The McMicking's no-till crop © WWF Australia

McMicking's farm, Goondiwindi QLD © WWF Australia

Hugh and Libby McMicking operate a mixed grain and livestock enterprise on 'Manus', a property north of Goondiwindi, Queensland. Hugh's father purchased the property and apart from years away being educated, Hugh has lived there all his life.

Sixteen years ago Hugh and Libby made the move to no-till farming. That's a method of conserving and managing moisture and Hugh says now, without no-till techniques it would be nearly impossible to grow crops in the district.

He recalls:

"Over the last twenty years we have noticed considerable change in the rainfall pattern. Summer rainfall has changed and now they are getting bigger falls and less often bigger lumps of rain with longer periods in between falls. I've been in communication with Roger Stone from the Centre for Climate Variability and Roger says the data is there to back up these observations. Winter rainfall is also spasmodic, but the impact is more noticeable during summer as that is when most of the annual rainfall is received."

No-till farming has enabled us to deal with a more episodic rainfall pattern
"It is fortunate that over the last fifteen years we have changed our farming system we are now using no-till techniques. We made the move to no-till farming in 1989 and we believe this has buffered the impact of the changing climate to a large extent. No-till farming is about managing/conserving moisture and this has enabled us to deal with a rainfall pattern that has become more episodic. No-till farming is more efficient at storing moisture. Before it would rain and the weeds would grow, so you would go and plough and rip them out and that would rip the moisture out as well. That was okay when it was raining regularly, as it would rain again, fill up the profile and if the timing was right, you could plant. Now, if you plough to control weeds and lose moisture, it might not rain again until after the planting window has passed - and that is disaster.

The change to no-till farming began in the district in the late 70s and early 80s and was largely driven by concerns over soil loss, soil structural decline and water runoff. It is ironic, but now without no-till techniques it would be nearly impossible to grow crops in this area. We would not have planted this year without the techniques and technology we are now using.

The change in rainfall pattern has also impacted on our pasture growth. We have less pasture growth and the carrying capacity on our pasture country has declined."

If we don't look after the land, civilization will die
"I think summers are hotter and winters are warmer. I don't have any data to back this up, but that is what I think, though I may be getting older and feeling the heat more. We seem to be getting more extremes.

I use weather information continually in my decision making. I use the internet and access a range of forecasting tools. At the moment a lot of farmers in this area are using a German weather reporting system. The short to medium forecasts are quite accurate and people use them to plant and use the wind information to make decisions about spraying. This last fall of rain that came through in June was predicted about a week ahead and people were able to go out and plant on the basis of the forecast. Technology has made huge differences to grain cropping. I also use consultants and believe it is good to involve young people in the business.

I find reading material is the best way to get information. I also find half-day workshops that start early with a breakfast barbecue are very good -- you get a good roll up, people don't fall asleep and you can get some work done at home in the afternoon.

I farm because there is something about producing something out of moisture and soil, something intellectual and spiritual. We are aiming to produce something that is high quality, responsibly produced, edible, sustainable and environmentally friendly - and I enjoy the challenge of that. There is an obligation, as well. I value the obligation of custodianship. If we don't look after the land, civilisation will die. I care about the environment and want to keep it in a good state. I believe the biggest environmental dangers are the political and economic systems.

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