BALANCE
Talking to Gary, the word that comes up a lot is ‘balance’. For him a paddock dominated by weeds,
particularly of one kind, is a sign of soil deficiency and an indication that the soil biology needs
attention rather than an increased dose of weedkiller.
He considers the trend away from livestock to continual cropping as a move away from more natural
systems of farming. To his way of thinking, livestock help control weeds, freshen paddocks and allow
for reduced chemical inputs that work better with, rather than against, nature.
LIVESTOCK AND CROPPING
By both cropping and handling stock, a farmer also spreads the economic risk by creating the potential for two income
streams. But Gary, who has spent years working within this volatile industry, knows how often the investment of time
and money outweighs the return. He also understands why farmers give up working with animals. The events that led
to the collapse of the live trade cattle industry in 2011 through government intervention spread to the s