Planning to Bring Livestock onto Ochre Arch

We have been considering a range of options for bringing livestock onto Ochre Arch. In the end we opted for agistment to kick things off. Basically this means we will get paid an amount each week per animal and from a business perspective are effectively selling access to pasture grass.

Some of the pros and cons of agistment include:

Pros:

• Payment is received (generally) monthly and in advance so payment and cash flow is certain
• We will be controlling stock moves, and thus also their impact on our land to ensure it is consistent with our goals
• We have (conceptually anyway) very high flexibility around stock numbers and duration
• We are not responsible for carrying major activities with the stock other than moves. With sheep, for example, these would include shearing, crutching, fly and other insect control measures, lamb marking, animal buying and selling
• We don't have to allocate funds to acquiring and owning the animals
• There is a strong incentive for the owners of the stock to work closely with us, a benefit of which is that both parties learn from each others' knowledge and experience
• Flowing from the above, social interaction benefits

Cons:

• Less financial return. No share of the profits ... or the losses should they occur, either!
• Reduced control over how certain aspects of the stock are managed
• As the stock are moved onto our place from other areas they may bring with them unwanted weed seeds, pests and diseases

With the above in mind we reached agreement with Paul & Linda from Young that they would supply sheep onto Ochre Arch. Both we and Paul & Linda are of the view that in the long run if managed correctly cattle are the best type of herding animal to run to improve pasture. The main factors taking us to this conclusion are:

• Cattle have 5 stomachs and (arguably) produce the best quality manure which in turn stimulates the soil microfauna extremely well. Some argue that the high fertility of the prairies in the USA is directly attributable to the impact of the Bison over many centuries. I've also read that the reason the Hindus treat cattle as sacred is attributable to this feature, with them believing that the bulk of a beasts mental energy goes into running its complex digestive system.
• Cattle have the ability to spread seed through its digestive system more effectively than sheep
• Cattle have the ability to create more powerful hoof impact, in turn breaking capped soil more effectively.
• Cattle also graze very differently than sheep, using their tongues to break off the grass rather than nipping and nibbling at ground level with their teeth. By so doing cattle leave more leaf matter, in turn leaving more 'solar panels' to continue to capture and convert solar energy into plant herbage mass through photosynthesis.

Despite the above we were very comfortable accepting sheep from Paul and Linda given Ochre Arch has good sheep yards and no cattle handling facilities.

The key step in determining how many stock we could run was to estimate both total available feed on the farm and livestock feed requirements. The steps involved in this included:

• On a paddock by paddock basis working out how many square metres it would take to fill a plastic shopping bag with grass based on present grass cover. This equates to roughly 1 kg of herbage mass or enough to feed a 50 kg wether (castrated male sheep) for 1 day. In livestock management terms a 50 kg wether is classed as 1 'dry sheep equivalent' or DSE.
• Based on the class of livestock being agisted, work out how may 'dry sheep equivalents' each needs per day. Some of the factors which are taken into account to determine 'dry sheep equivalents' include animal type (sheep, cattle, goats etc), body weight, pregnant or lactating, and number of offspring at foot
• Using both of the above numbers calculate number of animals that could be theoretically fed for one day on the total property, broken down by paddock.
• Based on the proposed number of animals to be supplied, calculate how many days they could be fed from the existing pasture assuming no pasture growth
• Adjust animal numbers such that (assuming no growth in pasture) the animals would have enough feed for the planned duration of the agreed agistment term plus a margin.

When we carried out the above calculation Paul and Linda were considering bringing 50 kg wethers onto Ochre Arch. As mentioned above, these animals are each equal to one 'dry sheep equivalent'. The four of us went to each of the paddocks on Ochre Arch and came up with the following figures:

Paddock, Area (ha), Sq m / 1 animal day, Total animal days, Days grazing - 3,000 animals
Front, 9, 16, 5,625, 1.9
Duck Dam, 15, 4, 37,500, 12.5
Forgotten, 19, 9, 21,111, 7.7
Contour, 40, 9, 44,444, 14.8
Middle Hill, 38, 25, 15,200, 5.1
Spring, 45, 4, 112,500, 37.5
Plateau, 69, 4, 172,500, 57.5
Native Pasture, 49, 9, 54,444, 18.1
Lookout Rock, 105, 100, 10,500, 3.5
Total, 389, 8.2, 473,824, 158.6

The figure of 473,824 theoretically means that there was enough pasture grass on Ochre Arch to feed 473,824 50 kg wethers for 1 day. Looking at this another way, theoretically there was enough grass for:

• 1,000 wethers for 473 days, or
• 3,000 wethers for 158 days

We are determined not to have to substitute feed (provide feed such as hay or grain as a substitute for pasture grass) animals on Ochre Arch, and also wanted to make sure there was a large conservative margin for error in our feed and consumption calculations. We also want to have large numbers of animals to achieve the benefits of animal impact.

In the end we agreed that Paul and Linda would supply 3,000 wethers for 90 days on the understanding that we would monitor available feed and that numbers would be reduced if and when necessary to ensure we did not have to substitute feed.

Ochre Archives Newsletter - Issue No. 9

Introduction
Welcome to the ninth edition of ‘Ochre Archives’, our farm newsletter.

Feedback on Ochre Archives - Issue No. 8
Sandra L. asked “so what happened to the cute 'enemy no. one' that was sitting on your verandah?” We ended up giving it to Jan’s brother for his birthday. On the same subject Peter H. commented “As to your furry friend - I remember being on the sidelines of a discussion part way through last where people with some knowledge of the field and without a vested interest seemed to be generally in agreement that there were major doubts in research circles as to the impact of the cat on native species or at least the resultant conclusions drawn in some circles.”

Aboriginal archaeologist, Sue Hudson responded that we needed to “take great care with the unusual-formation rock as it may be a gnamma (namma) hole, and that the hole in the middle could be ‘Cleverman’. Please take some close-up photos and keep people well away from it / not to tell people about it as these things can be very dangerous”.

