Rest and recovery brings back pastures at Kirkland Downs
A large area of scalded ground on Kirkland Downs Station has been transformed into a lush , productive paddock thanks to a new fence and a good rest .
Nothing had grown for years on the 176 hectare tract of land , located in the corner of a much larger paddock on the North Queensland property .
A land condition assessment conducted in October 2020 had graded the area as D condition , meaning it was at the highest risk of sediment loss impacting local waterways during rainfall .
Graziers Stacey Kirkwood and Ian Collins had planned to remedy the situation by contour ripping and reseeding the area before the 2021 wet season .
But instead they went with NQ Dry Tropics Grazing Team Leader Josh Nicholls ’ suggestion to exclude cattle by fencing off the area .
NQ Dry Tropics Grazing Team Leader Josh Nicholls with the fence erected to make a new paddock , allowing degraded land to be rested .
The area was a pretty sad sight in January , 2020 .
Stacey Kirkwood and Ian Collins beside the marker stake in the same paddock in May , 2022 ... rest is all it needed .
PAGE 14 2021-2022 – NQ DRY TROPICS YEAR IN REVIEW