Soil conservation in Western Australia

Soil is a farmer\u27s basic asset. This issue of The Journal of Agriculture in a new form designed to provide still better service to the farming community, is an appropriate medium through which to remind the man on the land of what the soil means to him—and to the State. The farmer\u27s duties to himself, his family and the State are summed up in the words soil conservation which is merely another way of saying wise land use

Growing subterranean clover on deep sands

SUBTERRANEAN clover cannot be easily established on deep white sands, though it has been successful on many sandy and gravelly surfaced soils. Research in South Australia and Western Australia has shown ways of improving growth on deep sand. Recommendations for Western Australia are made at the end of this article

Agriculture in Southern Africa - Part 2—Rhodesia and Belgian Congo

Southern Rhodesia covers 96 million acres and has about 5,000 European farmers. & The value of their produce in 1953-54 was £A42,400,000.* Tobacco (57.7 per cent.), maize (15.1 per cent.), cattle for slaughter (11.3 per cent.), and dairy produce (3.8 per cent.), are the major items. Across the Zambesi River from Southern Rhodesia lies Northern Rhodesia, 850 miles long and 450 miles across in its widest part (see map Plate 3). It has a narrow waist about 100 miles wide where a tongue of Belgian Congo comes in from the north-west. This locality is the great Copper Belt area of Northern Rhodesia and Belgian Congo, along the watershed of streams draining north to the Congo River and south to the Zambesi. Beligian Congo occupies the heart of Africa and embraces much of the basin of the mighty Congo River. Yet it may come as a surprise to know that it is nearly as large as Western Australia, and thus equals about one third of Australia or the United States of America. It extends 350 miles north of the Equator and 900 miles south (see map Plate 4). From its small Atlantic seaboard at the mouth of the Congo, it goes east nearly 1,300 miles to Lake Tanganyika. The annual flow of the Congo River is about twice that of the Mississippi, and is exceeded only by the Amazon

Heavy rains show need for soil conservation practices

Autumn 1953 will stand out in the weather records for the widespread heavy rains in the pastoral areas and wheatbelt. The rains which came from the cyclonic storms of March 22-25, totalled five to 12 inches in many pastoral areas and two to seven inches in the Northern and Eastern Wheatbelt. The steady rain soaked the land, but where the falls were heaviest, runoff to lower parts caused flooding and local inconvenience. All in all, it was a very welcome rain, especially where the previous winter had been dry. In the wheatbelt, ploughing and cultivation were soon in full swing to prepare for planting cereal crops

Land clearing control in the Eastern Wheatbelt

During the last ten years, very large areas of new land have been cleared in the agricultural areas of Western Australia. The latest statistics show that the cleared land now totals 20,000,000 acres compared with 14,000,000 ten years ago

Paspalum vaginatum for salt land

Recent press publicity has emphasised the salt tolerance of the grass Paspalum vaginatum, which is also called Sea Shore Paspalum. This grass is available in Western Australia, and in recent years the Department of Agriculture has distributed small quantities of runners and roots to a few hundred farmers in the agricultural areas. A number have reported considerable success in growing this salt-tolerant grass on wet salt-affected areas which were previously bare

Soil conservation in Western Australia 1946-1956

A little more than ten years ago, Parliament in Western Australia passed a Bill, for an Act Relating to the Conservation of Soil Resources and the Mitigation of Erosion. The Soil Conservation Act, as it is generally called, was assented to on January 9, 1946, and was proclaimed in July of the same year. We can now look back over the ten years since the Act was considered by Parliament. What were the reasons tor this Act? What have been its effects? What is the future of soil conservation

Agriculture in Southern Africa - Part 1—Mauritius and South Africa (including Basutoland)

The Fifth International Congress of Soil Science was held in Belgian Congo in August, A 1954, because the International Society of Soil Science felt it was important for greater attention to be devoted to the problems of soils and agriculture in the tropics. The author, with three other Australian soil scientists, represented Australia at the Congress. While in Africa the opportunity was taken to spend several weeks in South Africa, and the Rhodesias, seeing various phases of agriculture, and particularly noting the methods used for soil conservation and extension (advisory services). Funds for this trip were made available from Commonwealth Extension Services Grant

Salt land survey, 1955

Farmers in Western Australia have reported that they have 181,556 acres of land which has been used for crops or pastures but is now badly affected by salt encroachment. Two thousand, three hundred and five out of a total of 10,576 said that salt land is increasing on their farms. But, on the brighter side, 9,741 said that, on their farms, salt encroachment is not a major problem. Only 835 regard it as a major problem. The 10,576 farms cover 27 million acres

Soil conservation service - basis of co-operation

The Soil Conservation Service has been established as provided in the Soil Conservation Act, 1945. To carry out its objectives will require the co-operation with it of individual farmers and landholders. The policy of the Service is therefore to encourage farmers to help themselves, and particularly to encourage them to recognise the need for soil conservation methods and for soil erosion control in the early stages. More particularly, the Service aims to provide, through its trained staff, technical asistance in the way of agricultural advice, research, conservation, planning, layouts and surveys. As indicated below, under the heading Charges for Soil Conservation Work, all of the activities of the Service are provided free to landholders except for certain surveys and supervision