Holding Water: Working with Nature to Drought-Proof Your Farm
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.ย. 2021
- Across the world, farmers face growing challenges as extreme weather and climate change take their toll. At the Danthonia Bruderhof farm here in Australia - a land renowned for "drought and flooding rains" (and bushfires) - we're implementing Regenerative Agriculture practices, to work with nature to restore and improve our landscape. In this video, we showcase the efforts our community's farmers are making towards "drought-proofing" our farm by increasing the capacity of our land to hold water.
Further viewing:
Natural sequence farming: How Peter Andrews rejuvenates drought-struck land | Australian Story | ABC News • Natural sequence farmi...
The Mulloon Institute Landscape Regeneration | Regenerating the Australian Landscape
• The Mulloon Institute ...
Further reading:
Chris interviewed Danthonia farm manager Johannes Meier for Plough Quarterly, May 2019:
www.plough.com/en/topics/just...
About us: We're the parents of three sons and live at Danthonia Bruderhof, a Christian community in northern New South Wales, Australia, and enjoy discussing our faith, family, food (Norann's an awesome cook!), and the day-to-day adventures of life in "the bush".
Follow Norann on Twitter at / norannv
More about the Bruderhof community where we live: www.bruderhof.com/en/where-we...
Norann is a regular contributor to the Bruderhof website's "Voices" blog: www.bruderhof.com/en/voices-b...
Norann & Chris are both contributing authors for the Bruderhof's publishing house, Plough, and its magazine, Plough Quarterly. www.plough.com/en/authors/v/n...
Luminous Rain by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: incompetech.com/
Heartwarming by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: incompetech.com/
#regenerativeagriculture #farmingvideos #bruderhof
Thanks for sharing, I really enjoyed the video, so educational and their commitment to the land is honourable and great to see. I'm an indigenous Australian and I commend you all. Great work. 👍🏾🙏🏾
Thank you. It is our privilege to care for this land, and we continue to learn so much from our Gamilaraay brothers and sisters, whose ancestors have been its custodians for generations. It's humbling to know we are linked to their legacy, and inspiring to see the resilience of nature as the landscape responds to our small efforts to work in harmony with its designs.
All environments should be adapted globally in order to sustain the planet. Really thankful for yalls commitment of this critical attention to your agricultural and landscaping practices. It is making a big difference to our evolution as a society. Wish more people understood just how important this interaction with our planet and water before any possible historical event can claim the planet as it could wither and die as the erosion, neglect and abuse expand and continue without redirection.
Norann and Chris, I greatly admire what you are doing. Heal the land and it will reward you exponentially far into the future. Well done.
Very informative and brilliant video. Thanks for sharing and wishing you prosperity in your endeavors 🙏
Thank you - and best wishes to you too.
Well done ..Peter Andrews has a wealth of knowledge that definately works.
I like his method of slowing the movement of water down, by causing it to backflow or swirl around using boulders and the like.
When u look at a river system, often it turns around on itself forming billabongs, slowing its movement down.
Wow great video guys. I love videos like this. I noticed in the opening aerial shot lots of tree guards. Would also be great to know which trees, shrubs, reeds etc you planted and in what sequence.
I’m stunned by the “warning.” As our Earth continues to warm, every effort should be made to rehabilitate every square inch of current farm land. Anticipating changes to historical rainfall patterns is one complication. More and more land in the US is badly depleted of organic content, but starting efforts must be undertaken. This video was informative and enjoyable to watch. 🙏🏽
Thanks. Algorithms do amazing things, I guess... We are heartened by the growing trend toward regenerative practices in many parts of the world - though, of course, there is so much more we all need to be doing, urgently. Hoping to share more videos from our farm soon. Blessings.
I love seeing these projects. First time I learnt that you could do this was when I learnt about Peter Andrews and Tony Coote on Australian Story, absolutely Amazing people ❤ this needs to be funded nationally. We can even start small and see how it goes. Commitment to restore 5000km of our most degraded creek systems.
Thanks, Justin. Peter and Tony are inspirations, for sure. We've taken advice from Peter and others over the years, and learned a great deal. No doubt you're familiar with the Mulloon Institute (www.youtube.com/@MulloonInstitute) and the work they're doing to help provide both the scientific evidence and the government interface to drive real change. We've all got a long way to go, but increasingly politicians and industry leaders are sitting up and paying proper attention. Hard to argue with results!
