flood-plain farming on the maitland flats, hunter valley, n.s.w

Clark University

Flood-Plain Farming on the Maitland Flats, Hunter Valley, N.S.W.Author(s): K. W. Robinson and T. M. BurleySource: Economic Geography, Vol. 38, No. 3 (Jul., 1962), pp. 234-250Published by: Clark UniversityStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/142373 .

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FLOOD-PLAIN FARMING ON THE MAITLAND FLATS, HUNTER VALLEY, N.S.W.

K. W. Robinson and T. M. Burley

Mr. Robinson is Senior Lecturer in Geography at Newcastle University College and Chairman of the Land Use Committee of the Hunter Valley Research Foundation. Mr. Burley is Land Use Research Officer with the hunter Valley Research Foundation.

T oHE agricultural landscape of Australia is generally fashioned on an extensive scale, for over

wide areas physical factors-particularly climate-preclude the intensive use of the land as practiced by her Asian neighbors to the north. However, pockets of intensive cultivation do exist, particularly in those sections of the better-watered eastern coast where streams have built up stretches of fertile alluvial soil. Such valley plains are rarely more than a few square miles in extent, but they help significantly to sustain the large urban populations of the coastal regions.

One of the most important alluvial lowlands is found in the Hunter River Valley (Fig. 1), a basin of nearly 9000 square miles with the city of Newcastle at the river mouth. The valley is noted for its production of coal and steel, but also has a complex rural economy based on dairying, crop farming, beef cattle raising, sheep grazing, and timber production. Generally, the Hunter River flows through undulating terrain composed of Permian conglomn- erates, sandstones, and shales; but in favored areas round Scone, Muswell- brook, Singleton, and Maitland significant plain pockets occur. It is with the crop-dairy combination of part of the Maitland Flats that the present survey is concerned.

Concentrated in a small area of flood plain in the lower part of the valley is a group of farms which provides an interesting study of the interplay of physical and economic forces in the evolution of a land use pattern. Unlike the dairy farms, which generally range in size from 80 to 200 acres, the crop properties are small by Australian standards, commonly between 20 and 40 acres, but not unlike those found in other high-producing areas scattered throughout the continent.

The particular interest of these farms lies in a number of features: the twin dangers of flood and moisture stress; short-term stability combined with long- term changes in crop combinations; the influence of a stringent milk zoning system on1 dairying techniques; and, Onl the purely cash-crop farms, the distinctive arrangement of fenceless fields.

The core of the area described here occupies only about 6700 acres (Fig. 2), mainly less than 25 feet above sea level. It is located a few miles upstream from the river mouth near the city of Maitland, from which the term "Mait- land Flats" derives its name. The core area comprises the Bolwarra and Phoe- nix Park sectors of the Flats, lying between the bend in the Hunter River at Lorn and the lower reaches of the Paterson River, which joins the Hunter below the town and erstwhile port of



FLOOD-PLAIN FARMING ON THE MAITLAND FLATS, HUNTER VALLEY, N.S.W. 235

THE HUNTER VALLEY am vECSL

Maitlond Fttts ,

FIG. 1. The Hunlter Valley.

Morpeth-distances of rather less than six miles from east to west and three miles from north to south. Neighboring farms outside these limits form part of the same pattern.

THE FLOOD-PLAIN BASIS OF

LAND USE

The area thus defined forms a natural basin, flanked by low hills, across which the Hunter, which is normally a sluggish and insignificant stream, follows a mean- dering and frequently-changing course. There are a number of cutoffs-mostly dry except in times of heavy rain- which illustrate the river's instability in this part of its course (Fig. 3). The confluence of the Paterson and the Hunter, under the prevailing conditions of low elevation and gentle relief, is an added danger in times of flood, when water banks up across the entire width of the flood plain.

For farmers, the physical attractions of the region have long been recognized in the deep alluvia which mantle the

valley floor. These layers of silt, en- riched particularly by deposits from the basaltic Mount Royal Range to the north, are noted for their depth, friability, water-retentiveness, and fertility. They are medium- to heavy- textured, fairly dark-colored, rather organic or humic, with a slightly acid to neutral reaction, perhaps comparable with the American "prairie" soils. Since they come under the influence of periodic flooding, they are constantly rejuvenated by the deposition of new material, the texture of which depends entirely on the velocity and turbulence of the water at the time of deposition.'

Unfortunately, some floods of recent years have adulterated the silts with layers of coarse sand from the southern catchment area of Triassic sandstones, deposits ranging in thickness from a few inches to 15 feet. In spite of this, and the fact that artificial fertilizers

'We are indebted to Mr. R. H. M. Van de Graaff, Land Research and Regional Survey Division, C.S.I.R.O., for this information on soils.



