Agmates

Northern Territory Grazier John Khan (pictured) writes:

Regarding the media release by Garnett and McFadyen on March 31st demonizing Gamba Grass, and the subsequent announcement by Minister Mulherin a few days later that Gamba would be banned, I make the following statements.

Garnett and McFadyen may know something about environmental science, but it is clear that they are so engrossed on their own idealism that they are either ignorant or contemptuous of everything else. They claim their opinions have been proved correct by scientific research and experiment.

Environmentalism is an inexact science, based on personal opinions, with the concepts very open to debate, and the conclusions and teachings almost devoid of economic values. The experiments are easily tailored and fabricated to support the scientists own beliefs and aspirations.

Photo of Brahman Cows grazing Gamba pasture, note the diversity of species, with trees and other grasses present.

The Charles Darwin University and the Tropical Savannas CRC have not produced any plausible plans for control or eradication of Gamba. They have not succeeded in controlling Gamba on Crown land. They have not come up with any alternatives for the farmer. All that they have said implies a determination to eradicate farmers from the savanna and reduce the population. They have turned a blind eye to the scenario of farming co-existing with the natural environment.

The world is not growing any larger but the population is increasing, and 80% of the people do not get enough to eat. Global Warming may worsen the situation. If we do not grow more food, we will not survive to enjoy the savanna. Our national security depends on populating and using the North of Australia.

Most Asians see us as “Dogs in the Manger” who are either too lazy or stupid to use our resources or else so wealthy that we don’t need to. Either way we are sitting on land that they would like to use, as their population grows and they get hungrier they will probably decide to change the situation.

Instead of banning Gamba, Minister Mulherin would be better employed helping the agricultural industry to survive and grow, rather than pandering to a small group of radicals who have no logic or reasoning to back up their call.

The photo below is of Pure Spear Grass gone to seed and useless in March. Note there is no other grasses growing in the pure stand of spear grass.

The Gamba Declaration is full of mistruths, exaggerations, and impossible predictions and if we had been given the time we could have pulled it to pieces. It questions the sincerity of the architects and shows the gullibility of those who support it.

Banning Gamba is only another Slice of the Salami, if you want to keep farming or as a consumer, you want to keep eating and buying imported goods you will have to make your voice heard.

DEMAND A STAY OF EXECUTION SO THE FACTS CAN BE PRESENTED TO AN IMPARTIAL COMMISSION.

Have your say!

Should the Northern Territory Government listen to graziers and  hold an Impartial Inquiry into benefits / impacts of Gamba grass before deciding to follow the WA & QLD governemnts in declaring it a Class 2 weed?

Leave your comment below or click on the Blue word Comments to bring up the reply box.

As predicted in Agmates articles over the last 3 months the QLD government moved yesterday to declare the tropical pasture Gamba grass a class 2 weed.

Following on from Western Australia’s lead Gamba Grass is now a Class 2 weed in Queensland following the announcement of The Minister for Primary Industries and Fisheries, The Honourable Tim Mulherin State member for Mackay (pictured left) issued yesterday.

Click here to read the Minsters press release on the governments’ web site.

John Rains General Manager Southedge Seeds Mareeba North Queensland writes:

I believe this is the tip of the iceberg with Buffel, Panicums and Stylos next on the Eco hit list. It is a must for the industry peak bodies to get off their bums and take a worthwhile fight up to these alternative people. The Grazing and Seed Industry needs to get together to formalize and document a Code of Practice for the use of imported production plants.

This is a victory for nonsense, a defeat for commonsense. It was an ‘Rent a Crowd’ exercise. I commend the Minister for taking a balanced view.

Having said that I consider the Northern grazing industry has every right to request a recommendation for a replacement grass that will give the same production and have the same attributes as Gamba.

While these ‘Ecoclowns” have been putting time, effort and money into bad Gamba grass they have overlooked, probably conveniently, the really bad, useless, invasive environmental weeds that are around. This whole Gamba debacle was started by one researcher from Darwin.