Our curiosity levels sky-rocketed and our subsequent research revealed that holes in the centre of rocks were sometimes used for food/medicine preparation and it is not uncommon to find a thin stone lid or cap nearby which would have been used to keep the holes covered. Armed with this information we returned to the spot and found that in fact there were two similar formations on the same granite rock AND about 6 metres slightly down-slope from the southern formation there was a thin (17 mm) piece of granite that exactly fitted over the southern of the two formations as a lid as you can see in the accompanying photo.


The other critical observation we made that was the centre holes were both extremely rough with no evidence of any grinding (using other rocks) having taken place. On this basis Sue concluded and confirmed that the formations are natural and not of Aboriginal heritage significance. In our researching we also read about the Aborigine leader 'Pemulway’ or ‘Rainbow Warrior’ who was considered the first freedom fighter against white invasion in NSW during the late 18th century. He was named after the great Rainbow Serpent who forged the river valleys around Sydney and was known by his people as a 'cleverman' due to his secret powers and skill at avoiding and escaping from capture. Pemulway gathered together and led tribal warriors from Lane Cove to the Blue Mountains, continuing a war of fire against the growing settlement. When he was finally killed, his head was sent to England for scientific study.

John L asked ‘Where is Grenfell?” The town of Grenfell is located due west of Sydney Latitude: 33.90 °S Longitude: 148.17 °E. The map below (courtesy Bureau of Meteorology website) shows the location within the state of New South Wales. The elevation of the Grenfell weather station is 410 metres above sea level.



Greg L astutely observed we’d not recently mentioned finding any "nasty's" (such as snakes) on Ochre Arch. Ochre Archives - Issue No. 2 included a photo of a black snake. Sightings are very rare. We have avoided further references as we’ve found most people are terrified of snakes and prefer not to even think about them. Greg’s comment has been a major catalyst to the taking and inclusion of the various spider photos in this edition.

Seven readers have indicated they are interested in finding out more about the possibility of taking equity in livestock on Ochre Arch on a profit-share basis.

Self confessed “Grenfell refugee now living on the Liverpool Plains”, Craig Carter, suggests that photo we’d identified as Red grass (Bothriochloa macra) looked more like the Giant Red grass (Bothriochloa biloba). Craig has lots of both on his place with “the latter starting to succeed in a cell grazed plains grass environment”.

Findings from recent trips to the farm
Trees and Shrubs
The shrub in this photo is called Cauliflower or Dogwood bush (Cassinia aculeata). To many it is classed as a ‘woody weed’ given its penchant for colonising disturbed areas.

In a few paddocks there has been no stock for over 12 months now. Whilst there has been significant regrowth (existing plants) of some shrub species the only obvious regeneration (new plants) of trees and shrubs seems to be the Currawang (Acacia doratoxylon), shown in this photograph. Currawangs are commonly known as a type of Wattle.

In recent weeks we’ve been planning to construct some new fences. In the process we came across the this White Box (Eucalyptus albens) with a horizontal branch not bad as a short term resting spot.

Insects
Milton Lewis instantly recognised the nest in this photo as being the egg case of a Preying Mantis.

The moth (or maybe butterfly) in this picture caught our eye, immediately following a rainfall event.

Arachnids
We locally refer to what you see in this photograph as a ‘Bush spider’ but now know (courtesy of Milton Lewis) it is a Golden Orb Weaving Spider (Nephila Tetragnathidae). The large specimen is female and if you look very closely you can see a tiny male near her head. Pretty gutsy little character we reckon!

The web of these spiders is extremely strong to the extent that small birds can get caught. They are reluctant to bite (humans!) and do not cause long term discomfort if they do.

We think the spider in the above photo might also be a species of Orb Weaver. At the time we took the picture we’d no idea of the vibrant red and orange colours on its body, given it was taken in the middle of the night and all we could make out was where to point the camera.

Below is a picture of what we refer to as Grass Spiders. They are very small (despite the apparent size in the photo) and the numbers have increased significantly given the (current) long grass cover over most of the place.

We’d been told that as the amount of grass cover increased it was likely that the number of flies, mosquitoes and rabbits would decrease. It may be a figment of our imagination, and there might be a whole bunch of other factors at play, but at this point we have noticed reductions in the number of all 3 species.

We’ve no idea what species of spider this one is It was only a few days after this photograph was taken that we found the entire web closed-in like a cocoon.

Birds
We’ve come across 1 new species since the last newsletter taking the total to 69.

• Striated Pardalote (Pardalotus striatus). These birds eat a wide variety of insects and their larvae from foliage in the tops of trees and occasionally from close to the ground in low shrubs.

Curiously one outcome of allowing the grass levels on the farm to reach full height has been the exit of the Banded and Masked Lapwings from their usual haunts, given their habitat preference for ploughed and short-grassed sites. On the other hand there has been a continuing rise in the numbers of Quails on the place.

Herbs
Mikla Lewis made us aware that a couple of species of plants commonly found on Ochre Arch (and many other parts of Australia) and considered to be weeds are in fact edible – in small doses and in a well balanced diet.

The species below is known as Pigweed (Portulaca oleracea). The Queensland DPI website explains it “is a succulent annual plant which can be excellent stock feed. It grows throughout Australia in coastal and inland areas. It responds rapidly to rain and can dominate previously bare patches and stock yards, especially after a dry period. However, oxalate and nitrate compounds in pigweed are potentially lethal.”

Mikla explained that the plant can be used as a substitute for lettuce in salads. We’ve tried it and agree. It was bazaar that a couple of days after learning about this plant Phillip got talking to a bloke from Turkey at a roadside stop who explained that the plant also goes well diced very finely and mixed in plain yoghurt with the addition of a little water. In this bloke’s words “A beautiful treat”!

The picture below shows the fruit and plant body of a Black Nightshade (Solanum nigrum) plant. It is a native annual plant (not to be confused with the exotic perennial ‘Silver Nightshade’). Phillip’s Mum recalls her father telling her as a child not to eat the fruit also, but that she and her brother used to eat them regularly - and survived!

The Australian Bushfood and Native Medicine Forum website states: “The berries from the common garden and crop weeds Blackberry Nightshade, Solanum nigrum and the Glossy Nightshade, Solanum americanum have a variety of tastes sensations ranging from a sweet mulberry-like taste through to a somewhat bitter taste. The early settlers frequently made jam from the shiny black berries (10 ounces of sugar to the pound of fruit). The tender green leaves were also cooked and eaten.” Mikla also makes jam from the fruit.

