RUNNING a successful business and looking after the health of a farm are not always compatible.
But for West Gippsland dairy farmers Bill and Faye Loughridge, they go hand-in-hand.
Over the past 16 years, the Loughridges have been involved in riparian restoration that involved fencing off 4.5km of creeks and streams and planting more than 20,000 trees on their Poowong farm.
"Fencing off our creeks has made our business more efficient and more profitable and the landscape more appealing," Bill said.
The aim has been to keep the cows out of the streams, stabilise the banks, arrest any nutrient run-off, improve water quality and provide shade and shelter for birds, aquatic life and livestock.
Bill and Faye, their son Brett and his wife Jody, milk 510 cows in a split-calving herd on their main farm of 240ha. They also lease 140ha nearby for dry cows and yearlings and own a 20ha block near Loch where they run calves.
The Poowong farms are in the catchment of the Lang Lang River and the Loch farm in the Bass River catchment. Both rivers drain into Westernport.
Bill said the trigger for the riparian (stream frontage) restoration was the need to keep the cows out of the mud - to keep them clean and safe and to help stop erosion.
"In summer they would find a couple of nice little holes in the banks and come home all dirty and silty," Bill said.
There have been multiple benefits and few, if any, disadvantages.
"As well as stopping the erosion and muddiness, fencing off the creeks has added hugely to the visual beauty of the place," Bill said.
It is also having a positive impact on the farm's bottom line, although Bill said this was hard to quantify.
During the 2006-07 drought year, the autumn-calving herd averaged 7500 litres per cow while last season both the autumn and spring calvers averaged 7000 litres.
Bill said the home property, which had been cleared in the early days, was "very windy and cold" when they arrived.
"Now the shade and shelter makes it a whole lot warmer which is good for the cows and milk production," he said.
"And there has been such an increase in birdlife, that there aren't nearly as many pests and grubs in the pasture."
As for disadvantages, falling limbs and weeds hadn't been a problem but good weed control was necessary before planting.
"If you spray the blackberries for a couple of years before you replant, you should be right for a couple more years until you need to spray again," Bill said.
"By then, if you're careful, you should be able to get the blackberries without harming the trees."
Bill said a whole farm plan was drawn up about the same time as the work started on fencing the waterways.
"We have stuck to the plan ever since," he said.
The plan concentrated on fencing off the creeks and providing shade and shelter to every paddock.
"We used the creeks as our starting point and from there divided the rest of the property into 2.8ha paddocks," Bill said.
"The small paddocks give us flexibility and help with pasture management for the two herds."
Since 1991, the entire property has been re-fenced.
All the riparian areas and all of the remnant vegetation have been fenced off.
Each creek is fenced off eight metres from the banks on both sides. Three rows of trees plus shrubs and grasses are usually planted on each side.
"You don't see much change early on but then it snowballs," Bill said.
"It takes a few years before you notice a real turning point."
With most of the riparian work finished on the Poowong property, the Loughridges hope to finish fencing off the creek on the Loch country soon.
This project has also involved removing willow trees which were ironically planted in the 1940s to control erosion.
They will then continue planting along fencelines to provide more shelter and shade.
Bill and Faye have done much of the work themselves with support, when available, from Landcare and GreenCorp. More recently, they have had support from Melbourne Water with clearing willows and the supply of trees and fencing materials.
"Melbourne Water has been a big help supplying trees and fencing and a lot of people have used them to make some really positive changes to the landscape," Bill said.
Bill recalls how different the local landscape is today compared with when he arrived.
"This area contained a lot of settlement farms and they had bulldozed everything," he said.
"There were very few remnants and many of the rivers and creeks were bare."
In recognition of their work, the family won a Landcare award in 2005.
They have also been actively encouraging other farmers in the district to fence off creeks and rivers.
"More than half of the creeks are fenced off and people are making good progress on the smaller creeks," Bill said.
He said they had noticed a significant improvement in water quality, especially in Pheasant Creek which flows into the Lang Lang River.
He would like to see more landholders take advantage of the assistance available to consolidate the good work already done in the district.
"I'd like to see all the creeks and rivers in the catchment linked up to form a corridor," Bill said.
"Then we'll see a terrific change in the landscape."
Farmers interested in riparian restoration can join the Westernport GipRip project, which began in autumn this year in the Poowong and Larner regions and links in with Landcare networks.
Westernport GipRip (Gippsland Dairy Riparian Project) is funded by Melbourne Water and has support from Dairy Australia and GippsDairy.
Project manager Jenny O'Sullivan said the aim was to give farmers the skills to develop their own sustainable management practices to improve riparian health.
Melbourne Water is contributing up to 50 per cent of the cost of fencing, troughs and weed control for riparian work and up to 100 per cent of the cost of plants and materials, depending on the site.
Funding is received upfront and landholders are expected to have the completed work within 12 months.
For details phone Gavin Brock on (03) 5997 1717 or email gavin.brock@melbourne water.com.au
