Recovery time key to optimal saltbush utilisation
Farmer: Brian Teakle
Location: Karoonda, South Australia
Property size: 1015ha
Average annual rainfall: 350mm
Soil types: Deep sand to sand over clay, to stone and sandy loam over clay
Enterprise mix: Quandong and sandalwood plantation, cross-bred export lamb and cropping (barley, triticale and wheat)
Retired professional engineer and farmer Brian Teakle, Karoonda, South Australia has always felt a need to drought-proof his operation. And 120,000 old man saltbush shrubs across 50ha have gone a long way to achieving his goal. Brian’s extensive areas of saltbush have also allowed him to test his theories about grazing opportunities with the hardy perennial shrub — successfully managing to implement a system that allows for two grazings per year with full shrub recovery.
Key points
- Saltbush helps farmers manage feedbase stability in low-rainfall areas and protects fragile soils from erosion.
- Diversity of species allows greater risk management and a more balanced diet for grazing livestock.
- Saltbush can be grazed hard, but needs sufficient recovery time between grazings to remain productive.
Click here to download the Teakle case study (PDF 1.1MB)
Note: This case study was developed as part of the Enrich project under the former Future Farm Industries CRC.