Hello from Germany, this is a very very impressive project and wonderful insights. Great to see people are able to heal Earth and make a living off of it. Big big thanks to all involved. I hope this knowledge would arrive back here where I live
Hallo! Thank you for your encouragement. You might be interested in some of the work our Bruderhof Geschwistern are doing at Gutshof, near Retz, in Austria. A bit closer to you than Australia, nicht? Vielleicht können sie dort einmal besuchen?... gutesvomgutshof.at/ Viele Gruesse von Down Under!
Thanks Norann and Chris, I thoroughly enjoyed watching this (actually watched several bits a few times) I love how connected you are to the land!! Thanks for sharing 🙂😊
Thanks, Iris! Can't wait for the day you're able to visit us and we can walk this beautiful country together. Stay well. N&C
Natural Sequence Farming was devised in the 1970s by Peter Andrews in Australia
For those who want to investigate Peter's work please research his methods..
Wonderful. What I admire most is that you have spent so much time and certainly a lot of money to carry out this restructuring. You must really love this land. I hope it will make you feel grateful. Not only for those who are there in Australia, but for the whole community.
Thanks, Ulrich. Yes we have lots of reasons for gratitude. One of the best things about regen agriculture generally is that significant changes and improvements in landscape function can be achieved over time with relatively low costs inputs when compared to 'traditional' chemical-based farming. We learn as we go, and are connected to magnificent thought-leaders and farming communities all over the world thru this.
It's just great to see what you have done with your farm. Creating the water catching areas is so good to see. 'How can we hold on to this precious thing...?' Not just the water, but the whole landscape and every creature that relies on it. I hope that many, many people will learn from what you are doing, and implement it in their own landscapes.
Thanks! We are on a journey of discovery (a lot of trial and error) and learning from others - and from the land. Now we're back in dryer times...so all the more, water is key to landscape survival. Thanks for your good wishes.
Absolutely terrific video guys, thankyou very much for compiling it and sharing it, I take my hat off to the "get it done" mentality of Johannes and Jason and look forward to catching up soon.
Thank you - having exceptional partners like you guys to work alongside is what keeps us going. In one of our next regen ag videos we'll look at managed grazing, so I'm sure Johannes will let you know when that drops. Have a great week! Chris
Most excellent!!!!!!!
Excellent video, would love to see an annual follow up showing progression. Well done to you all.
Appreciated. We hope to add more videos over time. Right now, our landscape is wetter than this video portrays - we've had consistent and plentiful rainfall these past months. Unlike eastern coastal areas, which have received way too much...
Fantastic video! Thanks for sharing. Keep up the great work and we look forward to seeing more videos in the future!
Thank you! We do hope to share more of the story of our farm and our efforts to work with nature to heal the landscape. It's an amazing adventure!
Must watch African And Indian efforts to Solve this hardpressing issue. Specially Dr.Pol's methods withouth using Heavy machinery.
A really interesting video! I'm looking forward towards seeing more about the farm at Danthonia and your water management system. It would also be interesting to learn what you guys use to supply drinking water to the buildings and houses - is it connected to the city water grid or an independent system?
Thanks! We'll try to do more farming videos in the months ahead. Like most rural properties (farms) in Australia, we're not connected to town water. So we have "bores" (wells) for livestock water, but it's not potable. We collect rain water off our roofs and store it in large tanks connected to our homes. That's our drinking water. And of course it means we always have a weather-eye open!
How sweet.... when nature as humankind humbles itself to learn and work with nature in her other forms and expressions.
Very true. Thanks!
Thank you much for caring for the land. I get so sad at the destruction everywhere, this gives a little hope.
This was quite interesting. You guys are doing amazing work there...good ole reliable, God-given nature!
Johannes, our farm manager, appreciates the wisdom of these words from Jeremiah 6:16: 'This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.' Really, that's what it's about - trying to find those "ancient paths" again, because so much has been done to destroy the functions of nature in our landscape, not through ill intent, but through a lack of understanding. We learn new things daily!
I think your commitment to the land and your understanding of restoration is fascinating. Letting nature do what God designed it to do and man subduing it in a proper way would benefit us all. I look forward to these videos, thank you for making them
Thank you for the encouragement. We're happy to be able to share these glimpses of this fascinating landscape and the way nature heals.
That looks awesome. I can't wait for my land to look like that with water holding on the land that well.
All the best with your endeavours.
@@DuoDownUnder thanks bro
I've just found your channel and love it, I have subscribed and am in the process of binging your awesome content.
Thanks so much - and welcome! The best part for us of creating and sharing content is connecting with an amazing 'community' all over the world, and inspiring each other. Great to have you aboard, and thanks for joining the conversation! C&N
The Peter Andrews theory does work but many are against it 😅
That is awsome to see! I was wondering if you have looked into mimicing beaver activities by building Beaver analogue dams like they do in the USA, especially dry places like Utha. Of course there no beavers will come but maybe it is possible to maintain a small series of dams by humans to slow the water down even further?
