RETURNING land to agriculture after blue gums will cost at least $1200 per hectare, roughly $500 an acre.
The living proof that it can be done profitably can be found north of Heywood, Vic, where Ian and Barbara Jeffries now graze cattle on slightly mounded and well-mulched sandy country, reclaimed from blue gums.
“A lot of people have said it couldn’t be done but it can be and this is the proof, I daresay a lot more people will be thinking about this now with the demise of Timbercorp and perhaps the others, it certainly presents an opportunity at the right price”, he said.
Not only have the pair rehabilitated land from blue gums but they also made money from the trees as well.
In 1996 they planted 38 hectares of blue gums after clearing two scrub paddocks.
The soil type is largely sand over clay, with some iron buckshot on the rises.
They planted just before the avalanche of plantings across the south west of the state.
In March last year they harvested the trees and chipped them on site, yielding 8420 tonnes in total.
At $38/tonne at the stump the pair was more than happy with the return.
Returning the land from a mass of stumps, bark and sticks was always going to be a challenge but it was one they took on with gusto.
Ripping stumps out with the roots is something Mr Jeffries strongly advises not to do.
“I did a few like that and not only do you create a hell of a mess but it brought the heavy clay up to the surface and the massive holes left behind are terrible – a no go.”
Working part time at Mibus Brothers earthworks and having owned the Bison engineering firm, Mr Jeffries was well placed to access the right gear.
A forest Mulcher came to the site in early winter and took the stumps back to ground level after three passes.
There was minimal coppicing due to the time of year this occurred and it has been no trouble spraying the coppices since.
“If we were to do the same again, we would find a machine capable of mulching a few inches below the surface, thus leaving behind more arable country”, he said.
Mulching cost $26,000 including GST, this equates to $684/ha or $325 an acre.
A pin wheel stick rake, complete with spring loaded fingers did a wonderful job of windrowing bark, stick and branches.
The windrows were pushed up and burnt every 50 mtrs along the row.
Max Grant, mulching contractor from Penola was a great help in the process, having also reclaimed some blue gum land himself.
The rake also served to harrow between the stumps and in one paddock Mr Jeffries has ploughed the soil in an attempt to lift it back up level with the mounding.
After many fires the country was harrowed between the stumps and was ready to be fertilized and sown.
Given the stumps are close to the surface this could only be done by a traditional super spreader and annual ryegrass and clover seed was placed in with the fertiliser.
The rates were 2.5 tons of lime/ha, 300kg single super/ha, 40kg MOP/ha,
20kg/ha Winter Star Annual Rye and 6kg/ha Balansa Annual Clover.
The total cost of seed and super was $23,100 including GST, equating to $608/ha or $289/acre.
By spring the annual ryegrass and clover were knee high, a result that amazed the Jeffries given the general expectation that blue gums “rape the soil of fertility.”
Whilst the ground is a little rough to travel across now, he expects to be able to level it in four years time, once the stumps and roots have decomposed.
That he has been able to return land to farming within a few months is significant, but nothing out of the ordinary for this area, as it was his forefathers that did it not long after they chose the area in the early 1800s.
Sadly part of that history was bulldozed to make way for a few extra trees when his brother sold to Great Southern.
But history is now repeating and Mr Jeffries is on the lookout for opportunities.
“I’ve spoken to a lot of farmers who are interested in buying blue gum country and they all say they would buy at $1000 an acre and I would also buy tomorrow if that was the case but we just don’t know what the price will be.
"There are a lot of uncertainties about what is to happen now.
"Hopefully I have shown that it is certainly possible to reclaim land after blue gums – it can be done.”
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