Farming Operations

 
 

Livestock: Sheep & Cattle

Jigsaw Farms grazing operation consists of sheep (fine wool merinos and prime lambs) and beef cattle.  

We run a fine wool merino system that is based around 20,000 ewes. The male offspring of these ewes produce wethers for either our own wool producing operation or what is increasingly more likely for the MENA (Middle Eastern and North Africa) markets. We have our own Merino stud. Our aim is to move to a true dual purpose merino. We are focusing on both muscle and genetic fat in our selection process. 

Our cattle operation consists of 550 cows and replacements. We run a criss-cross breeding program, using Poll Hereford and Angus genetics. This is to maximise hybrid vigour. We have our own Poll Hereford stud. We focus on moderate adult size cattle with below average birthweight calves, but with top 20% 400 & 600 day weights as a breeding objective.

Grazed paddocks run at an average of 20-22 DSE per hectare. This is close to double the district average and in the top 5% for the area. The farms operate at over 15,000 DSE per labour unit. Farm planning , extensive internal laneways and a reliable water delivery system help to reduce labour. 

We are constantly looking for ideas that lower our methane output from our stock such as increasing growth and reproductivity levels. 

From a grazing point of view, if you improve fecundity levels to increase lamb or calf numbers on the ground per breeding unit, you will be more profitable , your methane impact will be lower and it will cost less to run that animal because it will be a better converter of the feed put down its throat. 

CARBON SENSE DEFINITELY MAKES ECONOMIC SENSE.

 

PASTURE

Growing grass and managing it well is core to our business.  Jigsaw Farms has a high input grazing system where of Phalaris, Fescue, Perennial Ryegrass and clover mix perennial pastures, along with the water systems, are the life blood of the farms.  We have an active pasture renovation program, with regular soil tests and pasture analysis.  Newer perennial pastures are being sown that will make better use of summer rainfall events, predicted to increase with climate change. Traditional annual grasses are on the way out, in favour of these perennials, predominantly Holdfast GT Phalaris and strategic use of perennial rye grasses. This reduces the need to buy in supplementary feed. 

 

Water storage

A critical part of our high input farming operation is an efficient and reliable water system. We have moved away from multiple small dams with high evaporative drying rates of up to two metres per summer. Instead, there are fewer dams that are bigger and deeper, where the water stays cooler and evaporative rates are slower. This series of deep water storage dams range from 20 to 45 megalitres in size. They provide water needed to fill a series of 2 to 3 megalitres sized turkey nest dams or tanks that are positioned on the highest points around the farms. Airwell and solar pumps push water up to these dams, which then naturally reticulate the water to troughs in the paddocks.

 

Sustainability

 
 

Trees for Biodiversity & Agroforestry

Since 1997 Jigsaw Farms has revegetated over 600 ha with indigenous trees and shrubs or timber species, including more than 250 ha of Spotted Gum (Corymbia maculate) and small areas of Southern Mahogany(Eucalyptus botriodes), Sydney Blue Gum (Euc. saligna), Sugar Gum (Euc. cladocalyx)and Red Ironbark (Euc. sideroxlyn). New forests are 45% permanent farm forestry. These are to be managed on a cycle of harvest and replant. Planting tree and shrubs is not seen as taking farmland out of production, but as actually lifting grazing production.

Jigsaw Farms sees many benefits in trees and protected waterways: 

  • Future income from wood products

  • Biosecurity- protection of stock from Ovine Johne's Disease (OJD) and other water-borne diseases.

  • Shelter for stock welfare and productivity, especially calving, lambing and after shearing

  • Shelter to lift winter pasture production by 6-8% through a reduction of the wind chill factor on pastures

  • Contribution to climate-change mitigation and adaptation

  • Habitat for wildlife

  • Prevention of nutrient build-up in waterways

  • Control of salinity

Biodiversity

Protecting and improving biodiversity is a high priority at Jigsaw. Large scale integrated revegetation corridors are typically more than 60 metres wide, following the advice of the Birds Australia (Birds on Farms by Geoff Barrett, Supplement to Wingspan, vol.no.4, December 2000). Many plantings are based around salt scalds or remnant trees, including ring-barked red gums with hollows. Seasonal bird surveys by local ornithologist Murray Gunn since 1999 have confirmed that, using birds as an indicator, biodiversity is improving. Over 165 bird species have been observed farms compared to the 45 that were originally observed when the properties were purchased, and the overall numbers of birds have multiplied many fold.  

Research was completed in 2008 at Jigsaw and other sites in the region by Rohan Clarke and his team from Deakin University; in checking the impact of revegetation and retention of remnant vegetation on biodiversity, positive results were found. Woodland birds, frogs, butterflies and native mammals were found to take advantage of connected shelterbelts and remnant vegetation, which also provide shade and wind protection for stock and pasture.

Wetlands

All creeks and waterways have been fenced-off and 65 ha is dedicated to wetlands and dams. Wetlands include ponds of various depths (some ephemeral, some deep) catering to a range of wildlife and stock needs. 

Carbon Neutrality

 

Jigsaw Farms has been carbon neutral since 2010. We have participated in several carbon offsetting projects which offset third party carbon footprints. In addition to this, our carbon storage contained within new forests on our properties outweigh all of our on-farm agricultural activities. 
Jigsaw has sold wool for carbon neutral Italian Quatha fashions, launched at the Pitti Filati trade show in Milan, through The Merino Company. We provided offsets through tree planting: 84 bales of 19-micron wool equated to 830 tonnes of carbon equivalents needing to be offset.

 

The Future: Challenges and Room for Improvement

 
 

What next for jigsaw?

At Jigsaw Farms, we see our business as a process of trial and error: being open to new ideas, adaptable and being nimble are all important. We take risks and therefore get some things right and some, wrong. 

There are a number of challenges we are facing: 

  • Geographical spread is an option that might diversify risk management in the years ahead. Our farms are all within 10 kilometres of each other. Strategically, it might be wise for us to look at something in a different climate zone.

  • We need to continually improve the resilience of the farms so that they can withstand more difficult climate and market conditions.

  • We need to keep looking at how, through an intensive farming operation, we can be more water and carbon efficient.

  • We are still far too dependent on outside resources, be it energy or fertiliser. We need to ‘close the loop’ where our farming systems are supplying more of our own energy and fertiliser needs.

  • And we need to not go broke along the way!

We may not always get it right, but we are working hard to ensure that our business meets the needs of the current generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.