North Burnett QLD Cattle Producers Tom & Robyn Aisbett write:
(Click here to see where the Aisbett’ s live in a rural Australia. On the map Right click on marker to zoom in)
It seems that the AGRICULTURAL TERRORISTS - for that is what they are, who hold higher education and ability to debate subjects they think they are expert in - are destroying our Northern Security with misguided attacks on those specially innovative Pastoralists who are planting improved pastures on poor soils - Gamba Grass being the first one in the headlines at the moment.
(Photo below is of Robyn with her ‘pet’ Grey Brahman bull “Wibbley”. We run about 1,000 cattle and I have my Brahman herd and Tom has his Droughtmaster cross Limousin herd.)
Our sensible Scientists have been researching grasses from around the world, and since we are on the same parallels as South Africa, and that country has great migrations of hooved animals, their grasses are marvelously suited to improved production here.
(Pictured below is Tom Aisbett. My grandfather drew the block in 1935. He arrived here in the middle of a roaring drought. The place was just open forest, not a fence, no yards, no house nothing. I’ve lived on and worked on ‘Hillgrove’ all my whole life. Robyn’s family the MacPherson’s were on a soldiers settlement block “Dunrobin” just up the river. They drew it in ‘49. Dunrobin is now owned by Nagel Bennett.)
The world’s population is growing at a frightening rate, and have to be fed - Australia and Brazil are in a pretty good situation to be able to do this, but as Australia is the driest continent on earth - we have to work harder.
Australian Farmers manage to produce a huge surplus - providing export income, with very little help from the government.
(This is a photo of Tom looking at some of his maiden Droughtie x Limo heifers in the paddock. The country on ‘Hillgrove’ is mostly semi open forest country. We both love this country, we know every tree, every water hole and blade of grass on it. We have looked after it all our lives and its looked after us. ).
Our country should be able to feed itself. Northern Australia, Brazil and parts of Asia are among the few parts of the world still able to be developed to produce food - when the rest of the world is hungry.
Africa is a case in point. Subsistence farming is not very efficient, nor is hampering farm development.
It wasn’t so long ago people were protesting “No more Dams”, Dams are just big boys toys, now all the grandstanding about wild rivers seems to have come to naught - dams are going in places never dreamed of, particularly the Mary Valley.
(Below is a photo of our house. It was built in 1938. A condition of drawing the block was that you had to put a dwelling on it. I’ve lived all my life in this house. We are about an hour and a half’s drive from the nearest town, either Chinchilla or Munduberra. It’s only about 100-110kms (60-66 miles) but we have about 32kms (20 miles) of pretty rough dirt road to go over before you get to the bitumen. Our electricity is solar power with a diesel generator as back up, the closest place with 240volt mains power is about 25kms (15 miles) away. Our closest neighbour is Toms sister who is on a place about 16kms (10 mile) away. With the dirt road out of the place, when it rains we stay put until it dries out.)
The world will realize they are getting short of food - fuel prices are impacting on farming, and starvation in Africa is something happening to someone else.
When people are lining up in their supermarkets for foodstuffs that are not there, as it happened in The Soviet REPUBLIC, half ‘em won’t know why.
Zimbabwe is a case in point. The white farmers who have been there for generations have been thrown off their land, their workers burned out and murdered, and now they are starving. It is being done to Australian farmers in a more subtle way.
Have Your say!
What do you think comes first - satisfying the environmentalist ever increasing demands or our responsibility to the world too produce food?
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Tags: Food Production
The ethanol obsession is causing a world crisis in food as we are forced to subsidise using food products and food land for motor fuel.
If the weather also cools, as it more likely than global warming, we will indeed see a food crisis.