While we are in the midst of such extreme drought and some of the worst bushfires Australia has ever seen, we must educate ourselves on the various ways that we can retain and conserve water. Below are some of the best drought management practises to maximise the benefit of any naturally occurring moisture that your garden or farm gets:
Conservation Tillage
This is a method of farming which involves leaving crop residue from the previous season in your fields. There are multiple benefits from this like the time and fuel you will save from fewer field operations. In terms of water conservation, conservation tillage is effective because the residue protects the soil underneath and prevents it from becoming eroded, meaning it has a greater capacity for retaining water.
Crop Rotation
Crop rotation is the practice of not planting crops or vegetables from the same family in the same soil each year. The reason that this works is that crops have varying requirements when it comes to water, meaning that some plants need a lot of water to survive and others need very little. Integrating ‘break plants’ like lupin and canola, into your rotation will leave more water in the soil, helping the crops which are planted after them to thrive. What’s more, this is also an excellent way of minimising pests and diseases in your garden or farm.
Rotational Grazing
In agriculture, rotational grazing is an alternative to continuous grazing. This is carried out by moving a group of livestock to another paddock for pasturing so the original paddock can rest. Paddocks should always have food, water, shade and shelter for the animals. As a result, the pasture soil has time to recover when it’s not being used. You can practice rotational grazing on beef and dairy cattle, pigs, sheep and goats.
Controlled Traffic
On farms, controlled traffic is a straightforward and beneficial policy to implement. Create wheel tracks for tractors and farm traffic to stick to and make sure they are entirely separated from the crop areas. This means that only a small section of your grass will be impacted by the pressure and weight of tractors driving on it. As a result, the rest of your grass will be more spongy and capable of holding more water.
In a country with such extreme weather conditions, it is vital that we take drought management steps. At Global Rotomoulding Tanks, we are experts in agricultural practices and products. If you’re interested in one of our custom water storage tanks or a different custom rotomoulded tank, contact us today!
