On this page: read about Goldenholm pastures, our land, and our water.
OUR BIODYNAMIC PASTURES
The strength of our 420 acre farm is its organically grown pasture.
Since 1990 we have used biodynamics to activate the biological life in our soil. Biodynamics is the most sophisticated form of organic agriculture.
Biodynamics stimulates a deep, active soil, rich in biological diversity. This presents the plants with a naturally balanced range of nutrients. Our pasture has grown into a complex community of native grasses and clovers, with a good balance of insect and bird life.
With biodynamics, soil, plant and animal health improve significantly. Healthy soils mean healthy pastures. Healthy pastures mean healthy cattle.
You are what you eat.
To learn more about biodynamics, go to
http://www.demeter.org.au/index.html
OUR LAND
Farming carbon is even more important to us than farming cattle!
We are committed to maintaining high carbon levels in our soils. Soil tests have shown that our soils at Goldenholm contain three times the local average of carbon.
We manage our pastures meticulously using the principles of cell grazing. We make sure that we are never over-stocked. Our cattle graze intensively in a limited area and then do not return to the same spot for many months. This cell-grazing system encourages thick pasture development and maximises soil life: energy from the sun converted into carbon in the soil.
We also plant trees. Since 2003 we have participated in three major landcare projects, planting about 6000 trees on our property – and another 6000 will be planted this winter. We have revegetated the hilltops; fenced off and replanted the principal creek in the heart of our property; and we are now establishing shelterbelts throughout the farm.
Trees sequester carbon – they also create shelter which will make our pastures more resilient in the face of climate change. They also encourage biodiversity: we have swamp wallabies and red-necked wallabies as well as Eastern Grey kangaroos, and more and more diverse birds and reptiles.
OUR WATER
Goldenholm lies on the Yass River. Water quality is central to our farm management.
To ensure that the water which leaves our farm to flow into the Murrumbidgee catchment area is as clean and abundant as possible, we have fenced off the river and removed the mass of willow trees which suffocated river life.
We have also fenced off the major creek on the farm and planted a diversity of native trees and shrubs to shade and protect the creek.
We are currently involved in a Landcare project to restore the creek. We have built a series of leaky dams and swale banks to slow down the flow of water, especially in heavy rainstorms and allow more rain to soak into the groundwater system. This will increase the soil moisture on our farm and allow better pastures to grow, sequestering more carbon. It will also ensure that water leaks out more gradually into the Yass River system contributing to a cleaner and more consistent flow in the river.
To hear more about the willows project, listen to Jeremy on ABC radio: http://www.abc.net.au/rural/content/2008/s2351808.htm
Goldenholm