236 ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

THE MAITLAND FLATS '0

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FIG. 2. The Maitland Flats showing location of the vegetable farm (1) and the dairy farm (2) described in text.

are now being more widely used,2 the soils are generally of high quality capable of being put to almost any form of use to which the climate and markets are suited.

A PATTERN OF ARABLE FIELDS

The extent of the flood plain is clearly marked by a pattern of arable fields (Fig. 3). In the intensiveness of its cultivation, this mosaic is reminiscent of the older-settled lands of Europe and Asia. Superficially, at least, there is little wastage of land; roads and buildings occupy a minimum area, usually of the least fertile land such as mounds and levee banks, and there is obviously an intensive input of effort, though, in contrast to some of the more crowded Darts of the Old World. this is achieved

2 Cf. W. H. Maze: "Land Utilization in the Lower Hunter Valley, New South Wales," Australian Geographer, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 39-51 (Part I); and Vol. 2, No. 3, pp. 37-48 (Part II): "The use of fertilisers is unheard of, the present floods coming from a watershed composed mostly of basalt, renewing the fertility of the soil." (Part I, p. 45.) This statement is not strictly true, as at least one farmer was using superphosphate before 1930.

by machines rather than large quanti- ties of hand labor.

The agricultural potential of the Maitland Flats was quickly realized by the early settlers. Even in 1821, small farm units of 30 acres were proving successful in " Paterson's Plains," at a time when much more substantial land grants were the rule. However, these were subsequently surrounded by large estates, which were not subdivided until much later.3 But the favorable location of the Flats, initially near the head of navigation, enabled the small agricultural holdings to grow steadily in importance, first in response to the demands of the Sydney market and later to satisfy the local market that emerged with the growth of Newcastle and the coal fields of the Lower Hunter. Intensification to the present level began with the breakup of large estates to- wards the end of the nineteenth century and the development of dairying as an

3 See W. H. Maze, op. cit.; H. W. H. King and E. R. Woolmi-ngton: " The Role of the River in the Development of Settlement in the Lower Hunter Valley," Australian Geogr., Vol. 8, No. 1 (1960), pp. 3-16. Ref. on p. 9.




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TABLE I

CLIMATIC DATA FOR MAITLAND WEST*

Temperature in degrees F

J F M A M J J A S 0 N D Year

Mean Daily Max ...... 87.3 86.5 83.0 76.6 69. 7 64.4 63.6 67.5 73.5 79. 2 83.6 85.8 76. 7 Mean Daily Min ...... 63.7 63.4 60.0 54.6 48.4 44.8 42.9 44.1 48.2 53.0 57.9 61.4 53.9 Average Daily ........ 75.5 74.9 71.5 65.6 59.1 54.6 53. 2 55. 7 60.8 66.1 70.8 73.6 65.1 Precipitation (points) . 300 283 328 406 266 266 285 136 264 215 223 363 3335

Source: "Climatic Averages in Australia," Commonwealth Bureau of Meteorology, Melbourne, 1956, p. 60. *A homoclime for Maitland is Gualeguay, in Argentina. There does not appear to be a true homoclime in the United

States.

important industry in the eastern val- leys of New South Wales.

Today, cash-crop farming of vegetables, lucerne, and grain, together with arable-based dairying, are the dominant occupations. While there is some interdependence between the two, they are separate and distinctive enterprises, although it is not uncom- mon to find dairy farms with crop side lines, and most cash-crop farmers have at least one cow for home milk supply. The significant feature is that, for all forms of enterprise, cultivation is basic (Fig. 4). Temperatures permit an all-year-round growth, albeit with a marked reduction during the winter season; this allows the production of two crops a year on part of the land. Figures for Maitland indicate some features of the climatic pattern (Table I).

These figures reflect a climate of mild winters and warm to hot summers, with a fairly well-distributed, if not copious rainfall. There are 295 frost-free days, and, though a frost hazard exists for two or three months of the year, it is not a serious problem. Much more damaging are the dry spells, especially when accompanied by scorching westerly winds blowing down the valley from the interior. It has been calculated4 that during the summer-autumni period of maximum temperatures from Decem-

ber to March there is an average water deficit of 4.81 inches, which existing irrigation supplies cannot fully meet. More will be said of this later. One very significant effect of this climatic regime is seen in the failure to establish unirrigated pastures as a permanent basis for the dairy industry. Hence dairying on the Maitland Flats is not primarily grassland farming, but a variation on intensive tillage agriculture, making a large contribution to the patchwork of flood-plain cultivation.

WATER: THE TWIN PROBLEMS OF FLOOD AND DROUGHT

Mlaitland Flats agriculture is based on adjustments to the twin problems of flood and drought.