Great question! The concept of "leaky weirs" comes close to what you're describing -- using natural materials to slow water down and raise its level over time. One way we do that is by encouraging strategic growth of reeds and other natural vegetation in our waterways and gullies. These were historical functions in our landscape, largely lost due to imported agricultural methods.
Looks like a combination of Peter Andrews and Yoemans. Yoemens book " Water For Every Farm" is the seminal work regarding small dams and contour banks, (swales to some). He not only wrote books but also designed machinery to cheaply install water harvesting features.
I can't put my hands on the book right now or I would quote the ISBN.
Thanks for that, Mike. Pretty sure this is the right ISBN, for the paperback version: 9781438225784
When I next visit Danthonia I would really like to meet your farm managers, obviously they have really changed things, each previous visit the farm has looked great. I grew up with the Yeomans System and have spent some time with Peter Andrews. Congratulations and more strength to you all.
Sounds like a plan, Geoffrey!
@@DuoDownUnder I will have to wait until Bud & Elisa invite me again, then I can meet you all. Geoff
@@geoffreykirton2578 Well then, we shall tell them to do so 😊.
Well done , it truly is epic. It's surprising what you can discover going out in the rain. Somehow closer to God.
Amazing viewing. So glad I came across you...:-) Water IS EVERYTHING. It is life and more precious then gold. I loved the idea of all these little ponds...the creek looks so healthy and bubbly. The birds were amazing also! The only thing I noticed, some parts of property had patches of healthy looking trees and some were quite barren and not even a bush was visible. Did you guys planted any trees?..? Will you consider planting more trees on the land which is not used for agriculture? How about doing communities planting events? Is it something worth doing? Otherwise all looks just amazing! Thank you for helping the land and wildlife...:-)))
Hi there! - thanks for your encouragement and questions. When we made this video, our landscape was just beginning to recover from severe drought, so while there was a good amount of water everywhere, the trees and vegetation were still making a comeback. Over the past two decades, we have planted upwards of 100,000 trees on our property, mostly in tree belts on higher ground, where they act as windbreaks and as 'corridors' for wildlife and cattle. We are a grazing property, but we love trees and will keep planting more, in strategic locations and as we manage (we've had some fantastic community projects planting trees!). One thing is for sure: there is always more to be done, and we continue to learn as we go.
@@DuoDownUnder Wow! That is amazing! Thank you for your prompt reply. I definitely will go and watch some more videos. Your property is amazing and so so healthy looking considering how harsh is our climate. You definitely are doing the right things. And sooo many trees already planted! Thank you for sharing and GL..:-))))
Every difficult day is followed by a good day 😊
Never lose hope
Try try again and again and the next day will be yours . 😍
👋 thank you!
Hey you got the ytube badge of honesty. 🙋🇭🇲🌅🤗
Wearin' it with pride, mate! Thanks for your encouragement!
Such important work and so desperately needed. So tragic what happened to Australia with European settlement. So hopeful that it can all be turned around and we can reconcile ourselves with the land as well as with the Indigenous people. Love the quote from Jeremiah 6:16!
You're right about what we've lost. The amazing thing we're learning is how quickly nature can heal, or at least start on a restorative path. Some things we'll never regain, at least not in our lifetimes, but we have to try to take the long view, and work for future generations. Stay well, dear friend. C&N
Inspirational.
Only, please don't confuse British Colonialisation with European anything.
Plenty of the colonists in Australia were non British. The main road in Brisbane is Roma Street! Loads of Italian, Irish, Croatian, and German colonists invaded the outback.
What would be Ur advise for someone with deep sandy currently dead soil clay level is around -2.5 mts down to start holding some water so I'm able to build the soil so it will hold water and nutrients to help the native trees and grasses it's just a private bush block
Hi Ricky. Great question. I asked Johannes Meier, our farm manager who we interview in this video, for his input. He says the following:
I don’t have experience in those soil conditions but the basic approach would be the same.
- Maximise growing diverse growing plants - trees/shrubs/forbes/grasses
- Inoculate seeds/roots with biology prior to planting and on to plants after they are growing.
- Supply moderate biology friendly fertility - compost would be great
- If on undulating country, some level contours to hold water back and increase retained rainfall on the land would be beneficial.
- All this with the goal to maximise photosynthesis which drives soil carbon sequestration which drives soil water holding capacity...
- A soil test to determine any large deficiencies can be a good idea if one has someone to interpret.
