New Ways, New Crops?

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Shirley Henderson
Posts: 356
Joined: Sun May 06, 2007 4:03 pm
Location: Thirlmere

New Ways, New Crops?

Post by Shirley Henderson » Sun Jan 13, 2008 7:56 pm

I hope you dont mind me posting the following information from the SMH.

I met Tim Berryman and listened to him talk about the growing of native grasses as a cash crop. As I am not aware of the value of other crops I thought I would just pass the information along. Councils and others are choosing native grasses for landscaping projects over the previous alternatives. I have supported Peter Andrews and NSF ever since I first heard of him and using native grasses instead of exotics could smooth over the barriers preventing the acceptance of using exoticss. People like the idea of native grasses and preserving wildlife. Plants are plants but sense is not always sense when it comes to people and what they believe is the right thing to do. It is a long and difficult task gaining acceptance of NSF. Wherever two paths cross there has to be a mingling of ideas and sometimes a type of cross pollination creating something new and unexpected. Using native grasses would certainly perform the same task of keeping the clear water barrier just below the surface of the soil. It would benefit the soil the same way and be much more widely accepted. People would then see with their own eyes and learn to understand what it is that Peter is doing. Maybe some of you farmers out there might like to try your local native grasses for cash cropping on a small patch (or large if you prefer) I cut and pasted the following.

Seed collector puts splendour in native grass
By James Woodford
July 31, 2004

With native grass seeds worth 1000 times the value of premium-quality wheat, it is easy to see why Tim Berryman believes they could be the cash crops of the future.

Hiding in old cemeteries, in back paddocks of defence establishments, lost corners of farms and in the last wild remnants of the city's Cumberland woodland are tiny patches of the once-vast grasslands that covered the Sydney Basin.

From these, Tim Berryman, ecologist and owner of Cumberland Plain Seeds, collected seed and has established a three-hectare native grass farm at Castlereagh, on the Nepean River, where he is doing research into developing the city's first large-scale native grass seed mix.

His mix is now worth about $250 a kilogram, mainly because of the high production costs of such a small-scale and new agricultural venture. To rehabilitate a hectare back to a native grassland requires about 10 to 15 kilograms of seed mix, which can be directly sown on a disturbed area. He is able to produce around 30 kilograms of seed per hectare per year, but in optimum conditions he believes it could be up to 150 kilograms.

He supplies seed to the Roads and Traffic Authority, sandmining companies, councils, landscape architects and nurseries.

Increasingly authorities are requiring developers to use native grasses on degraded land that needs to be repaired, and it is not enough to simply use native grasses from anywhere - seed stock must be sourced locally.

So far he has concentrated on five proven native Sydney grasses: kangaroo, wallaby, scented top, weeping and tall windmill.

There are about 70 native grass species in Sydney and many of these might also have commercial potential. Some could be grown as hardy, drought-resistant lawn; others as highly sought-after ornamental species for the horticultural industry.

For Mr Berryman the main benefit of using Sydney native mix is environmental. Because the grasses are indigenous to Sydney, they are adapted to the climate and local conditions and have evolved beside native animals.

"They have a real beauty," Mr Berryman said. "Especially where you can get a field of five or more hectares of it. They create a nice contrast in places like golf courses.

"The motivation of most importance to me is conserving species diversity rather than using exotic species in places like roadsides. Using exotics is an example of cultural cringe; we have got over it in terms of movies but we haven't completely got over it in terms of the landscape.

"Native grasses are deep-rooted, drought-tolerant and have evolved for thousands of years [in Sydney] and provide perfect habitat for local fauna." FINISH

When Tim spoke to our group he told us that he could not keep up with the demand for native grass seed and had orders well into the future. A venture worth considering. I remember him saying how he used exotic mixes to get some of the grasses established and native grasses took a while to establish but once they got going they did well. There is still alot to learn about that. He trialled different mixes of natives together and found different percentages of natives were successful also that diversity in grass mixes was important. I guess if anyone is interested it could be worthwhile speaking to him.

I hope that NSF is accepted soon before it is too late. Anything that makes that transition happen faster is worth a look. Hope some of you give this a go.
regards and good luck
Shirley

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