Flooding

It is axiomatic that farming of the Maitland Flats type is subject to flooding, and that those sections of the Valley

I A. D. Tweedie: "Irrigation Need in the Hunter Valley," Journ. of the Hunter Valley Research Foundation, June, 1957, pp. 24-28. Calculations based on the Thornthwaite formula for potential evaporation show the following results for each of the four months:

Dec. Jan. Feb. March Water need 5.12 5.40 4.40 3.90 inches Precipitation 3.63 3.00 2.83 3.28 Soil moisture Water surplus Deficit 0.22 2.40 1.57 0.62

Total: 4.81 in.




LAND COVER - *0 The MaitLand FLats *!. a_ ';$o .3 |

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FIG. 4. Land cover of the Maitland Flats. Areas in black are sown land (crop land and sown pastures), areas left white are grassland. Minor items of land cover are indicated by symbols: Forest- land (F); Built-over land (U); Water (W); Waterlogged (L); and Barren (B). The concentration of sown land on the flood plain below the 25-foot contour is clearly emphasized. Most of the grassland in the flood plain represents sand-affected areas. Cf., Figure 3. (Map based on aerial photo- graphs.)

receiving the accumulated volume from main stream and tributaries are likely to be flooded most frequently and most severely. The most devastating flood in the history of settlement occurred in February, 1955,5 at a time when the Flats had not fully recovered from earlier floods experienced in 1949, 1950 (three times), 1951, and 1952 (twice). The entire flood plain was inundated up to depths of 24 feet, the water taking five months to drain away from the worst-affected areas.

Severe damage resulted from the velocity of the stream as it surged through breaches in the levee banks and tore away crops and buildings. As it poured through, it came in contact with water banked up west of the

5 E. W. Thorpe and A. D. Tweedie: "The New South Wales Floods of February, 1955," Australian Geogr., Vol. 6, March, 1956, pp. 3-13.

Paterson and shed its load of sand in- discriminately across the Flats, particularly in the western sector. Out of 33 properties surveyed in this area, 12 received sand deposits ranging in depth from a few inches to 15 feet (Fig. 5). The zones of heaviest dumping are still out of production but, on the whole, remarkable recovery was made with the aid of bulldozing, deep plowing, green manuring, and subsequent appli- cations of fertilizer to restore fertility.

Prior to 1955, it was widely believed on the Flats that floods, although de- structive to crops and damaging to buildings and machinery, were of general benefit. Floods replenished the soil to such a degree that there was little need to fertilize, and for this reason temporary inconvenience was tolerated. Many vegetable farmers still subscribe to this view, but dairymen




are less enthusiastic because of the difficulties of moving stock.

Many who previously lived on the farms have now established residence in the peripheral flood-free zones and travel daily to work. This state of affairs is regrettable because of the inconvenience and loss of time involved, but still preferable to the constant fear of inundation. The practice is not universal, of course, but it is noticeable how many of the houses, sheds, and barns are in a poor state of repair. Furthermore, changes in the river course, particularly in the Phoenix Park area, have disrupted newly-established irrigation systems through cutting off the source of water.

The construction of flood mitigation works such as levee banks and drainage canals is perhaps the one activity of common interest to all in the area. Cooperative drainage unions have been formed, and "dams," or embankments following the river, have been relocated and added to since 1955 by the Public Works Department-partly financed by a tax levied on all landowners in the district. But such repair and preven- tive measures can at best be regarded as a palliative: the larger question of Valley-wide flood control is beyond the scope of mere local organization.6

The 1955 flood depressed land values for a time, while residential sites on surrounding hills rose in value. Thus farmers who shifted their homes suffered a double loss, especially as inflated residential prices subsequently declined. However, in compensation, agricultural land soon returned to pre-flood values, with the exception of some badly scoured and sanded areas which are still out of production.

6 The Hunter Valley Research Foundation, established in 1955, is actively engaged in research into the nature of floods, flood fore- casting, infiltration, runoff, land resources, and land use.

Drought

Though no satisfactory quantitative measurement of drought has yet been made, farmers are well aware of a period of moisture stress when irrigation is desirable, if not necessary. However, it was not until 1935 that the first farm was equipped and, while some were not slow to follow, many have been irrigating only since 1955. Now the majority of farmers in Bolwarra and Phoenix Park are irrigators; those who are not believe that the cost of equipment, distance from water supply, risk of flood damage, and salinity offset the advantages of irrigation.

Salinity is undoubtedly a major problem, particularly in the Phoenix Park area, which is more subject to tidal influences. As most farmers irrigate from the river, they are faced with the dangers of salting in particularly dry spells, when surface flow is reduced to a trickle. There is hope among local landowners that the recently completed Glenbawn Dam on the Upper Hunter might reduce this danger; but the dam, which is designed for flood mitigation as well as irrigation, is capable of stabil- izing supplies only in the Upper Hunter

FIG. 5. The effects of sand deposition. Be- fore the 1955 flood this narrow strip of land lying between Loin and Maitland (in back- ground) was a prosperous vegetable farm spe- cializing in potatoes; today it is a sandy waste- land. (T. M. Burley).



