A little-known fact about the Soil Conservation Service was unearthed at this year’s Commonwealth Bank AgQuip at Gunnedah.
The organisation is 80 years old.
Since its inception in 1938, it has played an important role in the restoration of our agricultural landscapes.
North West co-ordinator, David Johnston, Maitland, said Soil Conservation used AgQuip to remind landholders of the role of the service and that it still had a strong presence in the region, with offices at Quirindi, Scone, Narrabri and Inverell.
“While some areas have lost their local depot, those areas are still being covered by existing offices across the state,” he said.
The event was also used to promote its trainee program, which in the North West includes three staff.
Mr Johnston said the intake was determined by predictions of future work needs.
“We have an ageing workforce and we’re trying to backfill by providing opportunity for trainee operators,” he said.
One of these trainees was among the staff at AgQuip on the dozer conducting a dam building demonstration.
The Soil Conservation team also used the event to remind landholders about the importance of knowing how to calculate their harvestable water right, and that the dry season was a good time to be doing earthworks.
This was based on a percentage of total run-off, determined by the geographic location of the property.
“This sort of season is a good time to do maintenance earthworks on contour banks, waterways and dams,” Mr Johnston said.
“We’ve (also) had a lot of inquiry on river bank stability. The dry times allow creek and river banks to dry out and collapse where they are under cut.”
