The Heicopter System
For Documentation and Research
This project was completed on behalf of a group exploring designs for a regenerative cattle farming system in Australia, contributing members included; Blaze Bellamy, Mitchell Harding and Joseph Kelly
What Is The Heicopter System?
The Heicopter System is a project that seeks to reduce the emissions from Cattle Farms within Australia. With a specific target of reducing contaminated runoff into streams throughout cattle farms, the Heicopter System proposes an Holistic shift in education and farming methods as well as the introduction of nitrogen and carbon reducing organisms, that collectively provides farmers with a means of producing a more efficient and sustainable farm with maximum financial and environmental benefits.
The Process
How
Targeting leading farms within Australia and communities associated with cattle farming, we intend to make our concept known, highlighting benefits and offering assistance, this would include
Advice around land management
Waterway management
The Implementation of products which benefit the ecosystem
And explaining the Benefits which include reduced farming costs, environmental factors and increased efficiency.
What
With properties willing to accept our expertise we will implement the Heicopter
system through our 3 stage plan of
Livestock management:
Fencing waterways, buffer zones & Livestock positioning.
Paddock management:
Introduction of dung beetles and plant selection.
Water and waterway management
Weirs, filtration products and cultivation of riparian zones.
Who
Education will be delivered to the farms and communities surrounding agricultural areas to achieve the greatest impact and uptake of the Heicopter system
Education in schools in agricultural towns
Distribution of knowledge amongst communities to spread awareness
Targeting Local governments and councils
Regenerative
Agriculture
The Australian beef industry is valued at approximately $20.2 billion dollars in 2019 with 45,712 business making up this enterprise[("Fast Facts Australia's Beef Industry", 2020)]. The $72.5 billion dollars red meat industry has a contribution of 25% from the cattle industry making it the largest contributing farming industry in this enterprise ("State of the Industry report", 2021).
While using some of the oldest forms of work to produce an income, being in the farming industry also comes with scrutiny in the form of the industry being blamed for the growing issue of climate change with the agriculture industry contributing 12.3% of Australia’s emissions in 2019 ("What is climate change and what can we do about it? | Climate Council", 2020).
After consulting together as a group it was decided that we would explore this issue further to find out if the industry that works the most closely with nature itself is friend or foe and what are the advancements are people taking in the industry to minimise the emissions that they are contributing to the environment. Initial research and talking to industry professionals started to lead us to areas of exploration, to be able to link these sectors together we created a stakeholder map that helped us link the operations together.
The Issues - Why?
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Issue One - Methane
To be able to better understand the issue at hand we thought it would be best to delve into where the problem starts. The cattle industry involvement in contributing to Australia's emission is largely made up from the greenhouse gas called Methane otherwise known as CH4. CH4 is produced primarily produced from ruminant livestock, this variation of livestock has a fore-stomach which allows the animal to be able to breakdown plant cell wall's simultaneously creating the by-product methane that is then expelled from the animal. [Curnow, 2020]
Methane is 84x more powerful than carbon dioxide when examined over a 20 years period as the gas is much more effective in trapping radiation. After methane is released into the atmosphere after 12 years the gas then will turn itself into Co2 once it acquires more oxygen. [6] The average cow produces between 70-120kg of methane annually[41 and with 24.7 million head of livestock in Australia ["Fast Facts Australia's Beef Industry". 2021)1 that is a great deal of CH4 being emitted per year.
The amount of cattle in Australia has fallen from 33+ million in 1979 to just over 28 million head today. (Brown, 2019)
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Issue Two - C02
Carbon emissions in Australian livestock farming are largely made up from enteric methane that develops naturally into Co2 once it adapts more oxygen from rising up into the atmosphere. Statistics behind this show that out of the 84 million tons of Co2 equivalent greenhouse gasses produced per annum 55mt are methane and the other 29mt are from other sources of farming practices. ("National Livestock Methane Program", 2020)
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Issue Three - Runoff
"In most high-income countries and many emerging economies, agricultural pollution has already overtaken contamination from settlements and industries as the major factor in the degradation of inland and coastal waters." ("NATIONAL LIVESTOCK METHANE PROGRAM", 2020) There is increasing concern for the contamination of water sources as a result of livestock and agriculture, research has considered factors such as nutrients, toxic chemicals, trace elements and microbiological loads that contribute to widespread contamination of groundwater.
