Business as usual for non-pastoral use applicationsThe Board has received enquiries about whether pending legislative changes are affecting the lodgement or consideration of non-pastoral use applications in the Territory.
The Board and the Territory Government still strongly support increased viability and security of the pastoral industry through diversification of the pastoral estate. Evidence of this is on 25 February the Board approved a non-pastoral use for expansion of the horticulture operations at Tipperary East Station. Tipperary has proposed to grow lemons, mandarins, navels, avocados and additional mangoes in areas close to and adjoining the existing mango orchards. The application, which was put on public exhibition in late September 2018, advised that the horticultural enterprise will represent a major economic boost to the Douglas Daly agricultural region. It is hoped the development will use local labour for crop husbandry, agronomy and downstream logistics, providing up to four new full-time jobs and several other ancillary
jobs including harvest labour, transport, packing and marketing services.
With four further applications already submitted for assessment, the Board acknowledges the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ (the department) integral role of providing developers and farmers with robust, consistent scientific advice. This advice promotes sustainable economic development without compromising the overall health of the Territory’s natural resources. Read more about current applications and permit approvals.
Extending and upgrading land resource mapping in the Territory New report on land resource mapping on Auvergne
Land resource information describes and maps the extent and capacity of land to support sustainable pastoralism, general land management and potential development. The department recently finalised land resource mapping on Auvergne Station. This new soil, land and vegetation mapping extends the area previously mapped in the VRD to include Auvergne. The report indicates that 60 per cent of Auvergne is valuable pastoral land. The most pastorally productive landscapes are the alluvial plains that run from north to south in the Auvergne valley and account for almost a third of property. Moderate and fair pastoral land located on relatively flat colluvial plains on red and brown earths covers an equivalent extent. Land with high ecological and conservation values flanks the productive landscapes. These include the majestic Pinkerton Range, the rugged sandstone terrain extending from Judbarra National Park and the iconic Victoria River. The Land Resources of Auvergne Station (2018) and the previously published Land Resources of the Victoria River District (2012) reports are both available electronically from the NT Library by searching the report titles online. Electronic pdf versions of the land resource maps are also available. The department has been upgrading its pastoral land resource map series. These new maps cover a significant number of pastoral leases so if you’re interested in knowing what information is available on your lease and
acquiring electronic pdf versions of land resource maps and reports, then please don’t hesitate to contact the department on 08 8999 4443.
Stock movements: Protect your
property from prickly acacia
With dry conditions resulting in the need to move stock, station managers are reminded to quarantine incoming stock to prevent new weeds establishing in difficult to access areas. With the movement of stock off the Barkly there is a particular risk of prickly acacia (Vachellia nilotica) spread, as cattle are the main dispersal agents for this species.
Cattle preferentially graze the high protein seed pods, then excrete the seeds. About 80 per cent of ingested seed passes in cattle faeces, with about 40 per cent remaining viable. One of the key management strategies for enabling the early detection of prickly acacia trees (so they can be destroyed prior to maturing) is to quarantine incoming stock. Key points to remember for implementing effective quarantine include: - Prickly acacia seeds take about six days to pass through the digestive tract. If possible, cattle should not be bushed into new areas until after this time period.
- For this
time, keep stock in holding paddocks that are easy to access and survey for prickly acacia germination throughout the wet season.
- Remember to check the quarantine areas following rainfall events for new weed germination.
If you need further information about prickly acacia, please contact your local Weed Management Branch office: Darwin 08 8999 4567, Katherine 08 8973 8857 or
Tennant Creek 08 8962 4322.
Are there graves on your pastoral property?
A new Burial and Cremation Bill has been drafted to replace the current Northern Territory Cemeteries Act. Consultation on the draft is underway and the public is being invited to comment or make a submission. Some pastoral properties have operational Aboriginal burial grounds on them. If this applies to your property, you are encouraged to contact the Department of Local Government, Housing and Community Development (DLGHCD) and they will arrange a meeting to discuss any burial grounds with you. Burials outside of cemeteries are allowed in special circumstances and permits are issued by DLGHCD. Details of the land where a burial outside of a cemetery has taken place will be provided to the Registrar-General and noted on the record of
administrative interests under the Land Title Act. Further information and a copy of the draft Bill can be found here. If you’d like to make a comment on the draft Bill (consultation closes on 31 March 2019), or if you have any existing graves that you would like recorded, please contact the DLGHCD at baca@nt.gov.au or phone Rob Lee on 08 8999 8568.
Rubber vine scrambling its way to the NT – just 4km awayIsolated occurrences of the rubber vine weed in the Territory have been found and eradicated on several occasions, but now it’s only four kilometres from our eastern border. Weed Management Officers visited Wentworth Station during October 2018 to assist Queensland Biosecurity and Carpentaria Land Council with survey and control efforts. Control effort was focused on the area closest to the border. Unfortunately several new infestations were found and for the first time plants were found
growing further inland in the open woodland areas. Land managers close to the border have an important role in assisting with the early detection of rubber vine in the Territory. It is imperative that they know how to identify rubber vine and remain vigilant for isolated plants. Further information about rubber vine is available online. Any suspected sightings should be reported immediately by phoning the Weed Management Branch on 08 8973 8857. Rubber vine is a Class A (to be eradicated) weed in the Northern Territory.