Not only have they curtailed the use of a highly productive pasture plant but potentially a very valuable one. One thing conveniently overlooked by these ‘Ecoclowns’ is Gamba can sequestrate over 200 mt of Carbon per ha from the atmosphere and produce massive quantities of Cellulose at the same time that will eventually be used for renewable Biofuel. It can do this without growing and maintenance costs.

Gamba is extremely drought tolerant. It produces its own Ammonium Nitrogen.

Southedge Seeds was the only seed company to put its hand up and fight for the right of the Northern grazing industry to utilize and plant this valuable plant.

From my company’s point of view, sales volume and turnover of Gamba is insignificant. Not having Gamba sales will not make any difference to our business. I feel saddened for the northern Graziers who will be denied the use of this great plant. Many of these graziers are Aussie battlers not the big glamour pastoral companies.

However much these environmentalists bleat the Australian native grass and legume species are not up to the job of giving the production required for viable grazing enterprises in Northern Australia.

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Update 04.04.08 @ 12.40pm

And now the pressure is ramped up on the NT Government to ban Gamba Grass. Click here to see the CRC media release.

Extract from the CRC media release:

“The decision today by the Queensland Government to officially declare African Gamba grass a weed is a correct and courageous decision…
Dr McFadyen said that the fact that almost 200 scientists recently signed a declaration calling for the grass to be banned sends a clear wake-up message to the NT Government to pay attention to the evidence about the long-term risk this species poses to the natural environment and to other valuable assets.”

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Have your say!

Are peak farming lobby groups AgForce, NT Cattlemen Assoc, Graziers and the Seed Industry doing enough to protect Graziers against these Anti-farming environmental groups?

Leave your comment below or click on the Blue word Comment to activate the comments box.

Agmates Editor Steve Truman writes:

Anti - farmer Green groups & weed warriors and have unloaded the second volley at State and Federal politicians in their ongoing campaign to have the QLD & NT governments ban Gamba Grass.

This is no surprise as we flagged this was on in our article Greens Pressure QLD Government to ban Gamba, Buffel Grass & Leucaena on the 18th of March.

If you read the Green propaganda - Gamba grass is “Australia’s Worst Weed”. The only thing they don’t say but imply is that the fires of Hell are actually Gamba Grass fires - it’s so bad.

On Monday with great fan fare they released this to the Media - It had also been delivered to the following politicians:

1. Paul Henderson – Chief minister of the NT
2. Anna Bligh – Premier QLD
3. Peter Garrett – Minister for the Environment.
4. Tim Mulherin – Minister Primary Industries QLD
5. Andrew McNamara – Minister Climate Change and Sustainability QLD
6. Craig Wallace – Minister Natural Resources and Water QLD
7. Christopher Natt – Minister for Primary Industries NT
8. Loenard Kiely – Minister Parks and Wildlife & Natural Resources – NT
9. Senator Penny Wong – Minister Climate Change and Water

An Open letter from Scientists calling for a ban on Gamba Grass Across Northern Australia

The Agmates article exposed the tactics to be used by the greens and the issue has been picked up ABC rural radio and to a small extent by Rural Press.

One result of our exposing their tactics is that the CRC has removed Leucaena from their web site and does not mention it. I’m told this is because the Leucaena growers have in place a state government recognized code of practice.

However if you go to their site you’ll see Buffel grass listed as a major weed that must be stamped out: Below is the photo and text from the site:

Buffel grass at Uluru (Ayres Rock NT)

Cenchrus ciliaris
Like gamba grass and mission grass, buffel grass is an African native introduced to Australia as a pastoral species. Highly competitive and drought tolerant, buffel grass has opened vast tracts of land to grazing, increasing carrying capacity in central and northern Australia. But the spread of buffel grass has been disastrous for the environment as it out-competes native grasses and spreads fire into ecosystems not naturally accustomed to frequent burning. It also threatens the environmental integrity of landmarks like Uluru (Ayers Rock), NT (seen here). Projections are that buffel grass could cover 58% of mainland Australia.

