Jo and Don Hearn, with dog Gracie, graze their wetland with pregnant cattle. Photos: Sophie Baldwin
A focus on sustainability has seen Jo and Don Hearn revive a wetland on their southern NSW farm. As SOPHIE BALDWIN discovered, it is thriving.
Diversification and a commitment to sustainability have always been an important part of the farming ethos for Jo and Don Hearn.
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Since 1996, when they returned home to the family farm at Caldwell, near the NSW-Victorian border, they have farmed their 450 hectares with love and attention, prioritising soil and animal health.
Guided by organic and biodynamic farming principles, their property Restdown has had a few evolutions, including the award-winning Restdown vineyard and cellar door, ecotourism and the thriving organic beef business Jungle Lane Beef Co.
The loss of water from the area and ever-increasing water delivery costs have forced the Hearns into the gut-wrenching decision to pull out their vines and move away from wine production.
They are now focusing on beef production and tourism opportunities, and central to this success has been the re-establishment of a 24ha wetland.
Don could remember the wetland flourishing back in the 1970s and, in the middle of the millennium drought, the couple decided to bring it back to life.
Today the wetland is thriving.
Regularly monitored by Australian National University in Canberra, students have found it is now home to more than 70 different bird species and growing, more than 100 different plant species dependent on the season, eight different frogs and many reptiles and insects.
Soil and animal health are high on Jo and Don Hearn’s agenda.
Photo by
Sophie Baldwin
Thanks to a partnership with the Wetland Revival Trust, the nationally endangered stiff groundsell was recently planted into the wetland, a plant considered extinct for 100 years.
Don and Jo have been working with the local Barapa Barapa and Wemba Wemba nations since 2007, as the Restdown wetland is also a significant cultural site.
Every few years, the Hearns access an allocation from the Murray-Darling Working Wetland Group which enables them to water the wetland. They also use their own allocation as well.
The wetland has an environmental covenant placed on it, but that does not stop Jo and Don from grazing the feed bank it creates most years.
“Cattle have been used as a land management strategy for millennia,” Don said.
“We normally graze the cows in the wetland just before calving and because they are heavy in calf, they just quietly graze the area without doing any damage.”
The cows eat the grass and flatten the rushes, which means Jo and Don don’t have to bring a tractor in for slashing.
The wetland is home to more than 70 different bird species.
Photo by
Sophie Baldwin
And they also produce manure which fertilises the wetland.
“One cow produces 10kg of manure a day,” Don said.
“We usually have 35 cows in here at a time and if we leave them in here for a three-week rotation, we can end up with around 6.5 tonnes of magnificent and free organic fertiliser.”
The other part of the puzzle has been the establishment of a population of dung beetles to help break down the manure.
The couple has had the dung beetles for about four years now.
“The variety we have bury the manure two feet deep, which helps the grasses and tap root plants gain access to the free fertiliser,” Don said.
“Any cow pats left behind get dissolved when we bring water into the wetland, spreading fertilised water across the landscape.”
Jo and Don Hearn have had to make the tough decision to offload some of their breeders due to the dry conditions.
Photo by
Sophie Baldwin
Don said the grazing of the wetland was a critical part of its management.
“We liken the wetland to a free shed of hay, without the cost of cutting, raking and baling,” he said.
Having said that, when conditions are right and there is excess feed about, Jo and Don will cut hay across their property, but only as long as there remains enough ground cover over their soils.
“It's been a dry year this year, and thankfully we do have some hay which we have been feeding to the girls,” Don said.
The couple has also had to make the tough decision to offload some of its breeders due to the dry conditions.
Beef on Restdown happily produce manure which fertilises the wetland.
Photo by
Sophie Baldwin
“We are down to 55 breeders and 60 weaners, and while they are a little bit behind in terms of where they should be for weight at this time of the year, they are still in pretty good nick,” Don said.
Looking to the future, the couple is contemplating what is next.
“The wetland and consequent ecotourism opportunities have enabled us to have some very important conversations with people as we try to educate them on the importance of food production and environmental opportunity,” Jo said.
“We are passionate about showing politicians and decision-makers the positive results that happen when bringing water on to farms.”
