Pulled up in town to check emails and Pec grabbed some much needed ‘belly ache’ supplies before heading for the “Mitchell – Innes” farm about thirty klms out the road towards Newcastle. I’d rang the son William who was the only one home at the time, to get exact directions and we still missed the turn due to an accent understanding issue on our part. GPS won’t help without correct spelling we realised, especially if the first letter is wrong!

William made us feel right at home in the magnificent two storey house which reflects very well their success at farming and also the families long history in this location. They have been farming here since about 1860 with William being the latest in line and the fifth generation, and at twenty eight he seems to have ‘good handle’ on the skills necessary to continue the tradition. Unfortunately his father was away for some time writing lectures in Capetown, as he does quite a bit of consultancy in his role as a HM Educator, also spending around two months of the year in the U.S.

None the less, William filled his shoes quite capably by cooking us dinner & the next morning giving us a guided tour of their significant cattle based operation here in Natal. The property is about 18,000 acres (district average is around 2,000 acres) of mostly open 30 inch rainfall “vlei”, or grassland which is quite hilly by Brewarrina standards, and then also runs up into steeper, and very rocky country. Currently they have on around 3,000 cattle and considering they are just coming out of winter & there hasn’t been any rain in six months, it is surprisingly well covered & even plenty of green pick coming through with the warmer weather. He says that his father’s opinion is that the pace could run up to 15,000 head of cattle, which represents an astounding improvement in carrying capacity & a testament to the advantage of focusing on biological improvement. Most of the neighbours, and indeed ‘most of Africa’ use fire as their only tool to knock down old vegetation & moribund grasses so that the new, fresh growth is promoted. This method does provide higher quality, or at least protein levels that boost animal production and performance in the short term. The trouble is “burning has many short & long term detrimental’ effects to your landscape a well. Firstly, it is a gross waste of energy, with all of plant matter going up in smoke instead of being utilised by animals. With all the talk of “global warming” & the C02 load in the atmosphere being such a problem, I am continually amazed that these same academics can promote the use of fire so consistently ‘to control fire’ as though it were the only tool available.

Reminds me of a quote;

“If the only tool in your toolbox is a hammer, then all your problems will look like nails”

And when country is continually burned (whether cool or hot) it always leads to less plant species diversity, bare ground & more water run off, loss of litter & mulch, and the death of all the beneficial soil building microbes that we should be trying to promote. I’ve read (and I will stand corrected) that pasture and crop burning, especially in Africa, contribute something like 60 – 70% of green house gases emissions world wide. Almost all of it unnecessary….

This farm knows the benefits of microbial activity in soils, & has been importing a special brew from China to mix with chicken litter to create a high protein supplement for the cattle. It is composted in a bunker till it turns into quite a sweet smelling concoction that has the capability of making your cows too fat to conceive if you aren’t careful. They are also utilizing a worm farm which they intend to expand on if trial results prove that it is cost beneficial, as well as successful in the paddock, or ‘veld’ as they say here.

Being just off the road, security is a bit of an issue here as it is elsewhere I guess, and there is a substantial fence around the homestead area with electricity and razor wire both involved. Also a couple of great big St Bernard’s roaming around the yard, and one of them threatened to slobber me to death…

Picked up a couple of good ideas from William regarding using investors as a source of capital to breed into a line of livestock. I spent about two hours that night in bed writing up a plan & developing a policy for it & will give it a lot more thought over the next few weeks. One of the real benefits of this opportunity to travel has been the broad range of ideas I’ve been exposed to, and I think it will take me quite a while to fully appreciate & realise the potential of it.

On the road again now & will hopefully find somewhere to send this and check emails soon.

Yep, we made it all the way to the Indian Ocean at St Lucia which is about two hours north of Durban on the east coast of Africa. Long drive through some unbelievably populated areas that are flogged bare of almost all vegetation, & then through a game reserve without seemingly much game but plenty of grass. Incredible amount of people on the way walking along the roadway, mostly school kids heading home to do chores…if they get home in time! Seemed to be a long walk for most.

St Lucia is different though & could be somewhere on the coast in Australia as its much greener & very ‘touristy’. Will be heading south tomorrow to catch up with some more contacts, go to a KIT (Keep In Touch) day, and look at plenty more African farms in a much drier environment.

Cheers again.