Forage Farms is a large-scale experiment of Natural Sequence Farming (NSF) being used to heal a degraded landscape whilst retaining farming productivity and profitability.

Forage Farms focuses on regenerative land management, ethical animal care, and providing delicious, nutritious food to the community. The operation is a large-scale experiment of Natural Sequence Farming (NSF) being used to heal a degraded landscape whilst retaining farming productivity and profitability.

Snapshot

Farm/Enterprise Name: Forage Farms

Farm/Enterprise Location: Kybong, Queensland, Australia

Type of Enterprise: Eggs and meat from pasture-raised chooks, pigs, sheep and cattle

Primary Markets Served: Australian domestic - Direct to consumer

Staffing: 5 full time and 6 part time

Property Size: 107 ha

Property Elevation: 73m

Average Annual Rainfall: 863mm

Climate: Warm, temperate

Soil Types: Clay loam

Website: www.foragefarms.com.au

Farm History

The history of Forage Farms begins almost 50 years before the Andrews family moved to the Kybong property in 2017. In 1974, Stuart's parents, Peter and Anne, purchased Tarwyn Park, a salinised, eroded and degraded former horse stud in the Bylong Valley, New South Wales.

Determined to restore this degraded land, Peter began a long process of research, experimentation and testing to repair the landscape. He started by attempting to slow the water flow through the severely eroded stream, allowing the land to restore its hydrology. His learnings through this and other experiments led to a deep understanding and passion for a practice he named Natural Sequence Farming (NSF). Today, NSF is an internationally recognised system of regenerative farming used to restore degraded landscapes.

Stuart and his wife Megan with their family.

Peter has spent the better part of the last five decades learning, implementing and teaching others about Natural Sequence Farming. In 2012, his son Stuart started Tarwyn Park Training, a school to formally educate landholders on NSF principles.

This is where Forage Farms comes in. Along the way, students of Tarwyn Park Training courses raised questions about how to restore a degraded landscape while maintaining a profitable and productive farming operation. Stuart says, 'We knew it would work in theory but needed to run a large-scale experiment to show our students and others that they could maintain profitability while implementing these systems.'

In 2017 Stuart and his wife, Megan, decided to purchase a farming property in a moderately degraded state to test this theory. They acquired the Kybong property in 2015, and work began to heal the landscape while building a financially viable business.

Challenge: Slow the flow of water to reduce erosion and loss of topsoil

Hydrology

In 2017 the Andrews family experienced their first significant deluge at the Kybong property. They were dismayed to see the water rapidly flowing down gullies and through the landscape and carrying topsoil away with it. They knew that to restore the fertility and biodiversity of the landscape, the flow of water across the property needed to be slowed so that water infiltration could be increased and fertility restored.

Solution

The first principle of Natural Sequence Farming is 'Slow the Flow'. This is because the flow of water across the Australian landscape has changed significantly since European settlement due to conventional livestock farming and the heavy grazing of stream banks . This grazing has reduced vegetation along waterways and thus increased stream velocities, which has led to the gouging of streambeds and lowering of water tables in floodplains. This snowball effect has contributed to the mass dehydration and erosion of the landscape and poor water utilisation across many areas.

This snowball effect has contributed to the mass dehydration and erosion of the landscape and poor water utilisation across many areas.

To reduce erosion and slow water flow across the property, the Andrews family needed to restore wetland vegetation across the broader landscape. They began the task of planting vegetation across the landscape with the root systems of these plants assisting to slow the velocity of water moving through the landscape, reduce erosion and allow better hydration.

Creating contours across the landscape was another way the Andrews started slowing the water flow, which allowed it more time to infiltrate the soil. Stuart explains that many farmers create what they think are contours, but they instead create drains that have the opposite effect. He says correctly implemented contours are essential because, during wet seasons, they function as stepped elongated ponds, keeping water on the land and allowing higher infiltration and restoring landscape hydrology.

Outcome

In 2020 Forage Farms experienced another significant deluge, but their hard work had paid off. According to Stuart, not one drop of topsoil or water was lost.

During the devastating floods of early 2022, the farm received 850 millimetres of rain over four days, and two-thirds of the property was submerged in about 5 metres of water. During this time, the family had to move all livestock up to higher ground within the same area of pasture.

The farm showed impressive resilience because of the systems that the family had put in place.

Despite this amount of rain, the farm showed impressive resilience because of the systems that the family had put in place. The higher land that all the livestock were moved to coped with the increased impact of having many animals grazing in one area. Similarly, the rest of the property that went underwater during the rain event recovered well.

Challenge: Lack of diversity and fertility in the pasture

Biodiversity

When they first arrived on the farm, the Andrews noticed a lack of diversity in vegetation. Pastures were mostly Bahia grass, a perennial grass species suited to low fertility areas. This species of grass alone is not nutritionally sufficient for finishing larger livestock such as cattle and sheep.

