Sheep rule, but goats a value adder in Western Division

The 2017 snapshot shows a majority of farmers are accepting and adapting to climate change and an increasing number have biosecurity plans. They are also being more productive and plan to increase production in the next five years.

“Amongst those landholders who indicated they had increased livestock production in the last five years, 63 per cent increased reproduction rates, 43pc increased the production of meat mass per hectare and 42pc increased wool cut per head,” the report said.

“The main reasons underpinning an increase in production were improved ‘grazing management’; ‘the control of predators’ and ‘genetics'.”

On the negative side, internet services are rated as poor, with 45pc of farmers who have access rating it as “slow” or “very slow”.

And there has been an increase in absentee landholders in the Western Division. Almost a third of farmers don’t live full-time on their property.

Some of the findings from the 2017 surveys were that the average property size in the Western Division of those surveyed was 10,500 hectares and the average distance to the closest market was 338km. 

Wool and sheep still reign on the Western Division leasehold lands, with 48pc  growing sheep for wool, 41pc sheep for meat and 36pc involved in cattle. A very high 31pc harvested feral goats while 18pc undertook dryland cropping and 6pc were into horticultural activities, which was on the decline. Very few were interested or involved in certifying produce as organic.

With about 2000 landholders in the Western Division, that runs from a line  from Mungindi to Balranald west, the survey feedback from 550 landholders gives a valuable and thorough insight into the state of the farming in the semi-arid zone of NSW.

“A third of all landholders indicated they had changed enterprises in the past 10 years, with the two most common changes being the introduction of new livestock breeds and an expansion, development or increase in production,” the report said.

“Ninety-three per cent of landholders indicated they were the owner of the property and 97pc indicated their property was family rather than corporate owned. Thirty percent of all landholders had a full-time manager living on the property, while 8pc had a part-time manager for the property.

“Across all landholders, 53pc indicated climate change would change how they farm and manage their land, with the three most common on farm adaptions being to develop more water storage or dams, improve pasture management and develop bore water supplies.”

And western division farmers are getting smarter in a number of ways.

Just over a third of all landholders (35pc) indicated they had undertaken agriculture, grazing or land management related courses in the three years prior to the survey, with there being a significant increase in course attendance in 2017 relative to 2014 (25pc).

Report author Dr Mark Fenton said it the report gave a “very positive picture”  of how landholders were managing the land, updating their knowledge base and working with government, and their relationship with the LLS was “extremely positive”.

Chair of the Western Local Board, Ben Barlow thanked everyone that had completed and returned the surveys. 

“It is highly valuable for the Western Local Board that is charged with setting the strategic direction for Western Local Land Services to have this information,” Mr Barlow said. 

“It will give us great insight into the industries that are emerging in the Western region, those that are holding firm and those that are no longer as prominent as they once were. 

“It was pleasing to see an increase between surveys in landholders that are undertaking agriculture, grazing or land management courses and also an increase in landholders with a biosecurity or access policy.”

Angus Whyte, “Wyndham Station”, 30,000 ha, Wentworth, completed the Western Division  Local Land Services’ annual survey and agrees chatting with a neighbour is as good a way to get information as any.

My Whyte says he was emboldened by a number of positive ways landholders were managing the sensitive semi-arid area and also looking after Aboriginal relics and sites.

The survey revealed that 71pc of Western Division landholders said “neighbours and other landholders” were the main source for changes they made on their property. 

“I think that is right, we are pretty isolated but resilient out here and often we will look locally for what things are going on and what works on your property, and that is a smart thing to do. Their (neighbours) views are extremely important, it is important to take into account what they are doing and put that in the mix of information.”

Unfortunately the LLS survey also exposed the chance of finding a neighbour were decreasing in the Western Division. The number of absentee landholders has gone up from 28.3pc of properties in 2014 survey to 31.9pc of properties in the 2017 survey.

“That is a real concern,” says Mr Whyte. “The loss of resident farmers has a big impact on the size of our communities.”

Mr Whyte, who farms Wyndham Station with his wife Kelly and son Mitchell, runs Merinos, with terminal sire White Suffolks and some cattle. “Wool prices are fantastic at the moment so there is no complaint there.” He is one of the 30 per cent of Western landholders who also sell goats into the market. He sells about 200 to 300 goats a year.

He is also one of the farmers identified in the survey who have continuing headaches with internet access. At the moment he pays about $180 a month for a mobile broadband service that is lucky to have two bars of connection at any one time. “I cannot join  in a seminar or Skype.”