Vines
Despite our best endeavours we have been unable to identify the two species of vines shown below.

Grasses and Forbs
Here you can see a native Kidney Plant (Dichondra repens) described in the Darebin City Council website as “An excellent lawn substitute in moist shady areas where traffic is light.”

The Purple Wiregrass (Aristida ramosa) seen below is thriving on a few places. It’s a native species, not terribly palatable for stock. Plants commonly live for anywhere from 5 to 25 years.

We think the plant pictured here is a type of sedge or reed. There are only a few dotted around the place, all on light soils in locations that become waterlogged in wet years.

The species below is yet to be identified. It is in some ways similar to Black Roly-poly (Sclerolaena muricata) in that it’s spiky, tough and not particularly ‘human friendly’.

In the same vein, the following picture shows what’s known locally as Cotton Bush in flower. It tends to colonise on bare ground and provides habitat at times to small lizards.

This summer has been particularly good for Common Blown or Fairy Grass (Lachnagrostis filiformis). It is this species shown below that provides much of the cover for the quails mentioned previously.

There is an area of a few hectares located to the south of the main dam on Ochre Arch that is open sloped country interspersed with dead standing and fallen timber. To us this is a classic example of the value fallen timber can have in retaining nutrients and fostering herbage biomass production. The photo below shows a log surrounded by a large volume of grass (mainly Red Grass) in comparison to the immediately adjacent open country.

We have been considering introducing Kangaroo Grass (Themeda triandra) but in the past few weeks we have found it is already on the farm (see below), although only in 3 locations, and even then only a few plants. The Australian Native Seeds website explains that “because of its deep roots, Kangaroo grass can help maintain a low water table thereby assisting to control dryland salinity.”

Fungi
All we know about what’s on the trunk of the tree in the photo below is that it’s ‘some type of fungi’.

Frogs

We found the frog above residing in the outside toilet. Milton Lewis has told us it’s a species of tree frog.

Termites
One of our neighbours recently completed a cool burn of pasture grass in the paddock next to the house as a lead-in to sowing a winter cereal crop. The photo below shows remnants of the stems of the previous season’s crop covered in a thin layer of soil – put there by termites. These small creatures play a very significant role in keeping the mineral cycle ticking over in brittle environments.

Reptiles
Here’s a close-up shot of an Eastern Striped Skink (Ctenotus robustus) we found on one of the rocks in the Plateau Paddock. They are insectivorous and occupy a wide variety of habitats from tropical and temperate woodlands to heaths and rock outcrops throughout eastern and northern Australia.

In Closing
Once again, feedback is most welcome, via email to phillipdiprose@gmail.com.

Kind regards… Phillip & Jan Diprose

Link to Ochre Archives - Issue No. 8

Bundled Product Deals from Telstra

Last week I purchased a mobile internet card for my laptop which (hopefully) will enable me to access broadband from the farm.

The decision to change over all stemmed from a sales bloke calling to offer special deals on bundled services through Telstra. By 'bundled services' I'm referring to situations where one has more than one product from a supplier, and the supplier offers reduced pricing or special discounts for you to 'bundle' the two together onto one bill.

We've elected to bundle our farm telephone account with the mobile broadband internet service, and within this will now receive up to 50 free local calls per month on the farm phone.

If you currently have more than one product with Telstra and want to find out what deals are currently available the number to call is 1800 039 059.

Ochre Archives Newsletter - Issue No. 8

Introduction
Welcome to the eighth edition of ‘Ochre Archives’, our farm newsletter.

Feedback on Ochre Archives No. 7

Elizabeth Flann advised that she is having some success in establishing False Sarsaparilla (hardenbergia violacea) as both climber and ground cover in her new indigenous garden at Chelsea (Vic.). Elizabeth has several dillwynia growing as they make a hardy and attractive feature in a small garden. A friend of Elizabeth’s has even used them successfully to create a Japanese style garden and they look very effective among the rocks and stone sculptures. We have also managed to successfully transplant a seedling from the Middle Hill Paddock to under the mailbox out the front of the farm.

Tein let us know that early settlers used Sweet Sarsaparilla (Smilax glyciphylla) rather than False Sarsaparilla for tea making as the former is truly sarsaparilla-flavoured (very sweet and strong when nibbled). False Sarsaparilla has similarly coloured and shaped leaves. Both are weak twiners and occur in the same ecosystem type, however, the difference is that the Sweet Sarsaparilla has three main veins.

Derek from Quirindi has found that what we thought were native bees are in fact a type of hoverfly. He made the identification discovery by chance after finding what he suspected were their larvae all through their barley crop feeding on aphids.

Findings from recent trips to the farm
Trees and Shrubs


Mikla Lewis tells us the mistletoe in this photo is the common Box Mistletoe (Amyema miquelii), probably so-called because it grows on Eucalypts and especially Black Box, according to Plants of WNSW. It's also called drooping or stalked mistletoe and has a lovely red flower. We have only found one Mistletoe plant on Ochre Arch to date, and have been told by an environmental scientist that large numbers in concentrated areas can signify that the ecosystem is out of balance.

Our attention was drawn to the fact that the Silky Oak (Grevillea Robusta) tree near the house was flowering by the distinctive call of a Blue-faced Honeyeater.


Silky Oak is a native of NSW and Queensland and is now grown as a popular ornamental tree all over the world. The tree requires full sun for maximum flower development and is the largest of the Grevilleas reaching 30m tall in native areas. The timber is strong and silken in texture and used in cabinet making and craftwork.

To date we’ve located over 20 Angular (AKA Propeller Bush) Hop-bush (Dodonaea truncatiales) plants, two of which are fully mature at around 3 metres in height. The commonly used name is derived from the shape of the flowers – similar to the four pronged wooden propellers as you may be able to see in the photograph.

Last week we found a Deane’s Wattle (Acacia deanei) tree not far from Ochre Arch. It’s the first wattle we’ve come across on the place.

Insects
Many of the native plant species are seeding presently, and the ants are very actively creating mini-storage dumps, like the one you can see in this photograph.