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What we need is a Gamba grass growers association, that can develop an industry ‘code of practice’ that will satisfy State Governments. We don’t need State Governments passing legislation that hurts producers and economic productivity, all to satisfy the Anti - farming Green Hysteria and their supposed green vote.

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Update 1. 03/04/08 @ 11pm

The Qld Government today declared Gamba Grass a Class 2 Weed. There are 3 categories: The definition of a C2 weed is:

C2 Weeds: plants are established in the State and have, or could have, an adverse economic, environmental or social impact. Landowners must take reasonable steps to keep land free of Class 2 plants. It is an offence to keep or sell Class 2 plants without a permit

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Update 2. 04/04/08 @ 11.30am

Ministers Statement on the ban. John Rains calls for action from Peak bodies to protect Tropical pastures.

Have your say!

Should the NT Governments follow WA & QLD and Ban Gamba Grass?

Leave your answer below of click on the Blue word Comments and leave your reply.

Northern Territory Cattle Produce John Khan in a follow up to last weeks article, writes:

After the Batchelor Gamba Meeting which I wrote about last week a committee called Gamba Action Group - GAG- was formed in our local council area Coomalie Northern Territory. An experienced weed control man was employed as project coordinator.

An ‘expert’ had told GAG “Gamba seed would not travel more than four meters and it was spread by motor vehicles.”

Personally I have seen the seed rising in smoke columns during bush fires and it would have traveled for many kilometers. Wallabies and other animals would certainly carry it in their fur.

The GAG’s first project was to spray and burn the road verges. This was not successful.

It killed the native grass but the Gamba re-shot soon afterwards. The spraying continued. Below is an example of the road side spraying. These photos were taken just a few days ago in and around the Coomalie district. The Gamba Grass is growing from the spray line back into the trees.

I spoke several times to the Project Coordinator about the waste of money the spraying is  and the damage it’s doing to the environment. He agreed with me that herbicide was not the answer and that Gamba could be controlled by grazing cattle.

When his contract expired, GAG did not renew it.

The new Project Coordinator was the local Greening Australia rep and the level of herbicide spraying increased. Water catchment areas and river banks were now included and trees near the roads were killed too. The overall amount of Gamba has not altered. Below is a photo of Gamba sprayed on a water way on a road.

Below is an area sprayed. Notice there is now a multitude of worthless weeds growing back.

The radicals are hoping to completely eradicate Gamba. If this is attempted, they would have to do it from the air, as a lot of the terrain is too scrubby and rough to access with vehicles. To try and kill all of the Gamba the strength and amount of poison would affect every living thing in the area.

The photo below shows how the herbicide they use kills everything including the young trees.

Half of Coomalie is suitable for Gamba and would support a herd of cattle which would control the Gamba, open the local meat-works which is currently closed, and bring additional income to landowners and service providers.

This concept horrifies the radicals who hate cattle for no logical reason.

Below is a photo of Gamba growing up a hillside. Grazing cattle would easily control it.

If the Government brings in legislation to outlaw an excellent pasture grass because they have been influenced by a mob of radical loonies, they will bring financial hardship to a lot of farmers and damage the economy.

I’d suggest that people calculate the personal losses from government sponsored attempts to eradicate Gama.

They include the loss of good pasture, cost of spraying herbicide, and the damage to soil biota, the cost of establishing new pasture (and it may be next on the list), loss of income while all this is happening and the loss of native biota.

When we have calculated the total dollar cost of attempting to eradicate Gamba I suggest we send this to the Minister with our bank details for the compensation cheque to be deposited.

Northern Territory Grazier John Khan writes:

G’day fellow Agmates. My family are cattle farmers in the Batchelor area 100km South of Darwin in the Northern Territory (NT). This region has the most intensive growth of Gamba grass in the Top End.

