Recently, the Boorowa Community Landcare Group (BCLG) Regen Grazing Group took a bus trip to the Mundarlo Valley to visit two properties.
Members from BCLG, Scott Hickman from Mid Lachlan Landcare, team members from Riverina Local Land Services and Richard Bull, Chair of Chairs Local Land Services were among those who attended.
The first property visited was ‘Gundillawah’, run by Pete and Bundle Lawson. Pete and Bundle manage two family properties, ‘Gundillawah’ and ‘Trewalla’ at Book Book. Following tertiary education, they studied holistic management and decided to run the farm holistically in 2008. They currently run a merino sheep and cattle self-replacing breeding operation and are in the process of subdividing paddocks after improving water infrastructure over the past few years.
The second property visited was ‘Mundarlo’, run by Nick and Deanna Austin. Nick and Deanna, along with their two children Ellie (14) and Harry (12), run the 1400ha property situated on the Murrumbidgee River. They have managed the property under holistic management principles since 2010. Due to the current dry conditions, last year they sold their breeding herd but maintained their cattle trading enterprise. This year, they added sheep trading to their business.
Both sets of landholders were open, humble and willing to share all aspects of their business with the members of the Regen Grazing Group. They talked about setting goals for your business and navigating your journey towards them.
There were 25 participants on the day, who were able to go back and look at their own goals, monitor their grass and plan ahead for the long dry season.
Before returning to Boorowa, the group quickly stopped to look at Dean Bourlet’s multi species cropping paddocks before a social dinner at the Sir George Hotel.
Through out the year, the BCLG Regen Grazing group has had a series of on farm visits, workshops and bus trips with support from the National Landcare Smart Farms Program. These meetings have extended the networks beyond the Hilltops shire and facilitated new interactions between participants.
