Up Gully Drain Erosion Repair at Barfield Station Banana QLD – 0154

At Barfield Station, a series of porous check dams were installed along two gully systems to slow the flow of water and assist the gullies to stabilise and develop grass cover.

Barfield Station, the 6000 hectare grazier property had gully systems that needed remediation to prevent further erosion.
This project was undertaken with the assistance of the QLD Government (GRASS) program. Grazing Resilience and Sustainable Solutions (GRASS) program supports graziers to develop and implement strategies to improve land condition and reduce erosion risk.

LOCATION:

Barfield Station, Barfield Road, BANANA QLD  

PROJECT STATS:

Mat: Flexible Concrete Erosion Mat
Underlay: Biodegradable Nutrition Mat
Anchoring: U Bar Anchors

OUR REF: ACM 0154

PROJECT DETAILS:

Excerpt taken from QCL article dated 24 June 2021.

Barfield Road district erosion control projects

The Grazing Resilience and Sustainable Solutions (GRASS) program supports graziers to develop and implement strategies to improve land condition and reduce erosion risk. Participating graziers who have areas of C and D land condition may be eligible to apply for incentive funding for works identified in their land management plan.

Barfield Road, Banana producers Robert and Melinee Leather and Desmond Coupe and Jenny Newton of Brookleigh were among the first producers to participate in the GRASS program. The Leather family purchased the 6000 hectare Barfield Station in 2016 to finish Brahman and Brahman Limousin cross weaners from their other properties. Brookleigh has been in Des’ family for several generations. The property is just under 7000ha and runs a predominantly Droughtmaster herd of around 1000 head.

Both families have worked closely with the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) and are actively improving their land management techniques. Participation in the GRASS program has helped both families develop land management plans to address areas with land condition problems. Both the Barfield and Brookleigh property owners were successful applicants for the incentives project within the GRASS program.

Both properties had gully systems that needed remediation to prevent further erosion. At Barfield Station, a series of porous check dams were installed along two gully systems to slow the flow of water and assist the gullies to stabilise and develop grass cover. Whoa boys were constructed to slow runoff and manage gullying along tracks and fence lines. A pipeline and an additional watering point were established in one paddock to enable better management of grazing pressure.

The Brookleigh project used several techniques to deal with gully problems. Contour ripping and seeding was appropriate at some sites, but others required porous check dams.

The most severe gully site required diversion banks and a rock chute to control water flow. This was built using rolls of flexible Concrete erosion mats and quarry rock. Temporary fencing was constructed at some sites to exclude stock while the treated areas recovered.

The work on both properties was done over a six month period and is an excellent demonstration of the range of erosion control strategies that can be used to reduce runoff, improve land condition and prevent damage to fence lines and roads.
The Barfield Road projects show the advantage of neighbours working together, as the work done on each property benefited the other.

The gully remediation work is a credit to both families as it was done to an exemplary standard.

The GRASS program is funded by the Department of Environment and Science, Queensland and has $1.4m available for graziers in the Burdekin, Fitzroy and Burnett Mary regions to subsidise land management practices such as fencing, water infrastructure and erosion control.

For more information about GRASS Program and similar programs in other states click links opposite>>>>