They also needed a way of thinning out the less desirable Bahia grass to make way for a diverse range of vegetation.

The Andrews needed to increase the soil fertility to encourage the growth of other species of vegetation. They also needed a way of thinning out the less desirable Bahia grass to make way for a diverse range of vegetation. Only then could they start running larger livestock on the property.

Solution

Chickens and pigs add fertility and nitrogen to the soil.

The first step in thinning out the Bahia grass and increasing fertility to support other vegetation was to implement what Stuart calls 'primary colonisers'. Colonising animals are typically omnivores that forage around the pastures feeding on plants, bugs and supplementary grain.

The family started with pigs and chickens as their primary colonisers. These animals added fertility and nitrogen to the soil in the form of manure, thinned the undesirable Bahia grass, and scratched and dug in the soil, creating a perfect environment for new pasture seeds to be sown. Both pigs and chickens were fed supplementary grain to add to their foraging diet of the Bahia grass, bugs and insects.

Outcome

Stuart's use of 'primary colonisers' is a fantastic example of adding fertility back into the soil and naturally preparing pasture for larger livestock. Chickens and pigs are an excellent choice due to their omnivorous diet and nutrient-rich manure.

The less-desirable grass species were thinned out and fertility was increased.

Once the less-desirable grass species were thinned out and fertility was increased, the Andrews could sow a diverse mix of other pasture seeds that would support the nutritional requirements of larger livestock like sheep and cattle.

Importantly, the two animals they chose for the task of colonising were also keeping the farm profitable. The laying hens produced free-range eggs and pigs were finished for pork products.

Challenge: Recycling nutrients to maintain fertility

Soil Health

Now that the paddocks were fertile enough to support a diverse vegetation species, the family could start running larger livestock. They began their sheep flock in 2019 and later started finishing cattle in 2022.

The challenge now was to retain the healthy, fertile soil and keep recycling nutrients back into the property.

Solution

The farm has also been split up into accumulation, production and filtration areas to maximise the land's ability to retain and recycle nutrients.

Part of their method of retaining healthy, fertile soil is by following a time-controlled grazing model. The Andrews alternate pastures between the four animal species while giving each paddock allocated rest periods. Each animal plays a role in landscape management. For example, the sheep and cattle keep the grasses short enough that the chickens can forage and lay eggs without them getting lost in the long grass.

The farm has also been split up into accumulation, production and filtration areas to maximise the land's ability to retain and recycle nutrients.

The accumulation area is at the highest point of the property. The purpose of this area is to accumulate nutrients so that they can be utilised efficiently rather than lost to gravity.

Chicken caravans are moved from paddock to paddock as required.

Chickens and pigs are kept in the accumulation area to deposit valuable nutrients on higher ground. In the afternoons, larger livestock is also encouraged to move up to the accumulation area where there are shade trees and water troughs on higher ground. As livestock naturally move up the hill each afternoon for shade and water, they deposit manure, effectively moving nutrients from lower ground up to the higher ground to be recycled once again. Stuart created contours in this area, with hay placed beneath. As the water from contours breaks down the hay, nutrients are deposited into the soil for new plants to utilise.

The production area is the part of the farm where livestock are run most of the time. Vegetation and hay are also sown in the area when necessary. This organic matter is cut or baled and moved up to the higher ground as feed or mulch.

The filtration area is the lowest part of the landscape and functions to reduce nutrient losses by storing fertility in plants. This area is predominately grass and wetland type plants that can be harvested and returned to the accumulation area to begin the process of slowly degrading and moving down slope as liquid fertility.

Outcome

These ongoing cycles of nutrient recycling keep the farm fertile and significantly reduce the loss of nutrients that would occur in traditional farming systems.

Stuart's father, Peter, theorises that if a tonne of fertility is transported from low ground to high ground, it would have taken approximately 1,000 years for that fertility to have been moved naturally.

Future

The Andrews family now run approximately 6,000 laying hens, 160 broiler chickens, 100 pigs (SPU), 130 head of cattle (LSU) and 100 sheep at Forage Farms. They sell their meat and eggs directly to consumers on their website (www.foragefarms.com.au). They are also dedicated to educating the public on NSF and regenerative farming practices, so they run regular farm tours.

The team wants to continue providing consumers with fresh, nutrient-dense, ethical food. They hope to continue diversifying the products they provide, making farm-to-consumer buying more convenient and accessible. The family have recently added beef to their available products and eventually would like to offer vegetables through partnerships with horticultural farms. 'The more we can do to increase convenience for the consumer, the more people will choose to buy this way,' says Stuart.

The Andrews also will continue in their mission to educate farmers and consumers alike so that the demand increases for ethical food raised in a manner that heals and protects the landscape.

Industry recognition

State Winner / National Finalist - 2022 delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Awards - From the Paddock category.

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