Birds

We’ve come across 3 new bird species on Ochre Arch since the last newsletter:
• Australian Hobby or Little Falcon (Falco longipennis). These are almost exclusive on-the-wing hunters and in the stoop, a Hobby may reach speeds of well over 100km/h. Large females have been recorded taking Galahs, though their main prey species are smaller than this. The Australian Hobby in the accompanying photo sat curiously watching us for well over half an hour as we were using the chainsaw to cut into sections a large tree that had fallen across a boundary fence.

• Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae). Our neighbours to our east re-introduced Emu to their property many years ago and over time the numbers have grown. It’s not unusual for us to come across an Emu on our place and we enjoy watching their antics. The Emu is the world's third largest bird, after the Ostrich and the Cassowary. The nest of an Emu can be up to 1.5 metres wide.
• Black Falcon (Falco subniger). These impressive avian predator birds are uncommon and their main stronghold and breeding region is thought to be SE Queensland and NW Victoria. After breeding the birds migrate and disperse across most of eastern Australia and north-west across the Northern Territory to the Kimberley WA.
Our bird species tally currently stands at 68.

The Crested Pigeons that nest in our shed have just produced more offspring. Mikla tells us “They nest anywhere and anytime and make good 'fodder' for raptors, which is just as well because they are one of the 'increaser' species.”

Grasses and Forbs
The rains through November, December and January, coupled with an absence of stock have resulted in Ochre Arch having a reasonable cover of vegetation. Here’s a photo taken in the Spring Paddock. The primary pasture species you can see is Hairy Panic (Panicum effusum).

The taller couple of plants visible in the foreground of the photo you can see are Redgrass (Bothriochloa macra)

There was a colourful cover of native Yellow Burr-daisy (Calotis lappulacea) during late spring across the southern end of the Forgotten Paddock. You can see one of the plants in flower in the accompanying photo.

Here’s a photo of a single Small Grass Burr (Tragus Australianus) taken near the front gate. The species colonizes on bare ground.

Animals
On a recent return to the farm we were confronted out at the verandah by what is arguably an Australian wildlife conservationists ‘enemy number one’. This natural killer was incredibly quiet, and we are not sure whether this was due to having been dumped or purely to temperament and lack of previous contact with humans.

Rock Formations
The aspect of the rock formation in this photograph that captured our attention was not so much the shape but the realisation that with little more than a light shower of rain it creates a small but valuable temporary water point for fauna in its vicinity.

During one of our walks we came across the granite rock formation you can see here – a circular pattern with a centre hole.

A friend of ours near Quirindi, John P., is studying geology so we emailed him a copy of the photo seeking comment. His much appreciated response reads: “The rock photo is indeed interesting, raising some questions that cannot be answered from the photograph 'per se'. The regular hexagonal / polygonal cross-section reminds of magma cooling joints (hot rock shrinks) that form normal to the gravitational flow. However, such are typical of low-viscosity flows (eg. mafic ('black') basalt) and not of highly viscous rhyolitic or crystalline felsic ('white') granitic material. And one would expect to see a whole lot of such surrounding the rock in the photograph. That is, one wouldn't get just one column (hence, "columnar jointing") by itself.

The rock in the photo may come from the cooling of expelled late / residual melt mush (eg. aplite; material high in volatiles and/or silicate incompatible elements), but again, one would expect such low viscosity expressions to result in many cooling joints. Late melt rocks are generally found at the top of the oblong / ellipsoid plutons. (Here I am still assuming that the rock is essentially granitic in composition
- this may not be so. A sample is needed).

Another unusual feature is the hole in the middle. If not made by aboriginals, it might evidence material / mineralogy vulnerable to weathering on the Earth's surface. Further, the rock might be one large feldspar crystal (unlikely).”

We’ve yet to send John a sample or search for similar formations in the surrounds. If the formation was made by Aborigines it would be neat to know what the purpose was.


Community Working Together
In late October a local bloke (ex-farmer) delivered some materials to us. Just before reaching Ochre Arch he’d noticed some smoke rising from a creek on a neighbours place, only a few hundred metres from our boundary. On investigation he and Phillip realised that no one else was aware of the fire so contact was made with the neighbours, including the local fire Captain. Within 10 minutes or so there were 20 local farmers on hand, all working on putting out the fire. We were all very fortunate in that the conditions were such that the total area burned was contained to only a couple of hectares. A few learnings included:
• Two of the golden rules in fire fighting are ‘Don’t panic’ and ‘Try to be useful’
• The Bureau of Meteorology tracks EVERY lightning strike in Australia. A lighting strike caused this local fire.
• The Membership Application process to be become a volunteer with the NSW Rural Fire Service is somewhat arduous, but we’ve come through OK.

Out of curiosity
We are thinking of scoping setting up a structure enabling others to take equity in the stock we manage on Ochre Arch, with the returns being a share of the profits. One of the motivations is enabling the creation of stronger linkages to the land for those who might not have such an opportunity. If this sounds like something that might be of interest to you please let us know.

In Closing
Once again, feedback is most welcome, via email to pdiprose@optusnet.com.au.

Kind regards… Phillip & Jan Diprose

Link to Ochre Archives - Issue No. 7

Correlation between Rainfall and Elevation

Six months or so ago I analysed the data from the three climate monitoring sites closest to and surrounding Ochre Arch. These locations are Forbes, Quandialla and Grenfell. One observation was that the mean annual rainfall at Grenfell (elevation of 410 metres above sea level) was 602 mm whilst Forbes (elevation 240 metres) was 503 mm and Quandialla (elevation 250 metres) was 521 mm. Given that the elevation at various points on Ochre Arch increases by approximately 100 metres (from 315 metres near the house to 415 metres at Lookout Rock) it struck me that there was a reasonable prospect that the rainfall on our place is greater at the highest point and that the order of magnitude would be around 20 %. We now have rain gauges near both the house and Lookout Rock and we are finding that we consistently measure 20 % more rain near Lookout Rock – especially in instances where the rainfall in the area is general rather than narrow storms and such like.

Following on from my previous post looking at temperature and elevation I decided to use the climate data from the locations in and around the landholder sites to see what the correlation was between annual rainfall and elevation.