Studies have shown that the main effect on water as a result of grazing and dairying is eutrophication, the enrichment of water through the runoff of nutrient salts, this can cause structural changes to an ecosystem resulting in the increased production of algae and aquatic plants, the depletion of fish and the general degradation of water quality and sanity. [9]"In most high-income countries and many emerging economies, agricultural pollution has already overtaken contamination from settlements and industries as the major factor in the degradation of inland and coastal waters." ("NATIONAL LIVESTOCK METHANE PROGRAM", 2020) There is increasing concern for the contamination of water sources as a result of livestock and agriculture, research has considered factors such as nutrients, toxic chemicals, trace elements and microbiological loads that contribute to widespread contamination of groundwater.
Studies have shown that the main effect on water as a result of grazing and dairying is eutrophication, the enrichment of water through the runoff of nutrient salts, this can cause structural changes to an ecosystem resulting in the increased production of algae and aquatic plants, the depletion of fish and the general degradation of water quality and sanity. ["Water pollution from agriculture". 2017)1
Areas of Focus
Manure Management - Dung Beetles
An effective way to be able to assist in the reduction of the emissions from farming is to introduce animals back into farming ecosystems that can assist in reducing the nitrogen and carbon levels in our atmosphere such as the dung beetle. There are many environmental benefits to using dung beetles for manure management including; Carbon Storage, Bury’s Nitrogen, Water Storage and a Reduction in Flies.
Holistic Farming
Every Farm is unique, through the implementation of Holistic management, a farmer can utilise this unique nature to their benefit while improving the quality of the land and reducing environmental impact. There are many environmental benefits to Holistic Farming including; Water Retention, Organic Matter and Carbon Reduction and Increased Productivity.
User Journey Map
The user journey map demonstrates a farmers journey to adopting an holistic farming approach.
1.
FarmerHere we have a farmer who has up until now been using conventional farming practices and management, having recently heard of the holistic approach he is eager to change his methods.
2.
LearningFarmer learns about a holistic farming approach and begins to understand how to adopt key holistic farming principles.
3.
Observation and ConsultationThrough observation and testing the farmer begins to remodel his farm management style. With the help of other farmers and professionals in the industry, the farmer starts to understand how to implement this new style of farming.
4.
ImplementationThe farmer begins adopting the six key practices of holistic farming, referring to a common framework to help understand how to work within the unique nature of his land.
5.
RewardOver time the benefits outweigh the risks as the farmer begins to see increased productivity, sustainability and the general improvement of his land and livestock health.
Timeline
Education and Implementation
Education around land management, waterway management and livestock management to affect change and preservation of ecosystems2021The Action of the Heicoptor system
The Implementation of the 3 stage plan is underway with cattle being restricted with their access to waterways, dung beetles being dispersed and weirs installed in waterways.20222025Reflection
Reflecting on the implementation of the Heicopter system, proposed findings are: increased water retention, improved pastures and an overall reduction in contaminated water.Cost benefit
When realised the improved land management system along with action of the Heicopter initiatives, cattle health and weight is improved as pastures thrive, costs of fertilizer decrease due to nutrient retention of the soil. 2025Riparian Zone
While the cultivation of riparian zones will have significant benefits on the retention of moisture and mitigation of excess nutrients from runoff, greater effects are observed in older plant species. As well as the removal of nutrients, carbon sequestration and the reforestation of natural species will have huge advantages for waterways.2030+My Work
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