FLOOD-PLAIN FARMING ON THE MAITLAND FLATS, HUNTER VALLEY, N.SAXV. 241

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the old cutoff in the foreground with settlement aligned along the former levee. The highly intensive strip farming nature of agricultural operations is clearly indicated. (A. Hloysted.)

region and its influence is unlikely to be felt as far downstream as the Mait- land Flats.

Where river water is not accessible, a system of sub-artesian "spear points" is used to tap underground streams at depths of 20-35 feet. Diviners have commonly been used to locate such water, and the farmer usually has a set of about six spears spaced at intervals of 100 feet. Whatever the source of water, spray irrigation is universally used because locally the surface is either too undulating or too level to make gravity methods practicable. The frequency and amount of application are as varied as the farmers themselves; but the availability of water has enabled the stabilization and diversification of production to a degree not possible under a system of dry farming, even

in this comparatively moist climatic zone.

INTENSIVE VEGETABLE FARMING

A landscape without fences is an unusual sight in the intensively farmed areas of Australia; yet this is a distinctive feature of Bolwarra and Phoenix Park (Fig. 6), indicating the traditional preoccupation of the farmer with using every available inch of land. Without fences, machinery can straddle the boundary, thus working additional soil. Corner posts, or pegs, are available to "sight" boundaries, while the flexible internal divisions of the property, which are known as lands (not "paddocks" or "fields"), are marked by crop changes. Commonly, the lands are cultivated right up to the edge of the road, with only a narrow strip available




for traffic. When maize or sorghum are standing ten feet high, the traveler has almost to plow through a sea of foliage, so small a space do the roads occupy.

A Model Farm

The situation can be made clearer by detailed consideration of a farm in Bolwarra Flats (Fig. 7). It is bounded on three sides by an abandoned meander of the Hunter River (cut off in the 1955 flood), is located midway between Mait- land and Morpeth (Fig. 2). The soils, of medium to light alluvial material, are up to 30 feet deep. The 1955 flood left sand deposits up to six feet deep over about 18 acres; but deep plowing and the planting of cover crops have helped to build up much of this light soil. Two families are working the 46 acres, which are divided into seven farm units, the size of these divisions being influenced by the number of crops grown and the convenience of irrigating the units.

Crops, in order of financial importance, are potatoes, hybrid maize (for seed), and vegetables such as cabbages, cauliflowers, pumpkins, and melons. In the 1959-1960 season, 40 acres of vegetables, eight acres of maize, four of melons and six of pumpkins were planted, with only one acre of lucerne to provide feed for two dairy cows and one horse. In earlier years from 10 to 15 acres of lucerne were grown, to be sold in small bundles for feed to poultry, horses, etc. The mechanization of neighboring coal mines, eliminating the pit pony, has been one of the reasons for this decline.

Two simple rotations are followed: (a) potatoes, maize, pumpkins, melons, or (b) potatoes, cabbages, potatoes, cauliflowers. Application of nitrogenous and phosphatic fertilizers is made at the rate of 312 cwt. per acre per crop. Irrigation equipment, consisting of two

power units, two pumps, one-half mile of 6-inch fibrolite underground piping, and 22 chains of sprays, enables supplementary irrigation to be conducted during summer dry spells, though even here, in particularly dry periods, the water becomes salty.

Potatoes are grown as a spring and early summer crop, harvested with seasonal labor from October to Feb- ruary. The autumn crop, which is planted in late January, is harvested in May and June. The maize seed crop, picked and treated by hand, is graded and marketed in Sydney by the Hybrid Maize Seed Co-op Ltd., through normal trade channels, while vegetables are marketed in both New- castle and Sydney.

This father-son partnership is a highly mechanized, intensive farming enterprise. Equipment includes three tractors, three plows (one each single, double and three furrowed mould board), tandem discs, one rotary hoe, two cultivators, two harrows, one roller, scarifiers, one fertilizer spreader, rake, mower, maize thresher, potato seed cutter, two-row potato planter, potato digger, potato trash pulverizer-illus- trating tillage agriculture for vegetables at its best. The care given to the land is matched by the excellent yields that are being obtained, together with satisfactory returns, of which the well- cared-for homes and buildings are the outward symbol. This farm, rather than being typical of the district, is a model for which others can strive.