In the accompanying graph you can see the results. The vertical axis represents both elevation in metres above sea level and mean annual rainfall in millimetres. The horizontal axis shows each of the locations – sorted by ascending elevation from left to right.

Whilst it would not be appropriate to conclude that what occurs in these locations could be expected to be experienced in locations in all regions the graph does show rainfall continuing to increase with elevation increase. At lower elevations the annual rainfall is a much higher multiple of elevation (roughly 3 times) whilst at the higher elevations the rainfall is a much lower multiple (roughly 1 to 1 at Crookwell). This suggests that the trend is likely to reverse at a certain point and a quick look at the data Guyra (elevation 1332 metres, annual rainfall 926 metres) tends to confirm this – although Guyra is in a totally different region.

Correlation between Temperature and Elevation

A mate of mine (David McL.) told me not so long ago that as a rule of thumb, all other things being equal, the temperature at different locations falls by 1 degree Celsius for every 100 metre increase in elevation. Thus a place that was 100 metres above sea level could be expected to be 8 degrees hotter than a place that was 900 metres above sea level.

I decided to put this concept to the test using real historical figures sourced from the Climate Online Data produced by the Bureau of Meteorology. The locations I selected are all on reasonably similar latitudes and are in or adjacent to the various local districts where (most of) the landholders live who are currently participating in a project I have underway in conjunction with the Lachlan Catchment Management Authority and Lachlan Landcare Network.

The approach I took was basically:
1. Source the climate data from the Bureau of Meteorology website for each location
2. Divide the elevation of each location by 100 to derive a temperature adjustment figure. Thus the adjustment figure for Ivanhoe at 85 metres above sea level is 0.85 (degrees C) and the figure for Frogmore given it is 500 metres above sea level is 5 (degrees C).
3. Add the respective adjustment figures to various temperatures (types) for each location to derive an ‘adjusted temperature’ figure. Adding the adjustment figure to the actual temperature in this way is in effect theoretically determining what the temperature would be at sea level – as a common denominator.
4. Analysing the results for various temperature types (such as maximum temperature, mean maximum temperature, mean minimum temperature, and lowest temperature) to test the hypothesis that the temperature falls by 1 degree C for every 100 metre increase in elevation.

My conclusion from the above analysis is that there is a very strong correlation supporting the hypothesis when using data for the mean maximum temperature. The correlation in the data was not nearly as good for the temperature types: maximum temperature, mean minimum temperature, and lowest temperature.

The accompanying graph shows the annual mean maximum temperatures (degrees C) for each of the locations I selected (line at the top of the blue shaded area) together with adjusted mean maximum temperatures (top line of the graph). The maroon shading represents the amount of the adjustment that was applied in degrees C. The vertical axis is temperature in degrees C and the horizontal axis shows each of the locations I selected. The numerical figure at the end of the name of each location is the elevation above sea level. As I’ve said previously the elevation figures were divided by 100 to derive the temperature adjustment figure. For graphing purposes I sorted the locations left to right in order of ascending elevation.

The key points from the graph are:
1. As the elevation increases the actual annual mean maximum temperatures decline (line above the blue shading)
2. The amount of the decline in temperature as the elevation increases is in fact roughly equal to 1 degree C for every 100 metres. This is graphically demonstrated by the fact that the top line figure in the graph is virtually straight and level from left to right – across all elevations.

POST SCRIPT: After completing this post I sent a link to another mate, John F. who happens to work at the Bureau of Meteorology. He subsequently sent me a link to an article that explains some of the science behind the temperature change impact. Here is a link: http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/atmospheric_moisture/lapse_rates_1.html

Energy Consumption by Person / Vehicle Type

During the past couple of months I’ve come across some figures on energy output and consumption that I thought were worth sharing. Here goes …

Human V Oil / Coal Based Energy
The amount of energy in a litre of fuel is roughly equivalent to the amount of energy used by one man working 8 hours a day for 3.3 days.

Freighting Cargo
A litre of fuel will power the transport of 450 kg cargo over the following distances:
170 km by rail via freight train
17 km by road via freight truck
0.4 km by air via plane

My data source for the ‘Human Energy’ figure is David Marsh from a talk he gave at last year’s Carbon Farming Expo and Conference at Mudgee. The ‘Freighting Cargo’ numbers are from Fred Hays at the Center for Sustainable Resources in the USA. I’ve converted their figures as appropriate from gallons, miles and pounds to metric. (NB: One gallon in the USA equals 3.8 litres). Obviously there are a whole bunch of assumptions behind all of the figures. Whilst I’m sure one could spend plenty of time debating the specific magnitude of each calculation I doubt there would be much room for debating the overall fuel use rankings.

I don't have any figures on the amount of fuel required to transport goods via sea, however one suggestion that I read recently seems to have significant potential - using technology to set sails on cargo ships to leverage wind at appropriate times.

Fuel Consumption in Sydney each Tuesday
Fuel prices in Sydney and Melbourne vary of a weekly cycle, with Tuesday being the cheapest given consumers need to purchase is less. Prices are increased by the fuel outlet owners before and over the weekends to catch those consumers who need to top-up before going on non-work related trips and visits. The total fuel demand every Tuesday in Sydney is in the vicinity of 11 M litres, which approximates to the amount of liquid that would be held in 11 Olympic size swimming pools. On days other than Tuesday demand is around 5 M litres.
Given that the total population of Australia is now around 22 M this means that every Tuesday the fuel volume sold is roughly 0.5 litre for EVERY man woman and child in this entire country. Reflecting back on the amount of energy contained in each litre of fuel mentioned at the start of this post the amount of energy contained in the fuel sold in Sydney each Tuesday equates to the amount of energy that would be expended by almost 320,000,000 men doing manual work for one hour.

Temperature impact on Flies and Mosquitoes

Last week we bought one of those plastic bottle fly traps that you put a packet of pre-mixed stuff and water into, and thought we'd give it a go on the farm. About a fortnight before this I'd noticed how at sunrise there was no flies, but by mid morning they were pretty active - and suspected that they needed temperatures of around 15 degrees C to get them going. The instructions that came with the new fly trap set me straight. Flies get active when the temperature reaches 18 degrees, and begin feeding at 20 degrees C.

