"Meryula" In brief..

Property:

Meryula

Address:

Tottenham

Owners:

Terry & Lorraine Fishpool

Phone:

Area (in hectares)

3000 ha

Rainfall (mm/pa)

450 mm

Oldman Saltbush area (hecatares)

24 ha

year of first Planting

1999

Q & A: an interview with Terry & Lorraine Fishpool

Why OMSB planted?  

To give a better control over our annual feed base and possibly to be able to run more stock.

What grazing and pasture benefits have been observed? 

Too early to say fully as have only had one graze. I have noticed already that less water is running of the paddock, whether that is due to the saltbush or better grass cover between the rows I really cant say.

What financial benefits have been observed? 

Looking at other saltbush paddocks and the way they perform, I think we should have the same financial benefits.

Biggest OMSB impact?

It will be the control we have over our feed for the stock. I was most impressed at how well omsb grows over the summer period, particularly when everything else has stopped growing. You can clearly see the strength of the plant at this time of the year.

Any problems with OMSB? 

Some plants have died in the wet areas and others are still struggling. This was only a few.

Do you / if you had a salinity problem, do you think OMSB would help with controlling deep drainage and/or lowering the water table? Yes

Would you like to increase your area sown to OMSB? Yes

What limits your planting of a larger area?  The cost of establishment.

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