"Torokina " In brief..

Property:

Torokina

Address:

Armatree

Owners:

Roger Hunter

Phone:

Area (in hectares)

2850 ha

Rainfall (mm/pa)

500 mm

Oldman Saltbush area (hecatares)

315 ha

year of first Planting

1987

Q & A: an interview with Roger Hunter

Why OMSB planted? To stop drought, but I realize now that it is much more than just a solution for that.

What grazing and pasture benefits have been observed?  I can graze my stock on omsb at any time of the year, so this provides incredible grazing flexibility. I buy and sell cattle all through the year and it is largely the omsb that gives me the confidence to buy when it is dry. The other big advantage is that I can spell my grass country after rain and let it come away.

What financial benefits have been observed?  I now enjoy droughts. In fact during dry periods this is the time I can make my best money. You can pay for the omsb in just one year with a dry period. I have bought cattle in dry times and doubled my money 6 months later, just because I had feed. I started last year using the omsb as a feedlot for finishing cattle. We give a bit of grain with the saltbush and this really works well. I run more stock on my place now and this is totally due to the omsb - it helps my grass country to perform better, mainly through being able to destock it at critical times.

Biggest OMSB impact?   It makes me money when most other properties are going backwards because of the dry times.

Any problems with OMSB? We planted some of our blocks too close and it has stopped grasses growing.  It takes a bit of skill to learn to muster in it.

Do you / if you had a salinity problem, do you think OMSB would help with controlling deep drainage and/or lowering the water table?  It would have to. The deep roots really draw the water out of the soil from deep down. I had a section of one of the paddocks slump in a dry time because so much of the soil water had been used.

Would you like to increase your area sown to OMSB? Yes

What limits your planting of a larger area?  Making it happen.

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