I decided to see whether temperature has a similar impact on mosquitoes. A quick surf of the internet took confirmed this is the case. Their activity kicks in at 7-8 degrees
C (Alaskan research). Curiously they don't function well in temperatures above 43 degrees C but neither do we! A couple of other things that were of interest - mosquitoes are very slow flyers (1-2 km/hour) and can thus be kept at bay using an electric fan; and mosquito screens on windows were first introduced in the 1880's.

Back on the fly trap - the instructions also suggested that the container would need to be emptied every 2 weeks or so. In our experience, try 1.5 days. This then begs the question of what the natural predators of flies are and what the ecological impact would be of us using the trap. Maybe I'll research this one day as well.

Bird Species Seen on Ochre Arch

Background
Below is the list of all the bird species seen here on Ochre Arch to 23rd May 2021.

The vast majority of species were seen and identified by us since buying the farm in 2003. Other identifications have been carried out by professional ornithologist Tony Saunders (9 new species were identified on 8 February 2011, some by sound ... these are marked with the letters TS) and representatives of Birding NSW (these are marked with the letters BNSW). On the latter, our nearest town of Grenfell is recognised as an 'Important Bird Area'. Three locations on our farm are now surveyed each six months by Birding NSW members and we receive a full list of species seen following each survey. For those interested you will find more information on the Grenfell Important Bird Area here.

The bird species are listed in the order they appear in the bird book we use extensively, “Field Guide to Australian Birds” 2000 edition by Michael Morcombe. For each, the Common Name appears first, followed by the Scientific Name (in brackets), the page number in the book, Date First Sighted, and ‘level of threat’ categorisation if on the NSW Government Office of Environment and Heritage Threatened Species website. Those found here and listed in the DEH website are highlighted in bold. 

There are 108 species in the list below, 7 of which are ‘vulnerable’ and 1 is ‘endangered’.

The List of Birds Seen So Far
Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) Page 14 15/11/2007 Endangered
Stubble Quail (Coturnix pectoralis) Page 18 26/11/2004

Brown Quail (Coturnix ypsilophora) Page 18 12/2/2008
Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) Page 20 12/3/2020

Plumed Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna eytoni) Page 22 29/8/2020

Australian Wood Duck (Chenonetta jubata) Page 24 21/09/2005

Grey Teal (Anas gracilius) Page 24 2/10/2005
Australian Shelduck (Tadorna tadornoids) Page 26 9/8/2015

Hardhead (Aythya australis) Page 26 2/10/2005

Pacific Black Duck (Anas superciliosa) Page 26 21/09/2004

Australasian Grebe (Tachybaptus novaehollandiae) Page 30 15/10/2004

Little Pied Cormorant (Phalacrocorax melanoleucos) Page 66 22/03/2006

White-faced Heron (Ardea novaehollandiae) Page 72 15/10/2004

White-necked Heron (Ardea pacifica) Page 72 12/04/2006

Rufous (Nankeen) Night Heron (Nycticorax caledonicus) Page 72 12/10/2004

Yellow-billed Spoonbill (Platalea flavipes) Page 76 30/12/2009

Straw-necked Ibis (Threskiornis spinicollis) Page 76 28/09/2004

Wedge-tailed Eagle (Aquila audax) Page 84 6/04/2004

Spotted Harrier (Circus assimilis) Page 86 Vulnerable

Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus axillaris) Page 88 5/5/2008

Nankeen Kestrel (Falco cenchroides) Page 92 5/10/2007

Australian Hobby (Falco longipennis) Page 92 3/11/2007

Brown Falcon (Falco berigora) Page 94 26/6/2008

Black Falcon (Falco subniger) Page 94 14/12/2007

Black-fronted Dotterel (Charadrius [Elseyornis] melanops) Page 138 26/03/2005

Masked Lapwing (Vanellus miles) Page 138 15/12/2005

Banded Lapwing (Vanellus tricolour) Page 138 25/01/2005

Crested Pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes) Page 158 22/09/2004

Common Bronzewing (Phaps chalcoptera) Page 158 21/09/2004

Diamond Dove (Geopelia cuneata) Page 164 20/10/2008

Glossy Black-Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus lathami) Page 166 10/6/2007 Vulnerable
Little Corella (Cacatua sanguinea) Page 168 22/10/2017
Cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus) Page 168 27/09/2004
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) Page 170 20/09/2005
Galah (Cacatua roseicapilla) Page 170 22/09/2004
Superb Parrot (Polytelis swainsonii) Page 176 18/09/2005 Vulnerable

Eastern Rosella (Platycercus exemius) Page 180 22/09/2004

Mallee Ringneck (Barnardius zonarius barnardi) Page 182 23/09/2005

Red-rumped Parrot (Psephotus haematonotus) Page 184 29/09/2004

Blue Bonnet (Northiella haematogaster) Page 184 28/11/2004

Budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus) Page 186 11/01/2006

Pallid Cuckoo (Cuculus pallidus) Page 190 20/9/2008

Fan-tailed Cuckoo (Cacomantus flabelliformis) Page 192 22/7/2010
Horsefield's Bronze Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx basalis) Page 192 27/8/2018

Barking Owl (Ninox connivens) Page 196 30/09/2004 Vulnerable
Tawny Frogmouth (Podargus strigoides) Page 200 29/7/2010
Azure Kingfisher (Alcedo azurea) Page 206 7/10/2018
Sacred Kingfisher (Todiramplus sanctus) Page 208 11/11/2016
Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae) Page 210 21/09/2004
Rainbow Bee-eater (Merops ornatus) Page 210 15/10/2004
Brown Treecreeper (Climacteris picumnus) Page 218 22/03/2006 Vulnerable

Superb Fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus) Page 220 8/2/2011 TS

Spotted Pardalote (Pardalotus punctatus) Page 230 8/7/2010

Striated Pardalote (Pardalotus striatus) Page 230 29/3/2008

Speckled Warbler (Chthonicola sagittata) Page 236 15/10/2004 Vulnerable

Western Gerygone (Gerygone fusca) Page 238 3/11/2012
White-throated Gerygone (Gerygone olivacea) Page 240 12/10/2013
Weebill (Smicrornis brevirostris) Page 242 8/2/2011 TS