Other Aspects of the Intensive Vegetable Farms

A common size for vegetable farms is between 20 and 40 acres, but a few fall well outside this range. Despite their small size, they may support two, or even three families, though in most cases they consist of a single, owner-



FLOOD-PLAIN FARMING ON THE MAITLAND FLATS, HUNTER VALLEY, N.S.XV. 243

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FIG. 7. Farm No. 1: a 46-acre vegetable farm, Boiwarra. Map A shows the farm layout in Sep- tember, 1960 (initial crops); map B shows the situation in February, 1961 (second crops). Note the flexibility of the "lands" boundaries and the high percentage of double cropping, only the areas under pumpkins, melons, and lucerne remaining static.

operated unit, in the distinctive Aus- tralian pattern. Some of the owners are comparative newcomers, but about a quarter have inherited the land from their fathers, some of whom worked the original subdivisions 60 years ago; in one instance, the farm has been in the same family for more than 100 years. 7

The farms are usually in compact blocks, and rely principally on family labor, with casual labor, including school children, employed for harvesting (particularly potato picking) for periods up to 12 weeks. Vegetables are grown mainly for city markets in Maitland, Newcastle, and Sydney, with emphasis on certain basic crops: potatoes, cabbages, cauliflowers, pumpkins, and melons. Other vegetable crops-onions,

7 In a sample of 38 farms, only five operators have been on the property less than ten years (eight less than 15 years), and only two have been in the district for less than ten years.

beets, lettuce, carrots, and tomatoes -are grown in varying proportions; maize and broom millet are fairly widespread summer crops; and lucerne is established on most farms.

Crops are grown much according to the whims of the farmer. There is little evidence that short-term market demands or price changes influence the crops planted. The general practice is to plant basic crops according to the seasons and send the product to the market as it matures, irrespective of price; this is varied only when very low prices cause the crop to be plowed in. There is no fixed, universal system of rotation, but most farmers do alter- nate crops methodically, if not scientifically. Occasionally, use is being made of green manure crops, such as cow peas, to build up fertility, but this sound practice is the exception rather than the rule. The long growing season




means that a certain amount of double cropping is possible-particularly with potatoes so that the acreage of crops grown in any one year exceeds the total acreage of the farm.

The role of lucerne on these farms contrasts strongly with that of twenty- five years ago.8 In pre-war times it was the basis of the area's intensive cash-crop economy. Usually unirrigated, it accounted for up to 90 per cent of the farm's produce, assured markets being found in the large dairy farms on the fringe of Sydney, and periodically in drought-stricken areas. Now the Maitland Flats are no longer a major exporting area. The Sydney market has been lost for three main reasons: the number of herds round the city has decreased; fodder supplies now come mainly from irrigated areas in the central and southwestern slopes dis- tricts of New South Wales, which are considered more reliable; and more

8 W. H. Maze, op. cit., Part I, pp. 44-45.

attention is being given to permanent pastures. Markets generally have also been affected by mechanization. Not only have declining horse numbers reduced the demand for hay, but the pick-up baler has enabled many more farmers to conserve their own fodder.

Locally, the acreage of lucerne has declined since 1949 because of flood damage. Agriculturalists have been rely- ing more on short-period cash crops, but this may be a temporary trend as a succession of flood-free years could encourage them to re-establish lucerne.9 The crop is now grown for a local market in neighboring dairy farms, or by contract sale to produce firms who incorporate chaffed lucerne in their dairy and chicken meals. The stability of this crop, however, giving six cuts from September to May10 averaging

I The cost of re-establishment is approx- imately ?A50 an acre.

10 Limited grazing of lucerne occurs during the winter months, but little haymaking is attempted because of the slow growth and the difficulties of curing at this time of the year.

X A 12 24 Nj ~CHAINS (approx.)

FIG. 8. Farm No. 2: a 121-acre dairy farm at Hinton. Paddocks 1, 2, and 10 contain natural pasture; paddocks 5 and 7, sown pasture; paddock 8, lucerne; and paddocks 3, 6, and 9, forage crops. Note the concentration of farm buildings in the flood-free area of paddock 1.




15-20 cwt. per cut per acre, may help to explain why a number of vegetable farmers have switched to dairying, either as a mainstay or a supplement. Several enterprises, with dairy herds of about 25 milking cows as the main source of constant income, grow lucerne both as a cash crop and as a primary source of stock feed. The vegetable crop tends to receive the smallest alloca- tion of land, but is often sown in land vacated by fodder crops such as maize and saccaline (a sorghum).

On the other hand, some of the purely cash-crop farms were once dairy farms, especially on the flats close to Morpeth. This change occurred because of the difficulties of shifting cattle during floods, flood damage to fences, the problem of securing distant hill runs for dry cows, and the high cost of mechanization. Consequently, while there is a solid core of farms which have always been either dairy or vegetable units, there are some which tend to fluctuate between one use and the other. A distinctive feature is the general absence of livestock, with the exception of work horses, which are still carried on at least half the farms.

These small, compact units, with their modest dwellings, garages and large barns which are open-sided to the north; their fenceless fields cultivated almost to the foundations of the houses; their irrigation pipes tapping the sluggish river and the sub-surface streams- are part of a climax in land use which is likely to be displaced only by natural calamity.

