farmers’ fees and reduce SCS’ depots and staff numbers, potentially forcing landowners to shun the service altogether and turn to private contractors.

Through the DPI, SCS provides land rehabilitation and project management services to private and public sector clients.

NSW Farmers conservation and resource management committee member Angus Atkinson, “Bonah”, Coonabarabran, said downsizing SCS “ignored the big picture” of sustainable land management.

“Farmers say ‘I want to make a dam’, but a contractor might say ‘I’ll make you the biggest dam I can’. SCS looks at the whole picture and what would be best for the land, that’s the beauty of having an independent operator,” Mr Atkinson said.

DPI confirmed it was reviewing SCS business operations.

The government has not revealed information about potential changes to operations and staffing decisions.

A department spokesman said low demand from some regions prompted the scrutiny.

Farmers contacted by The Land were concerned regional workshops would be shut, with machinery and staff numbers reduced.

SCS currently charges fee-for-services and has operated on a cost recovery basis since 1991, with 130 employees in 28 offices.

SCS staff told The Land they had been instructed not to speak to the media.

Increased costs are a major concern, with some northern NSW landholders told by local SCS employees fees will double – rising to nearly $400 an hour for soil conservation work from the start of September.

One northern NSW mixed farmer - who won't be named for potential incrimination to SCS employees – has had recent contouring work done on his property.

The source said he couldn't afford the predicted price hike.

“Fees for that dozer, I’ve been told, will go from $190 to $390, which nobody can afford,” he said.

“If it’s that dear landholders will get private contractors in.

“As far as I’m concerned, (DPI) are pricing themselves to fail and they don’t want to continue the service – they want it shutdown.”

The source was a regular SCS customer spending $6000 to $10,000 a year, depending on the weather.

“Sometimes we’ll have storm damage so we’ll get them in, but we’ve also had flood work, erosion work and gullies cleaned out.”

He was concerned jobs would be taken away from small communities, despite the good environmental work being done.

“The way (SCS workers) are talking, some of the offices aren’t making money, but that wasn’t the goal of the SCS,” he said.

“It was a service to communities and the farming sector.

“The SCS shouldn’t necessarily have to make money, but just pay for its costs.”

He knew of one private contractor charging about $160 an hour, making the private businesses much more attractive.

However, farmers say they want to continue using the SCS because of the high standard of work.

Mr Atkinson said he was “really cranky” to hear SCS might be downsized.

“If you’ve got a government department that’s trying to do the best job for the landholder, they’ll show you what your options are, what the minimum standard is, and what steps you need to take from there,” he said.

“It’s a government organisation that does something for the comm-unity, does something for sustainable and profitable agriculture, (and they) want to suck the guts out of it.”

He wasn’t opposed to private earthmoving contractors, but lamented the loss of SCS “objective, informed” services.

“We’ve got three dams on our farm, one was design and made by SCS, we have never touched that dam, never looked liked busting, and it is 35 years old,” he said.

“When we get rain, forget about the rain heading off to Brewarrina, it hits our contour banks, sits in there for a couple of days and sinks into the ground.

“If you’re creating profit centres, that’s fine, just as long as you’re not doing it to something that has a public good. And SCS has a public good.”

with RUTH CASKEY