Yellow Thornbill (Acanthiza nana) Page 242 8/2/2011 TS
Buff-rumped Thornbill (Acanthiza reguloides) Page 242  29/3/2014 BNSW

Yellow-rumped Thornbill (Acanthiza chrysorrhoa) Page 242 8/2/2011 TS

Chestnut-rumped Thornbill (Acanthiza uropygialis) Page 242 8/2/2011 TS

Brown Thornbill (Acanthiza pusilla) Page 244 16/9/2006
Inland Thornbill (Acanthiza apicalis) Page 244 29/3/2014 BNSW

Southern Whiteface (Aphelocephala leucopsis) Page 246 24/02/2006

Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater (Acanthagenys rufogularis) Page 248 18/12/2008

Striped Honeyeater (Plectorhyncha lanceolata) Page 248 9/12/2008

Noisy Friarbird (Philemon corniculatus) Page 250 5/7/2006

Blue-faced Honeyeater (Entomyzon cyanotis) Page 252 24/02/2006

Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala) Page 252 25/09/2004

Brown-headed Honeyeater (Melithreptus brevirostris) Page 266 18/3/2023

Hooded Robin (Melanodryas cucullata) Page 274 25/03/2005

Red-capped Robin (Petroica goodenovii) Page 276 22/03/2005
Eastern Yellow Robin (Eopsaltria australis) Page 278 19/6/2016

Jacky Winter (Microeca fascinans) Page 280 22/03/2006

Grey-crowned Babbler (Pomatostomus temporalis) Page 282 29/09/2004

Rufous Whistler (Pachycephala rufiventris) Page 292 14/04/2006

Grey Shrike-Thrush (Colluricincla harmonica) Page 294 16/2/2007

Leaden Flycatcher (Myiagra rubecula) Page 298 10/9/2006
Grey Fantail (Rhipidura fuliginosa) Page 300 29/3/2014 BNSW

Willie Wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys) Page 300 25/09/2004

Magpie-lark (Grallina cyanoleuca) Page 302 25/09/2004

White-winged Triller (Lalage tricolor [sueurii]) Page 302 13/10/2004

Black-Faced Cuckoo-Shrike (Coracina novaehollandiae) Page 304 31/8/2006

Ground Cuckoo-shrike (Coracina maxima) Page 304 26/09/2005

Masked Woodswallow (Artamus personatus) Page 308 15/10/2004

White-browed Woodswallow (Artamus superciliosus) Page 308 15/10/2004
Black-faced Woodswallow (Artamus cinerus) Page 308 12/10/2013

Dusky Woodswallow (Artamus cyanopterus) Page 308 14/04/2006

Grey Butcherbird (Cracticus torquatus) Page 310 13/10/2004

Pied Butcherbird (Cracticus nigrogularis) Page 310 27/09/2005

Australian Magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen) Page 312 19/09/2005

Pied Currawong (Strepera graculina) Page 314 20/09/2005

Australian Raven (Corvus coronoides) Page 318 13/10/2004

Little Raven (Corvus mellori) Page 318 8/2/2011 TS

White-winged Chough (Corcorax melanorhamphos) Page 320 13/10/2004

Apostlebird (Struthidea cinerea) Page 320 13/10/2004

Australian (Richard's) Pipit (Anthus novaeseelandiae) Page 326 8/2/2011 TS

Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata) Page 330 20/03/2006

Double-barred Finch (Taeniopygia bichenovii) Page 330 23/5/2021

Diamond Firetail (Stagonopleura guttata) Page 334 15/10/2004 Vulnerable
Mistletoebird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum) Page 338 8/2/2011 TS

Welcome Swallow (Hirundo neoxena) Page 338 22/09/2004
White-backed Swallow (Cheramoeca leucosternus) Page 340 22/5/2016

Rufous Songlark (Cincloramphus mathewsi) Page 344 8/2/2011 TS

Brown Songlark (Cincloramphus cruralis) Page 344 28/8/2007
Sivereye (Zosterops laterilis) Page 346 29/3/2014 BNSW

Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) Page 350 12/7/2006

Ochre Archives Newsletter - Issue No. 7

Introduction
Welcome to the seventh edition of ‘Ochre Archives’, our farm newsletter.

Feedback on Ochre Archives No. 6
Aboriginal archaeologist, Sue Hudson, let us know that False Sarsaparilla (Hardenbergia violacea) was used by both pre-European Aboriginals and Europeans. It tastes something like Sarsaparilla (hence its name) if you soak the leaves in water and cool in the fridge. The early settlers boiled water and added torn leaves to make a tea substitute. Sue’s tried it this way but “was not too rapt”, stating “tea is much nicer but if you are stuck for tea leaves, anything will do I suppose. It is incredibly hard to grow in some gardens as it only likes gravel, dry conditions and no competition but does make a pretty rockery plant!” We’ve found 3 more plants on the farm. Here’s a photo of another one recently in flower.
On Wedge-tailed Eagles and other topics - An organic farmer (who wants to remain anonymous) recently went to Taronga Zoo in Sydney. They have an amazing bird show where an eagle flies less than a metre over the assembled crowd [in an outdoor amphitheatre]. Females are the bigger of the species.

On the subject of erosion control, he says they recently put in a control bank and were going to cover it in hay to give some short term ground cover and to get some native grass growing. They’ve now learned that many 'pioneer' (first to colonise bare ground) native species don't like heavy mulch in any form. “It is better to cut native grass with seed heads and lay this on the ground allowing seeds to fall out and the grass to transfer necessary soil micro-organisms to the soil.” We’ll give this a go as well. The photo below shows the results on some bare ground were we’d placed a thin section of square section baled straw. We’re not sure what species are in the photo (probably all exotics) but the vegetation cover is not bad given the entire area was totally bare beforehand.