DAIRYING FOR FRESH MILK SUPPLY

Dairy farms are less common than vegetable farms in the Bolwarra-Phoenix Park area; but east of the Paterson River they are more important. The Lower Hunter dairy farm is essentially an arable unit, using lucerne, maize

and saccaline as basic fodder crops, with some improved pasture developing where there are reliable supplies of irrigation water. Such tillage practices are at once a reflection of basic soil fertility, water stress, and land scarcity. The basic crops can survive without irrigation, whereas moisture supplies are too unreliable to put unirrigated grassland farming on a stable basis. True, irrigation has increased rapidly in recent years; but it is essentially supplementary, as the supply is always liable to fail when it is most needed. Most farmers east of Hinton have no irrigation, because river water is too saline and no underground supplies have been found.

A Dairy Farm

A dairy farm that will be described here is located east of Hinton (Fig. 2). It has about 96 acres of its area on the flats, the remaining 25 acres being elevated about 30 or 40 ft. above the general level (Fig. 8). On this high ground the buildings are located: a new dwelling and garage; a large hay shed combined with two large cement silos, each with a capacity of 85 tons; feeding stalls; a machinery shed; and the dairy. The herd consists of 34 milking cows, 16 dry cows, 12 heifers and calves and one bull, mainly of Ayrshire-Jersey cross-breed, with some Friesians, including the bull. In the days before milk zoning, the skim milk was fed to pigs; but the sale of whole milk has eliminated this. The only other animals on the farm are three work horses. The property is divided into ten paddocks, with a grazing density of about one cow to two acres the limit which can be maintained without costly additional labor.

In grazing management, lucerne, sown pastures, and natural pastures come in that order of importance, the



246 ECONOMIc GEOGRAPHY

first two being strip-grazed with electric fences. The lucerne is left down for four to six years, while forage crops are planted once a year. Supplementary feeding is used to stabilize production and meet quota requirements, ensilage (corn), hay (lucerne), and concentrates contributing, in that order of importance, mostly in winter and early spring. There is no irrigation, but the property produces about 750 pounds of milk a day, falling to 500 pounds in the lowest winter months. The farm is worked by an elderly farmer and his son, who are faced with a serious labor problem because of the expense of hired help, and despite the fact that operations are mechanized where possible. At present it is working up to the maximum re- source capacity of the owners.

The Dairy Farms in General

The livestock farms, while larger than the crop farms, vary considerably in size, a general range from 80 to 200 acres being the most common, although some farms have extensive dry runs which may bring the acreage up to 500. There is no typical size, because the history of subdivision, variations in soil fertility, availability of irrigation water, differences in terrain, and other similar factors obviously act against uniformity in size. Some are too small to provide all their own fodder requirements, particularly where there is no grazing land available as a dry run for cows. In such cases, where much feed has to be purchased, efficient farming becomes impracticable because of the high costs involved.

The need for grazing land, especially in elevated, flood-free areas, means that farms are commonly split into two or more parts, perhaps with several miles in between; such dry runs usually have a sward of "natural" grasses (i.e., not necessarily native, but unimproved),

such as couch, kikuyu, and paspalum. On these higher lands away from the

flats, pasture improvement-particularly by the introduction of covers and the application of phosphatic fertilizers -is making only slow progress. Dairy farmers are backward in the use of fertilizers, for whereas the recommended figure, based on research undertaken by the Department of Agriculture, is four hundredweight of superphosphate per acre per annum (at least initially), the average application amounts to less than half a cwt. Many farms with irrigation have paddocks of ryegrass- clover pastures, now almost universally strip grazed by means of electric fences.

Despite such developments, lucerne is still the mainstay of the feeding program, being used both for grazing and for dry feed. A considerable area of many farms is under this crop, which has increased significantly over the past ten years, as it has declined on cash-crop farms. It also is strip grazed by means of electric fences, but great care has to be taken against bloat, which can strike a beast down very suddenly. Lucerne hay is the most popular supplementary feed, but silage is becoming increasingly popular, the basic crops for this being maize and saccaline, which are harvested and chopped in the field. First-cut lucerne, tares, and surplus sown pasture are also used for ensilage. The most popular method of storage is in pits of 50-100 tons capacity.

Herd composition and size are quite variable, although most have between 30 and 60 milking cows, usually of mixed breeds, among which Australian Illawarra Shorthorns, Ayrshires, Guern- seys, Friesians, and Jerseys are the most common. Many of the beasts are of mixed parentage, and it is rarely that a pure strain herd is encountered. While artificial insemination is being used




with success by many farmers, most also retain a bull, particularly on larger properties, where artificial methods are considered to be less economical and convenient. Herd recording is not widely practiced, the average farmer preferring to rely on his own judgment. Despite these practices, there is an effort made to breed high-milk-yielding cows and this, coupled with the balanced feed intake, enables an average output of about 500 gallons per cow per year, a figure well above the New South Wales and Australian averages.

