Veg laws stifling Cumnock farmer's native grasses

Mr Bruce – vice chair of Little River Landcare – and his sons manage a number of properties near Cumnock in the state’s Central West, including the 1700-hectare ‘Merangle’ that hosts 900 crossbred ewes when they’re ready to finish.

But large swathes of Mr Bruce’s land have been rendered unusable by the spread of Black Cypress Pine.

With a shallow root system and frequently shedded pine needles, Mr Bruce says the pines are behind the erosion and unwanted gullies in his back paddocks, and also provide shelter for pests.

The pines are thick enough to prevent bikes or stock getting through, and, crucially, they are blocking the emergence of native grasses and farmer-friendly tree species such as Casuarinas.

A frustrated Mr Bruce said he had applied for two property vegetation plans (PVPs) to manage the problem over the years but was knocked back by government each time thanks to the current land clearing regime.

“I don’t want to farm this land - I want to be able to let the sheep in here and graze it,” he said.

“And these pines are preventing any native grasses from coming through - they are actually providing less groundcover than what a paddock of native grasses would.”

Mr Bruce said he even proposed running a small-scale clearing trial to test the success of his plan against the current system over a couple of hectares.

That got shot down too.

“I’m ready to chew someone’s ear off about it,” he said.

There are a number of native species dotted throughout Mr Bruce’s back paddocks, including Yellowbox, Whitebox and Applebox, and he does not want to touch them.

He says they provide important habitat for native animals and help to protect his fragile farm land.

“The laws have to change, but there is no way I’d put this land at risk by ripping out every tree. It is too fragile to handle that,” he said.

“It’d create a wind tunnel - when I need wind breaks.

“I think you’d find that most farmers would be the same.

“They have nothing to gain from tearing everything out and ruining their land.”

Mr Bruce said he’s hopeful a balanced solution will arise from the government’s proposed biodiversity reforms, which are currently being road-tested with constituents across the state.

But until then a balanced solution remains frustratingly out of reach.

“SEPP 45 just put the brakes on everything and took everyone’s options away,” Mr Bruce said.

“I’m as green as they come. But you’ve got to be a practical green.”

Elsewhere on Mr Bruce’s property is an example of his willingness to give a little back to conservation and biodiversity.  

He said the region is noted for problems with acid soil and salinity - and until two decades ago a particular drainage area on his farm was unmanageable with a 4.2pH soil level and a highly salty water table just 300 millimetres below the surface.

But a lime program paved the way for Little River Landcare group to plant a nature corridor of River Red Gums over four hectares.

Mr Bruce’s piezometer is now dry at five metres.

“There are a hell of a lot more farmers who care for their land properly than don’t,” he said. 

“Most farmers are more than willing to do something like this as a trade-off.”