Our Territory, Our Future

Carbon – I bet you’ve been hearing a lot about it recently. But, what is Carbon, why is it so important, and is it just a buzzword, or is there more to the story?

My name is Steph Coombes, and in this episode I sit down with Dr Susan Orgill to learn about carbon, it’s role in the ecosystem, and how land managers can improve their soil carbon content for improved soil health, production outcomes, and carbon farming opportunities.

Dr Orgill is an applied soil scientist with over 15 years’ experience in soil carbon research and development, and to say that she lives and breathes all things carbon is an understatement!

This episode is supported by the Australian Government's National Landcare Program.

What is a biological product? How does it work, and when and where can it be used? And … Can they be used in the Northern Territory?

If you’ve ever thought the same questions, then you’re in luck!

My name is Steph Coombes, and in this episode I am joined by Simon to learn the broad strokes of biological products.

Simon Mattson is a farmer and a regenerative agriculture educator and consultant, who completed a Nuffield Scholarship on Soil Biology, and one of his many roles is teaching people how to make their own biological products for use on their own farm.

This episode is supported by the Australian Government's National Landcare Program.

Jeremy Bradley is a biological farmer and Senior (Adjunct) lecturer in regenerative agriculture at Southern Cross University.

Alongside his wife Cathy, he runs Beechwood Biological Solutions – a business which develops and distributes soil improvement products.

Using local microbes, Jeremy and Cathy have increased the soil organic carbon on their own farm by 45% to a depth of at least one metre and have shared their experience widely with the Landcare and farming community.

My name is Steph Coombes, and in this episode I sat down with Jeremy to learn about the hidden potential of using local microbes and fungi, and how they can be used in the Northern Territory.

This episode is supported by the Australian Government's National Landcare Program.

Managing soils in the Northern Territory comes with its own unique set of challenges. So, how do we overcome these challenges, and what steps can we take to not just protect Territory soils, but improve them for the generations to come?

My name is Steph Coombes, and in this episode I sit down with Fergal O’Gara - an agricultural consultant with over 30 years experience in tropical agriculture, how land manages can sift through the overwhelming amount of data and management options available, to effectively and sustainably manage their soils.

This episode is supported by the Australian Government's National Landcare Program.

Mainoru Station is a 1300 km2 cattle station, 250km north east of Katherine. In the 10 years since Danny and Cathy Hayes purchased it, they have been relying predominantly on native vegetation for the cattle production system.

In this episode Danny shares the challenges he has in managing his native pastures, including below average rainfall, grazing pressure from both cattle, feral animals, and wildlife, and of course weeds.

He also discusses the Territory Conservation Agreement he entered into, how and why he chose the site he did, and what he hopes to achieve.

A Territory Conservation Agreement supports land managers to protect areas of conservation importance on their properties.

They are a 10-year voluntary agreements between Territory Natural Resource Management (TNRM) and a land manager.

The program is supported through funding from the Australian Government's National Landcare Program. The agreement is a contract, but it is not registered upon the title of the property or binding to future owners.

My name is Steph Coombes, and for this episode I travelled to Mainoru Station to learn about how Danny manages his native vegetation, and what impact the Territory Conservation Agreement will have.

This episode is supported by the Australian Government's National Landcare Program.

When Gamba Grass was first introduced into Australia, many had high hopes for its value as a livestock feed.

However, today it is a declared weed of national significance.

My name is Steph Coombes, and in this episode I sit down with Diego Alvarez and James Pike, who both work with Gamba Grass under different projects run by Territory NRM.

Diego is a project officer who works alongside various stakeholder groups, including many Indigenous ranger groups operating in the Eradication Zone. In his role he supports land managers to achieve strategic gamba management with a view to eradication. Much closer to town, James has spent the last season leading the Gamba Army, operating amongst other stakeholders and land managers to achieve a coordinated Gamba management response across different land types and tenures in the greater Darwin area.

This episode is Part 3 in a 4 part series. In part 1 we heard from an ecologist to get the lowdown on Gamba Grass, in episode 2 we heard from Senior District Rangers about their experience managing Gamba grass in national parks, and in Part 4 we’ll hear from a local contractor about what’s involved in the fight against gamba grass.

This episode is supported by the Australian Government's National Landcare Program.

When Gamba Grass was first introduced into Australia, many had high hopes for its value as a livestock feed.

However, today it is a declared weed of national significance.

My name is Steph Coombes, and in this episode I sit down with Rod Edmunds and Steve Dwyer, both Senior District Rangers for NT Parks and Wildlife, to discuss how they manage Gamba Grass in National Parks. They share the story of how they managed Gamba Grass in their early career, and why they have changed their approach significantly over the past 20 years.

This episode is Part 2 in a 4 part series. In part 3 we will hear from project managers who work alongside various stakeholder groups to manage Gamba on under different land ownership and use, and in Part 4 we’ll hear from a local contractor about what’s involved in the fight against gamba grass.

This episode is supported by the Australian Government's National Landcare Program.

When Gamba Grass was first introduced into Australia, many had high hopes for its value as a livestock feed.

However, today it is a declared weed of national significance.

My name is Steph Coombes, and in this episode I sit down with David Liddle to discuss when, how and why Gamba Grass was introduced into Australia, and why it is now considered a highly invasive species which requires dedicated management and even eradication in some areas, to avoid the devastating impacts it can have on the environment.

David is an ecologist who has spent the past 40 years working in the Northern Territory, witnessing the process of landscape invasion by Gamba Grass. He unpacks for us many of the concepts and reasons which underpin the grass becoming problematic in the Top End.

This episode is Part 1 in a 4 part series. In parts 2 and 3 we will hear from various stakeholders trying to manage gamba grass in areas such as cattle stations, national parks and crown land, and in part 4 we’ll hear from a local contractor about what’s involved in the fight against gamba grass.

This episode is supported by the Australian Government's National Landcare Program.

The Northern Territory pastoral industry relies primarily on grazing native vegetation. It is in the utmost interest of pastoralists to care for native species, as well as maintain and promote biodiversity.

My name is Steph Coombes, and in this episode I am joined by Dionne Walsh to get an overview of native vegetation in the Territory, and what management strategies pastoralists are using to manage them effectively.

With a PhD in Rangeland Management, and more than 25 years of “dirty boots” experience, Dionne has a unique blend of academic rigour and practical know-how. To start our conversation, I asked her to give me an overview of native vegetation compared to improved pastures.

This episode is supported by the Australian Government's National Landcare Program.