Parthenium weed flowering in irrigated lawn
Parthenium Rapid Response on trackAfter nearly four months, the Weed Management Branch continues to invest heavily in making sure the only known current infestation of parthenium weed in the Territory is eradicated. Parthenium weed remains a threat to pastoral production and human health in the Territory by competing with pasture, tainting meat and provoking allergic
reactions in people. As parthenium weed is able to flower and set seed within four weeks (plants only 5cm tall have been observed to flower), the first stage of the response has involved weekly inspections of the affected area and the immediate surrounds. This has provided a high level of confidence in the mapping of the extent of the core infestation. The affected area is an irrigated and mown area in the surrounds of a station homestead – which provides both advantages (e.g. ease of access, use of mower) and disadvantages (e.g. risk of accidental spread) for the eradication response. To measure progress, a monitoring method has been adapted from other national weed eradication programs. A GIS-based grid using cells of approximately
1ha was overlaid over the affected area. Parthenium weed plants are recorded using a GPS and any cell with a parthenium record becomes a management unit. Each visit the number of plants detected and controlled is counted in each management unit. This allows the calculation of different measures of progress including total plants detected and average time since last detection for each management unit.
Figure 1: Number of parthenium weed plants detected and rainfall (weekly)
What’s great news is, there has been a rapid decline in the number of plants detected from the initial report of approximately 1,000 plants to generally less than 20 plants being detected each week (Figure 1). There was a sharp increase to 128 plants detected in week 14 which occurred a week after three consecutive weeks of rainfall (weeks 11 to 13).
In order to achieve eradication, the soil seed bank needs to be eliminated and plants need to be prevented from setting seed. The primary means for achieving this is by allowing seeds to germinate and then controlling emerging seedlings with herbicide. Apart from the initial 1 to 2 weeks, seed production is believed to have been suppressed. Plants have sometimes been detected with flowers but not seeds. While this puts us in a good position to achieve eradication, we cannot be complacent and monitoring by the Branch in conjunction with station management will need to continue for a significant time to ensure success.
Rent amendments to the Pastoral Land Act in 2018 to create certainty and improve economic outcomes for pastoralists
Chief among the legislative amendments was the introduction of a new rent methodology based on Estimated Carrying Capacity (ECC). Rent was previously calculated as a percentage of the Unimproved Capital Value (UCV) of a pastoral property as determined by the Northern Territory Valuer-General every three years. Many pastoralists will remember rents increasing by up to 441 per cent in 2009, creating uncertainty and risks for the industry. The ECC model that is now in place will take effect from 1 July 2019, which will keep total annual rent collected as stable as possible, thus providing pastoralists with more certainty. ECCs for every pastoral lease in the Northern Territory have been generated based on the ability of the landscape and associated native vegetation types to sustainably support stock.
Stock are expressed as animal equivalents (AEs) based on a 450kg
non-breeding beast.
An ECC effectively provides an indication of economic return on land leased from the Crown held under pastoral lease tenure. The methodology for using ECCs for rental income is calculated by multiplying the assessed ECC of the lease by a stock unit rate (ie Pastoral Lease Rent = ECC x Stock Unit Rate), referred to in the Act as the ‘pastoral lease rent factor’. ECCs were provided to lessees in
June 2016, to act as a guide to what the 2019rent calculations might be.
And like the UCV model before it, pastoralists can ask that their rent calculation under the ECC model be reviewed, or they can voice their concerns directly to the Pastoral Land Board. A final rent calculation will be undertaken when the Minister determines a pastoral lease rent factor for the coming year.
Lessees will be advised as soon as practicable after the Minster makes a determination.
Do you have a great photo from your pastoral property? Feel free to email it to us for inclusion in our newsletters or Annual Reports!
For further information relating to the Pastoral Land Board
Phone: 08 8999 4667 | Email: pastorallandboard@nt.gov.au
Pastoral Lease Administration
Darwin - 08 8999 4754 Weed Management
Alice Springs - 08 8951 9263
Tennant Creek - 08 8962 4313
Katherine - 08 8973 8857
Darwin - 08 8999 4567
Rangeland Monitoring
Alice Springs - 08 8951 9248
Katherine - 08 8973 8842
Darwin - 08 8999 4820 Land Assessment
Darwin - 08 8999 4443 Land Management Unit
(Soil conservation)
NT-wide 08 8999 4454
Bushfires NT
Alice Springs - 08 8952 3066
Tennant Creek - 08 8962 4577
Katherine - 08 8973 8871
Darwin - 08 8922 0844 Digital Data Requests
datarequests.denr@nt.gov.au
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