"Dappo" In brief..

Property:

Dappo

Address:

Narromine

Owners:

Bob Webb

Phone:

Area (in hectares)

650 ha

Rainfall (mm/pa)

500 mm

Oldman Saltbush area (hecatares)

230 ha

year of first Planting

1990

Q & A: an interview with Bob Webb

Why OMSB planted?  I wanted to get away from hand feeding every autumn and it seemed omsb would do that for me. The potential increase in stock numbers did not greatly interest me then, as having a feed reserve was far more important.

What grazing and pasture benefits have been observed?  There have been plenty. You have to realize that once you have more control over your decisions that you start do things for the right reason for your land. I would have to say that my country is in the best shape that it has been for a long time. When you go through drought they teach you a lot, especially if you have been doing the wrong thing by your country. My country is now safe from the ravages of drought. Soil will now no longer blow or wash away. That is a good feeling.

What financial benefits have been observed?  Again, if you are making better decisions for your land you see the financial rewards as well. I no longer need to hand feed my stock to keep animals alive. Just that alone means you win twice because you are not spending money and time on feeding so your time can be used towards a productive dollar earning use. I now have more stock on the property, more than I ever thought possible before I started planting omsb. Im seeing better quality fleeces coming of the board as well. My fleece yield has steadily increased as I planted more bush. Before omsb I had yields of generally 68%. Now my yields are closer to 76%. On good quality wool that means good money, but it is still not enough money for what it should be worth.

Biggest OMSB impact? Im making more money with omsb and I sleep well during droughts. Thats impact! My property is only small for this area and it is the omsb that allows me to make it perform bigger than what it is. I have about 1/3 of the property planted and this seems to make the property function as if I had twice the land area.

Any problems with OMSB?  It is a pity that our industry is not more profitable so we could plant more. Grazing management is critical and needs more effort.

Do you / if you had a salinity problem, do you think OMSB would help with controlling deep drainage and/or lowering the water table?  Yes it must. The roots really pull water from down deep in the soil. It is a very strong plant.

Would you like to increase your area sown to OMSB? Yes, see above.

What limits your planting of a larger area?  Money and longterm profitability.

Our Comments:

Bob was the first person in the Narromine area to establish OMSB. The plant is now the basis for his all-year round grazing operation. Droughts are now largely a thing off the past