Award-winning organic beef producers Grant and Carly Burnham are demonstrating how modern farming can deliver both strong production and meaningful environmental outcomes and want Federal environmental laws to better recognise and support that work.
The Burnhams run one of Australia’s largest soil carbon projects and are calling for the implementation of recent changes to the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act to reflect the role landholders play in building healthier, more resilient landscapes.
Changes to the Act have introduced additional assessment requirements for projects that would improve ground cover, soil carbon and water infiltration, placing sustainable farming practices within the same regulatory frameworks as large-scale developments such as housing and mining.
Grant and Carly Burnham, who operate Bonnie Doone at Monto, said the legislative requirements must recognise how farmers care for and manage their land.
“There’s a wide spectrum of practices and beliefs among graziers and farmers, but at their core, everyone loves their patch of land and we’re all trying to do the best that we can,” Ms Burnham said.
“Having more documentation and stressful legislation imposed on us makes it so much harder to do what we’re good at, which is managing the landscape.”
The Burnhams’ operation centres on their beloved 8000-hectare property in Central Queensland that supports organic beef production, Australia’s first and largest soil carbon sequestration project, an agro-forestry plantation and their bespoke farmstay accommodation, Bloodwood Cabin, which is built with natural hardwood timber from the property.
“We operate a diverse business, but organic beef is our core,” Ms Burnham said.
“Our beef is processed locally at our butcher in Monto and sold directly to customers in Central Queensland, as well as on the domestic and export markets.
“We’re ecological graziers and our philosophy is that nature comes first in all of our decision-making.”
The Burnhams began using regenerative management practices on their land in 2010, with clear benefits for both their operation and the environment.
“The main change we’ve implemented is transitioning from rotational grazing to quite intensive cell grazing,” Ms Burnham said.
“That has required a lot of water and fence infrastructure improvements and we’ve developed our property from about 30 paddocks to more than 100 now.
“Even though it sounds negative when we say intensive grazing, it’s actually allowing the pasture to rest and puts a greater focus on soil health.”
They’ve also changed how they approach vegetation management.
“We harvest sustainably for timber use and we thin appropriately to keep about 40 or 50 per cent canopy cover, which we’ve found is optimal for the pasture growth in our grazing system,” Carly said.
The result is increased productivity of the land, allowing the Burnhams to run more cattle, and enhanced biodiversity across their property.
Legislation that inhibits their ability to manage their land in an appropriate and ecological way risks decreasing the productivity of their enterprise and has potential implications for soil carbon sequestration.
Australia’s largest soil carbon project
In 2016, the Burnhams took a leap of faith and implemented a soil carbon sequestration project under the guidance of Dr Terry McCosker OAM.
“The results have been extremely positive and we now know through our grazing system that strategically pulse grazing and resting the pasture increases infiltration of the water, speeds up the nutrient cycle and enhances biodiversity,” Mr Burnham said.
“These regenerative practices also reduce emissions and we were able to sequester more than 120,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent into our soils between 2016 and 2021.”
Increasing regulatory burden inhibiting sustainability efforts
The ‘incredible potential’ to both increase productivity and deliver positive environmental outcomes through sustainable and regenerative farming practices is where the focus should lie, the Burnhams believe.
“We really wish the government would work on increasing investment in these kinds of projects in a broader way in Australia, rather than focusing on decreasing the opportunities for graziers to develop their landscapes,” she said.
As organic certified producers and overseers of a soil carbon project, the Burnhams are no strangers to paperwork, but they said adding another layer of administration to routine management practices is a poor use of farmers’ time and expertise.
“When cattle depart our property, we provide 13 different pieces of paper to declare that we’ve applied no chemicals or treatments to our land or our cattle, and while it costs us thousands of dollars every year, we value that level of integrity in our product,” she said.
“It’s frustrating that the EPBC Act reforms will require us to jump through more hoops to improve the land when we’re already ecological graziers.”
The Burnhams believe farmers should be part of the reform process, rather than having reforms imposed upon them.
“If I were sitting across from Environment Minister Murray Watt, I’d invite him to our property so he can feel and experience what it means to work in rhythm with an ecological farming environment,” she said.
“I think we need to have more on-ground, very practical input about how these legislations and Act changes truly impact us.”
Discover more about the EPBC campaign here.