There is an assured rainfall every year and it could be one of the most productive areas in Australia, but we have always suffered from the governments’ apathy and stubborn resistance.

(Photo of John Khan out checking cattle on his families property ‘Kita Lagoon’.)

I came to the Top end more than 40years ago after working on stations in others parts of NT, Western QLD and Northern SA. At that time cattle grazing was not very successful in the Top End.

The carrying capacity was very low due to the useless native grasses (predominantly Spear Grass) and the long Dry season, and the cattle were stunted and un-thrifty.

(This is a photo of native Spear Grass (sorghum intrans) which is the most worthless weed in the Top End.)

Three things have allowed grazing cattle to become a viable business in the Northern Territory

1. The introduction of Bos Indicus cattle:

(Steers Grazing out from Supplement Feeder on our property Kita Lagoon.)

2. Supplementary feeding of cattle (especially with urea) as seen in the photo above.

and
3. The introduction of the improved tropical pasture Gamba grass.

(These are our cattle grazing on Gamba Grass at Kita Lagoon.)

There was not much Gamba around twenty years ago but since then it has spread naturally over a large area replacing the native Spear grass.

(Below is Gamba Grass under Grazing conditions in the Northern Territory.)

About ten years ago a group of people formed a conspiracy to eradicate farming in Northern Australia, and return the savanna to a “pristine” wilderness.

These radicals hid under the cloaks of the Darwin University, CSIRO and the multitude of government departments and other organizations calling themselves conservationists.

They knew that the only way to realize their goal was to use “the salami slicing” method and they selected “land clearing” for the first slice.

This stopped new farms being developed but it did not affect the farms already cleared so the second slice was Gamba.

(Our Cattle love Gamba grass. See in this photo how around this watering point they are eating it under the fence of the adjoining paddock.)

Gullible local residents were steadily brainwashed with lies and propaganda about Gamba grass and then a wonderful opening presented itself to them.

A Batchelor rural resident, John Earthrowl, on a twenty acre block had a bush fire stopped fifty meters from his house. He blamed Gamba for the fire and made a lot of noise so the radicals set him up as the front man. Earthrowl organized and chaired a meeting in Batchelor to discuss what should be done with Gamba.

The meeting was totally set up, orchestrated and rehearsed with many of the speakers being radical. They whipped up hysteria with their outrageous lies and prophecies and the radicals shot out of the cupboard.

They enlisted the aid of the loony left, the suburban trendies, the poison pumpers and the hungry media and the campaign started in earnest.

My grand daughter Rashida and I had been researching Gamba for some time so we hit the Minister for Environment and the Government departments concerned with enough facts and information to almost shut them up for two years.

For example one of the lies they propagate is that Gamba is totally invasive, choking out every other species of grass. Gamba forms about 30% of the pasture mixture on our property. Here is a photo of Gamba co - existing with Stylo (a legume) on Kita Lagoon.

Under pressure from these anti - farming, anti development green groups Western Australia which has practically no Gamba at all, brought in legislation to ban and eradicate it.

Now these same groups are pressuring the Queensland Queensland Government to do the same.

The Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland has teamed up with the Queensland Conservation Council and the Wilderness Society demanding that the Queensland government declare Gamba a noxious weed. Click here to see their current Newsletter article declaring Gamba Grass as “Australia’s Worst Weed”

If Gamba is declared a weed they will go for the next slice- probably Buffel, then Leucaena, Calopo, Stylo, Para grass until every useful pasture grass is banned. Be warned, their real agenda is to rid Northern Australia of Agriculture.

THESE RADICAL “WEED WARRIORS” MUST BE STOPPED NOW!!

John Khan

Have your say - Should the Queensland Government cave into the outrageous demands of radical green Conservation groups or listen to the responsible view of farmers and farm lobby groups like AgForce? Tell us what you think? - leave a comment.