IF LIVESTOCK producers could harness the power of the dung beetle, Australia need never import another tonne of fertiliser.
That's the belief of John Feehan, an entomologist who has spent 30 years studying dung beetles and operates Soilcam, one of the only companies in Australia to collect and redistribute nature's own recycler, the bovine dung beetle.
High in nitrogen and phosphorous, dung left to dry in the paddock is "a massive waste of resources", according to John.
"The Australian herd produces 500,000 tonnes of manure a day. Why are we importing fertiliser when it's sitting in the paddock?" he said.
"Of all the continents least able to afford to let a valuable resource go to waste, it's Australia."
And the humble dung beetle, which burrows under manure depositing nutrients 30cm below the surface, could be the key to releasing the precious nutrients of a tired, brown continent.
"There is 1000 times more efficiency to be gained from one dung beetle than one tonne of fertiliser," John said.
Part of the CSIRO team charged with introducing bovine dung beetles into Australia in the 1960s, John has observed a trend to more holistic farm management.
But while the movement towards farming for more healthy and sustainable soils has sparked a surge in interest in dung beetles, they haven't always been a trend.
"We've had some problems with airport staff who see the air holes in the transport boxes and the word dung and so we've taken to calling them enviro-beetles," John said.
Under the newer, sexier name, John releases hundreds of colonies of different species right across Australia each year.
Not that the farmer cares what they are called; these little beetles can shift a cow pad underground in less than a day.
An effective method for quickly cleaning up paddocks after rotational grazing, dung beetles also increase pasture use and productivity.
Uneaten grass, John said, can account for 20 per cent of the paddock's capacity.
"Almost every tuft of grass left in a paddock will have an unburied cow pad at the base of it. It may as well be a thistle or blackberry bush," he said.
Shifting dung underground also helps to decrease waterway pollution and animal-health issues associated with parasites that breed in dung, namely the bush fly.
Paddocks perforated with millions of holes left by the beetles have less incidents of water and fertiliser run-off and increased soil microbe activity and soil carbon, he said.
While most farm soils would still require trace elements not found in manure, dung beetles perpetuate soil health, which can reduce prescription fertiliser application by up to 50 per cent.
"Superphosphate reserves are at levels more critical than fossil fuel reserves and yet a 1 1/2-litre cow pat is equivalent to a good double handful of superphosphate," John said.
In his quest to establish eight different species of dung beetle on every Australian farm, John offers a free species identification service for farmers and recommends the right species for beetle activity year round.
One colony of 1500 beetles, costing $250 to $500, depending on species, will expand 2km a year to cover a whole farm and surrounds, he said.
For more details, phone (02) 6248 0376.
