Land transformation prompts nomination

For more than 40 years, John Pickford and his family have been farming in Woodanilling, integrating natural resource management into their production, and this year he has been nominated for the Great Southern Development Commission Medal.

The Pickford property has suffered waterlogging, erosion and salinity issues that have required Mr Pickford and his family to implement an extensive and strategic revegetation program and rebalance the water table with more than 50 tree plots and perennials suited to the soil types.

Mr Pickford said they were close to achieving their goal of keeping every drop of water on the farm, working to improve production and environmental outcomes.

A recent heavy fall of 25mm in 20 minutes was soaked up on the land, where once it would have rushed down the property and across the road.

The transformation of one area of the Pickford farm from an unusable and barren salt-affected wasteland to lush green pastures and fertile cropping land is one Mr Pickford’s proudest achievements in farming.

“It was a bit of an extravagance putting in the windmill and two bores, but we wanted to prove it could be done,” he said.

“It just shows, however, that if you can do it on a small scale, you can do it on a big scale.”

The Pickfords regularly host field walks with anyone interested to share their knowledge.

Their farm is often used to host scientific trials and has been the subject of economic modelling, which found for every $1 the Pickfords invested in land care strategies, they received $2.70 in return from increased yields and more efficient livestock production.