Keep us posted as you work with your landscape! C&N
5:44 *2103
Gotta plan ahead, mate! 😜
Britain could use rainwater harvesting to reintroduce trees and reduce the loss of topsoil.
Muddy water runoff is a problem and Britain needs to change its ways as well.
The hills could use more trees as part of the strategy to retain water. They add shade and decrease winds. Add food producing trees to increase food security.
Good points. I don't know much about regen ag in the UK, but here's an article w some interesting references to farmers who are working along the lines you're describing. www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/11/regenerative-farming-shift-could-reduce-uk-climate-emissions-say-experts
@@DuoDownUnder
Look into Mark Shepard and his book on regenerative ag. It is truly a holistic approach to ag. Mark has shown you can rehab land that was rather worn and return it to life, his first farm is of hilly terrain in Wisconsin.
He is converting several other farms in nearby states.
He primarily uses biome-appropriate, interplanted trees, shrubs, vines in rows alternating with perennials and grasses. Livestock are mob-grazed to manage weeds pests, crop residues and fertility.
It's an improvement over typical 'regenerative ag,' as there is zero red-line purchased chemical ag inputs. Very little ground is left bare (he grows some squash). Plants over three years (aka established) rarely need irrigation as the swales and keylining keep the hills from drying out, and the dips from being marshy.
It regenerates soil, is cheaper to start, builds farmer resiliency, and produces superior products.
It would be interesting to see infiltratetion pits with dead timber and organic mater berryd in at the tops of the hills in the water catchments instead of burning it it grows Fungal Composting in the soil diging these in contour lines will ensure that Fungal and nutrients can infiltrate into as much water as possible for increased longer release and spreading of the nutrition produced on farm / of farm ? It seems to be working in the inland Bush will water slowing timber Banks with a little thinking/ adaptation it might fit well into this system?
Interesting concept. Not sure whether our farm team has tried integrating brush/organic matter into our contour systems, but we definitely do see the benefits of strategic placement of brush, etc., and allowing it to break down over time while creating habitats and releasing nutrients. Will pass along your comment to our guys. 👍
As jumlis mentioned above, using woody waste on contour creates more 'sponges' and facilitates increased microbiology in the soil. Generally, those who compost tend to use only the softer biological waste, not wood. In my experience, composting wood rows have a much more complex insect and microbe biota, especially fungi, which is not usually found so much in regular compost heaps. In Australia, the common practice on farms of burning of logs, rather than retaining their biomass, has contributed greatly to soil degradation. Of course, burns to reduce fuel for bushfires is often cited as a reason. However, in rows close to the ground (as opposed to bonfire piles) or buried or piled in swales, the decomposition rate is faster and moisture content retained. Over time, simply laying fallen timber in rows on contour has created natural terracing on my own property in Northern NSW with soil, leaves etc piling up behind in heavy rains. I plant trees into those rows, stabilizing those 'terraces' over time. I have a much smaller property than yours (15acres) but I've become a compulsive stick picker-upper :) @@DuoDownUnder
That pasture has very few trees; that is the main problem. Choose either cattle or trees.
Over the past 20 years, we've planted well over 100,000 trees on our property, many in corridors or "belts", which are now providing shade for our cattle, and (when planted on ridge lines) promoting soil restoration via the nutrients the livestock deposit on the high ground. So its not necessarily an either/or proposition. Check out this video we did about ways trees are improving pasture health: th-cam.com/video/_BZEH1r72gg/w-d-xo.htmlsi=CKv8St3ce_UH2IO3
Greetings from the LooseNatural farm in Andalusia Spain
Feliz año nuevo! Wishing you every success in the year ahead. Thank you for your support, and for the work you are doing to improve our planet!
Many people who watch videos in English are not English speakers. I was trying to understand what they were talking about but was very distracted by the music 👎
Sorry. Did you try the subtitles?
You guys should check out the mulloon institute in NSW if you already haven’t. What you’ve done here is very similar to what they do. Perhaps you could learn from each other?
Edit: never mind. I see you’ve met Peter Andrews from tarwyn farm.
Keep up the good work, guys n gals.
Thanks, mate. We have definitely benefited from the work of the good people at the Mulloon Institute, as we have from so many other pioneers of landscape regeneration. Learning from each other is 'where it's at'. Cheers!
This should be done years years ago
True enough. All the more reason to work at it today 🙂.
surprised not to see a lot of fruit trees and laguenes, food forest incorporated in scheme, is one planned
Our farm is integrated into our community, which has sizeable citrus and olive groves and apple and pear orchards as well as a small vineyard. In our tree belts we plant mixed exotics and natives, as well as fruit trees (mostly apple) to encourage wildlife. Also planting nut trees, esp pecans. Lots of scope for work for future generations too. Step by step... 😊
I want to join with you in the programme of enriching water in earth
Thank you!