The regulated marketing of dairy produce contrasts vividly with the

agency" technique of vegetable dis- tribution. As this area is part of the Milk Zone supplying the Sydney Metro- politan and Newcastle markets, the testing, grading, and marketing of whole milk is under the strict control of the New South Wales Milk Board. There is no opportunity for dairymen to sell outside the regulated market, for ven- dors must buy from suppliers registered with the Board, which is itself the price-fixing authority for producers and consumers alike. Top prices are given only for "quota" milk, the quota being allocated on the basis of the lowest four-weekly production period during the year, and itself being reduced to a " percentage " which is regulated according to the supply/demand relationships in a given week. Non-quota milk, although identical in quality, fetches little more than half the price, so that there is a strong incentive to make production as uniform as possible throughout the year, so that the quota

"In 1957-1958 the Australian average was 370 gallons per cow, though individual cows have yielded nearly ten times as much as this. There is wide disparity between the states: N.S.W., 307; Victoria, 502; Queensland, 240; S.A., 482; W.A., 400; Tasmania, 517. A third of Australian cows (in Victoria and Tasmania) are actually producing more than 500 gallons per annum on the average.

may be a reasonably high percentage of total output.

Farmers claim that quota allocations are biased and often unreasonable, and also that the method of picking up milk twice daily does not allow adequate time between morning and evening (1-3 p.m.) milkings. At present there are plans for introducing bulk collec- tions, which will require farmers to purchase more and bulky storage equipment; such a further drain on resources might well put the small man with limited land out of production altogether. It is clear that the marketing system suffers from many of the draw- backs of bureaucratic control, and tends to put a premium on quantity rather than quality; yet it has brought a measure of stability to the dairy industry not enjoyed by those outside the Milk Zone, a fact readily admitted by many of the critics.

CONCLUSIONS

In the landscape of the Lower Hunter, the interactions of man and his environ- ment are clearly stamped. The growth of contiguous urban areas has stimulated an intensive use of the land, which has replaced the original cover of softwood brush with a quilted mosaic of cultivated fields, in which the dispersed buildings are located on the highest points in an effort to escape flood ravage. Floods, in their turn, have left a legacy of ruin and haunting fear, despite their bene- ficial effects, so that buildings are often poorly maintained, and the incentive to make capital improvements has been greatly reduced. Vegetable farms and dairy farms have now held sway for 60 years; but while the basic pattern has remained the same, details have changed in a number of important respects, especially in the post-war years.

Dairy farmers no longer separate the milk or send the cream to the butter



248 ECONOMIc GEOGRAPHY

factory and feed the skim milk to pigs; they are whole milk suppliers, tied to the twice-daily pick-up, the cooperative dairy factory and a formidable array of Milk Board regulations. Supple- mentary irrigation has stabilized the output of cash-crop farmers and enabled the establishment of high quality pastures for the more intensive grazing of dairy cattle, while silage making has increased enormously."2 Where lucerne was once a cash-crop of distinction, it has declined significantly, while fertilizer is used where before it was prac- tically non-existent. Finally, mechanization has increased markedly, as it has done in other rural areas, not only with the use of milking machines, but also in the form of tractors, forage harvesters, hay balers, potato diggers, and similar equipment which can success- fully offset the declining man-land ratio.

What of the future? Despite the fact that many farmers make a comfortable living if television aerials, new motor cars, and expensive farm equipment are any indication-the Flats are still not producing at their maximum capacity. There are a number of reasons for this: the legacy of past flood damage and fear of future inundations; the shortage of water and high cost of irrigation equipment; the tendency to haphazard methods of crop production and animal breeding; the dissatisfaction with marketing conditions; the size and arrangement of properties, particularly dairy properties; and a general lack of incentive or necessity to get the utmost from the soil under the prevailing conditions of high labor costs and living standards.

Much land is still partially or wholly unproductive because of sand deposits. Where this occurs, the hummocky land-

12 This change has been due largely to the efforts of local officers of the N.S.W. Depart- ment of Agriculture, and the use of contract as well as privately-owned forage harvesters.

scape is now mantled with couch grass and it seems only a question of time before it will again be farmed, possibly with dairy pastures where vegetable plots were before. Whole farms have been lost in this way, and parts of many others are below capacity to varying degrees. The rate of recovery depended largely on the initiative of farmers, the amount of relief they were given, and the magnitude of their individual problems. Some rehabilitated faster than others, but, significantly, very few left the district altogether.

Irrigation has proved a great boon, yet it has not completely taken over, nor has it solved all problems on the best- equipped farms. Freedom from risk cannot be achieved where salinity and failure of supplies are possibilities in drought periods; nor is it always true that the labor and equipment costs are balanced by the undoubtedly greater returns. Whether irrigation farming is more efficient or not may depend on whether it is examined from the view- point of productivity or profits. More- over, most farmers would agree that they still have an imperfect idea of the water requirements of their crops and that a quantitative measurement of drought-expectancy would materially as- sist them.