On the subject of fungi - our anonymous organic farmer friend recently attended a two week course on soil micro-biology at Lismore presented by Elaine Ingham who is head-honcho of the Soil Foodweb Institute. Elaine explained that four organic acids are the result of creating in-soil anaerobic (no air) conditions, each with a distinctive bad smell: Acetic acid is like vinegar, Butyric acid is like sour milk, Valeric acid is like vomit and Putrescine smells like decaying flesh! These anaerobic conditions cause minerals that would normally be converted to plant friendly compounds to be lost to the soil, and in some cases add to global warming gases. Our friend suggested that where the Dogs Vomit fungi (a.k.a. Slime Mould) was growing – was probably a sign of bad things / anaerobic processes happening. He’s spot-on, we reckon.

We’ve been accused of name-dropping in our Newsletters. ‘All feedback is good’ as the saying goes. We were remiss in not explaining that we only include names of people who we believe are highly competent in their chosen vocations or have given us express permission to share the feedback. This serves two purposes: giving credit where credit’s due’ and enabling readers to directly contact them if they so choose. Of course we are not responsible for any negative outcomes resulting from such contacts!

Findings from recent trips to the farm
Trees and Shrubs
There is a very large vine immediately to the west of Lookout Rock which we now know is a Wonga Wonga Vine (Pandorea pandorana). This photograph was actually taken at Jan’s brother’s place at Trundle. We’ve used this one as the plant was in flower at the time.

A Dawn Magazine article on the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) website states that “In the Central and Western Deserts the Wonga-wonga vine (Pandorea pandorana) was regarded as the best wood for woomera-cast spears because of its high flexibility. In fact, the mechanical properties of this woody vine were so suitable that short pieces were spliced together if long ones were not available (Cleland and Tindale 1959:139). It was such an important species that a group of mythological women, who had slender and flexible bodies, was named after it (Strehlow 1971:469).”

We have discovered a Kangaroo Apple (Solanum laciniatum) plant growing on the place.

The Australian National Botanic Gardens website explains that the botanical name means:
• “Solanum - from the Latin, ‘solamen’, meaning to solace or comfort, referring to the narcotic properties of some species; and
• ‘laciniatum’ - from the Latin, lacinia, meaning a lappet or flap of a garment, referring to the lobed leaves.”
From what we understand the Aborigines used the fruits of these plants to trigger abortions!

The shrub you can see to the right in the following photograph is a Showy Parrot-pea (Dillwynia sericea).

These are only evident in a small area of the property, are leguminous and a strong high-protein ‘diet of choice’ for livestock.

Insects
If anyone knows what the insect species are in the following three photographs please let us know!

Birds
The bird in this photograph is a Common Bronzewing (Phaps chalcoptera) and the picture was taken in what we call the Native Pasture Paddock.

They feed mainly on the seeds of native grasses and acacias collected from the ground and were themselves popular for hunting and eating during the early days of European settlement (but are now protected).

We’ve identified 2 new bird species:
• Brown Songlark (Cincloramphus cruralis) – Exceptional in that the male is much larger than the female. They are nomadic, don’t hang around in drought affected areas and males have a very distinctive call during the mating season.
• Nankeen Kestrel (Falco cenchroides) – A slender falcon with a very distinctive black band at the end / underside of the tale. One of the most commonly seen bird species in Australia due to its “tolerance for a wide variety of habitats and its ability to feed on a variety of foods and nest in a range of sites”.

Grasses and Forbs
In a previous edition we mentioned finding Rock Isotome (Isotoma petraea) on various outcrops. From what we now know it seems these are actually Showy Isotome (Isotoma axillaries).

The accompanying photograph is of one of these plants (with the blue flowers - whichever species it is!) together with some Native Plume Grass (Dichelachne) – a most promising species for pasture grass.

The Plateau Paddock is now almost totally covered in Native or Blue Crowfoot (Erodium crinitum). Several locals have told us that this winter and early spring have produced close to ideal conditions for the growth of this species.

The lack of recent rain means that the Plateau Paddock (and most others) have hayed-off and now look very different to what’s below. The roots of these plants are supposed to be edible.

Animals
We watched this Echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) blissfully wandering around the Middle Hill Paddock for about 20 minutes or so.

A new-born is called a puggle and is smaller than a jellybean. Echidna mothers don't have nipples so the puggle prods a small patch of skin inside the pouch which causes thick milk to ooze out which it licks up. When it is too big for the pouch and starts to get spines its mother leaves it in a burrow (sometimes ex-rabbit burrows) while she looks for food. From about 7 months old it fends for itself.

The dead tree you can see below is home to some type of furred animal, most likely a possum but we’re not certain. We could see the animal through a very small hole in the trunk but could not identify it properly.

One way to accurately identify animals in these situations is to place double-sided sticky tape at the entrance to the hollow. A few strands of fur are all that is needed for DNA testing, which is carried out by environmental scientists.

Rock Formations
We came across the rock formation (below) in Ghost Valley, which has a shelter in it used frequently by a Red-necked Wallaby which we often see in the vicinity.

Also suitable for a small wife!!!

Commercial Activity
For 2 months we had over 600 sheep on Ochre Arch on agistment. For the trivia-minded, the dry matter consumption of the animals would have been just less than 60 tonnes. The factors used to determine animal dry matter demand include species, age, weight, growth rate, sex, state (pregnant, lactating, or ‘dry’) and number of offspring.
The sheep had a very positive impact on the land, including weed control, mineral cycling and trampling. Some of their diet of choice included the core of growing Patterson’s Curse and the stems, flowers and seed pods of the Wild Radish.

Community On-farm Event
On 11th October we hosted a ½ day visit to Ochre Arch by about 20 members of the Lachlan Grassy Box Woodlands Conservation Management Network who came to see some of the Endangered Ecological Community (EEC) remnants of White Box and Blakely’s Red Gum Woodlands on the farm. The main speakers on the day were local nature guru Mikla Lewis (who organised the whole event) and Sue Hudson (Aboriginal archaeologist).

The highlight for us was Sue’s discovery of 2 scar trees, where bark had been removed by Aborigines to manufacture coolamons. The picture shows Sue with one of the trees.

In Memoriam
Jan’s mum, Shirley, passed away on 5th September from uterine cancer. It was all quite sudden really, and we will miss her greatly.

In Closing
Once again, feedback is most welcome, via email to pdiprose@optusnet.com.au.

Kind regards .... Phillip & Jan Diprose

Link to Ochre Archives Newsletter - Issue No. 6