Recently I attended, with my partner Pam, an open day on a beef property in the Upper Murray owned by the Couglans.
The property was featured on ABC Landline earlier this year. Michael and Anna Coughlan have been managing the property for some time following the principles of Holistic Management.
The open day was in mid- November, the cows had just finished calving on to green feed, nearby farms were mowing hay, it was a complete contrast to home, except the flies, they were the same.
Aside from the discussions of soil heath and grazing management we were also shown an exhibition by a local artist, Jenny Bell. A short walk through the heifer paddock found us in an empty hay shed with one wall lined with paintings.
Jenny’s works were an interpretation of the property after her time spent with the Coughlans. All very interesting, with spontaneous speeches by fellow artists and much applause.
The day had brought together two groups, although the Artys outnumbered the Aggies two to one. I’m still wondering about the art and the message it was giving, but for the non-farmers they were given a clear visual display of a productive and sustainable farm with content livestock and a healthy environment.
As ricegrowers we should be conscious of our social right to farm. To be labelled as industrial farmers would be a difficult thing to shake off.
Rice as a surrogate wetland for Bitterns is being trial funded by Riverina Local Land Services this season and if we demonstrate a successful Bittern breeding in rice we will all have a good news story to tell.
Scott Williams,
President Yanco RGA Branch
IMAGE: Jenny Bell art exhibition in the Coughlan's hay shed.