Inherent soil fertility has made it unnecessary for traditional crop farming to follow a scientific rotation; yet a few farmers have adopted such methodical practices, and some realize the value of green manure crops such as tares and poona peas. These crops should be grown more widely, particularly in the sandy patches lacking in humus and on those "lands" which have already carried a double cash crop during the year. Flood devastation stimulated the use of artificial phosphatic fertilizers, and it seems logical that fertility




conservation techniques should be carried into the cropping program itself.

The lack of attention to the scientific breeding and herd testing of dairy cows is even more serious. The Australian dairy industry has no grounds for com- placency when production figures are compared with those of other places."3 A major explanation for this exists in widespread climatic uncertainties, which are found even on the M~aitland Flats, so that the production of feed requires more effort and incurs more risk than on a well-managed grassland farm. Nevertheless, milk yields could be sub- stantially increased if breeding was more scientifically conducted and if culling was practiced on the basis of regular herd testing.

These methods are the exception rather than the rule. Some farmers do not run dry cows at all, but purchase stock replacements at the Maitland sales. Admittedly, this is partly due to shortage of local grazing land for dry cattle; but it is also evident that a comfortable income can be made without recourse to such time-consuming practices as herd-testing. Perhaps it is true that high yields result more from correct feeding techniques than from heredity, but only by more widespread attention to both can the general level of production be raised.

One of the serious problems dairymen face is the shortage of grazing land, a fact which accounts for the general absence of dairy farms in the central parts of the Flats. In many parts of the Hunter Valley it is possible to have hill country contiguous to the alluvial flats; but in the Maitland area the width of the flood plain sometimes enforces

13 In 1958, Australian milk production per cow per annum averaged 1,720 kilograms, compared with 2700 for New Zealand, 2790 for the United States of America, 3210 for Western Germany, and 4150 for the Netherlands. See F.A.O. Production Yearbook, Vol. 13, 1959, pp. 220-21.

the fragmentation of holdings, with its consequent disruptions. There seems to be no solution to this other than the impracticable one of redistribution, or the abandonment of dairying for cash- crop farming, which has been carried out in some cases.

The respective marketing systems for milk and vegetables provide an excellent illustration of opposing techniques, each with its disciples and its critics. The guaranteed market of the Milk Zone satisfies the Australian farmer's craving for security; but the regimentation of the Milk Board, with its quota allocations and niggling inspections, offends his sense of individualism. The most serious disadvantage of the system is that it robs dairymen of any incentive to maximize production, because the disparity between the price of quota and non-quota milk is too great. Is this too high a price to pay for security? Some producers think it is.

Vegetable marketing, by contrast, is free from authoritarian control, either in the form of price-fixing or by channeled marketing of the product. Growers usually consign their produce to registered agents for sale by private treaty on a commission basis; but despite regulations limiting the rate of commission, some growers complain that there is too great a difference between their return and the retail price. How- ever, there is no alternative method which can eliminate the middleman (who, after all, provides services which the growers have neither the time nor the inclination to perform) and yet remain free from bureaucratic control- unless it is a growers' cooperative, which seems to be ruled out by management problems, the distance of farms from the market, and especially the reluctance of farmers themselves to cooperate with each other for this purpose. In any case, the very nature of vegetable farm-




ing makes controlled marketing difficult, because of the great fluctuations in supply.

Finally, there is the general attitude of the farming community. Undeniably, most of the farmers are hard workers, with a basic interest in the land which has not been diminished by the ravages of floods. They have remained firm during the worst ten years in Maitland's history (but then, what was the alternative?) and have shown determination by rehabilitating their lands. They are somewhat conservative in outlook, but this is a common Australian trait, and a few at least are alive to the problems of their own district. For these reasons they have consolidated their position and if production is below the optimum, the explanation lies partly with labor shortages and partly with the current high standards of living, which make it possible to combine comfortable returns for hard work with reasonable leisure hours.

Flood-plain farming on the Maitland Flats, although prosperous, is operating below its potential capacity. Improved farm management techniques, the mitigation of flood, the reduction of drought risk, and further mechanization would result in a marked rise in productivity. However, high-quality alluvial soil is at a premium in Australia, particularly in the vicinity of the rapidly-growing urban centers. For this reason alone, the future of the Flats would seem assured, given freedom from floods at the 1955 level.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors are indebted to students of Geography at Newcastle University College, who collected and mapped information on the area; to the Hunter Valley Research Founda- tion, for its cooperation; to the many farmers who were willing to discuss the qualities and problems of their district; and to officers of the New South Wales Department of Agricul- ture at Maitland, for valuable advice and assistance.



flood-plain farming on the maitland flats, hunter valley, n.s.w

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