Grazing is the problem, not the solution. You need vegetation to hold the water in the soil, not the "poop" from the animals. You need trees and bushes. There is no life when you look at the footage 4:37.
Australia must learn from countries like Israel about storing and retaining the rain that can maintain agriculture and this lifestyle.
It sounds like some keyline design principles
True. And, relatedly, we're hoping to do a video soon on soil biology and ways we're working to improve it.
Yes as espoused by the Yeomans on "Yobani" after the war. Unfortunately current legislation deems that NSW farmers can only retain 10% of the water that falls on their land. The rest is supposed to be allowed to flow off - supposedly to maintain the health of riparian systems such as the Murray Darling Basin. Unfortunately that simplistic thinking ignores the sponge reservoir capacity (as discussed in the vid) that can assist maintaining healthy riparian flows for a much longer period after rain. There is a desperate need for better legislation so that landowners can implement more of these systems.
How to bring together the need to have independent healthy farms, rejecting Glyphosate, rejecting land grabs, using regenerative and organic agriculture, rejecting the Agenda 2030 and EU WEF pushovers? While not leaving farmers in further distress that leads to bankruptcy
Nature is hard to define!
Rain-fed agriculture
True. So much depends on the water cycle, and our working with it.
Now to let all those wet areas grow bush and forest!
👍 We have planted pecans in some of this valley system (not the wettest parts of course) and are contemplating putting in hardwood stands at some point...as resources allow.
i think the sponge is a very good example
but you need more tree's n bushes , i would recommend some that produce more the older they get.
Agreed. We have been planting shrubs and trees throughout our landscape. The recent drought made that challenging, so this is a work in progress. We have visions of a bit of a nut orchard in part of our main valley someday.
Thanks for contributing!
Wow!
Great work.
Just be careful though. That million odd dollars worth of earth works will forever take careful managment and maintenance.
Thanks, mate. Yes, there's always work to do. I can assure you, though, it didn't cost a fraction of that amount. We dry hired an excavator and did the work ourselves.
@@DuoDownUnder You've inspired me. i'll do they same. With a dozer and a roller I reckon i can get dams and swales and deep ripping to keep water on my paddocks and in the soil. ive got ground and canopy cover sorted. I'm tired of waiting for over worked contractors. Thanks!!!
Do you have to get permits to build dams and change water courses? I worry that bureaucracy will come down if I try to change my land re water. Obviously I know nothing and have a lot to learn...
Good question. Yes, it's important to understand the regulations and legislation that impact your environment. We've been fortunate to be assisted by landcare advocates and agents of government in this area. There's education taking place, at many levels, and we are starting to see common-sense changes in outdated regulatory models.
Great content, but the piano music is cloyingly annoying.
Thanks - and you've made our week with that alliterative description of the (occasional) musical underlay. "Cloyingly annoying" will become a catch phrase in our house, for sure. Have a great day! 🙂
🙋♀️💜💕🌟
👋 👍
I didn’t realise that you live on a farm
Yes, we're fortunate to live on a large acreage, in the middle of beautiful farming/cattle country in northern NSW. You'll have to come visit us!
@@DuoDownUnder oh I’d love to
Swales on contour is a fundamentally flawed system. Put berms perpendicular to the swales. Berms should be connected on all 4 side or three at a minimum. With this approach you can flow water up hill over the lands surface and grow grass. With this system you can hold almost ever drop of water and you don’t have unusable land like you do with swales.
Thank you for your input.
That doesn't really work with the specific weather pattern in outback Australia. Australia gets absolutely torrential rain 2-3 times a year and literally 0-10mm (0-0.5 inches) in between. Berms won't work, because the sheer volume of water overwhelms the system, but isn't enough to provide for continuous 'irrigation'. Ephemeral ponds like this work better because you saturate the land to keep it growing until the next rain, but it's dry enough to get stock on it in a few weeks, so it isn't 'unusable' it's temporarily inundated.
Great video but those invasive European trees are a bummer. Please consider planting native trees that have co-evolved with other animals and plants in the ecosystem.
Thanks. I can assure you we have planted thousands of native trees, including acacias and eucalypts, and it has made an incredible difference to the wildlife and birds on our property. Lots more work to do, of course, but we keep going!
Land without water is dead land.
Now this is stewardship. You are really a "Five Talent" bunch.
Thanks, Ken. Merry Christmas!
Build ponds. Flood the riverbank.
We're working on it...🙂