A family business with a strong focus on regenerative farming that supports healthy and thriving livestock whilst ensuring a pleasant and natural environment for the people who live and work here.
Property Information
Producers: The Woodard Family
Location: Wrattonbully, South Australia
Rainfall Average: 500mm
Farm Area: 2,900 ha
Enterprise: 1400 Angus breeders, 4000 self-replacing ewes
Persist and Prosper
Our pastures are managed according to a time-controlled grazing method where paddocks are rested for 30-40 days in the growing season and from 80-180 days outside of it.
Our paddock sizes are 15-25ha and are grazed by sheep and cattle running together.
Our focus is on perennial pastures and our grazing system ensures the perennial species are as healthy as they can be. To achieve this, we encouraged the perennials to not just grow, but prosper and persist.
Progressive Thinking
In 2003 we imported 2200 winter active dung beetles (Bubas bison) to complement our native species, which benefits the soil, water and pastures as well as providing biological control of the bush fly.
We also believe introducing cultured biology to our soil increases the soil health and is integral in producing healthy, nutritionally balanced pastures which in turn supports healthy, robust livestock.
Holistic Management
A major management goal is to always try to match stocking rate with carrying capacity using grazing charts and feed budgets.
We also aim to increase our soil biology and soil carbon levels by using a variety of biological products.
We have a renewed focus on sequestering Carbon in our soils. As of 2017, we have entered into an agreement with the Commonwealth Government to be paid on any increases we make in our soil Carbon levels.
Strategic Thinking
We have developed a robust system that doesn’t rely on major inputs, but instead requires well thought through strategies designed to enhance the biology and well being of our soils, pastures and stock.
We are continually pushing production thresholds (eg. lambing rates, growth rates) within a more minimal input, holistic framework.