Case Study - Agroforestry
9. Gunningham Farms: Planting trees to increase shelter, biodiversity and aesthetics
Gunningham Farms, Montumana, Circular Head - The Gunningham's are fifth generation dairy farmers producing organic milk and pasture raised, free-range eggs. The Gunningham's have strategically planted 17 hectares of P. radiata and 15 hectares of E. nitens at selected sites across their property for shelter, biodiversity and aesthetics.
At a glance
| Owner | Matthew and Pippa Gunningham |
| Property name | Gunningham Farms |
| Location | Montumana, Circular Head, north west Tasmania |
| Property size | 480ha |
| Enterprise | Dairy and free-range eggs |
| Rainfall | 979.1mm |
| Soil type | Red basalt |
| Forested area | 22.39ha |
Key points
- The importance of species selection.
- Whole farm planning.
- Identifying the best land use for every section of your farm.
- Aesthetic benefits of trees in the landscape.
Introduction
Gunningham Farms is one of seven successful Round 1 Integrated Farm Forestry Demonstration Sites receiving grant funding to develop landscape scale best practice integration of shelterbelts and woodlots into the agricultural landscape.
The Cunningham's are 5th generation dairy farmers are currently milking 700 organic cows and producing free range eggs through their nearly 3,000 laying hens.
Gunningham Farms have established 10.46 hectares of Pinus Radiata and 11.93 hectares of Eucalypt nitens at selected sites across the property. Strategically planting trees to maximise their full potential for shelter, biodiversity and aesthetics, Gunningham Farms urge others to get on board.
Gunningham Farms enlisted the services of professional forest consultants ‘Technical Forest Services’ to develop their plan.
Gunningham Farm is made up of 10 individual block plantings - 5 P.radiata shelterbelts (site 1), 2 P.radiata woodlots (site 2), and 3 E.niten woodlots (site 3).
"We are 100% convinced that this is appropriate for a lot of farms. We can already see where we would apply our learnings to our other dairy farms and where we would place additional shelterbelts," Matthew Gunningham said.
Site 1, Blocks 1,2,3, 4 & 5 P.radiata shelterbelts
Site preparation
- Clearing of vegetation and harvest slash
- Heavily grazed prior to cultivation for weed control
- Rip mound
- Fencing
- Manual weeding
Species and area
- P.radiata - 3.7ha
Survival rate
- 96.7% as at October 2022
Challenges
- Wild radish in mounds
- Drier Winter/Spring 2021 and drier than average 2022 for the north-west
Progress to date
- Refill completed July 2022 with open rooted seedlings
Planned management
- Ongoing weed control on shelterbelt components
Site 2, Blocks 6 & 7 P.radiata woodlots
Site preparation
- Clearing of vegetation and harvest slash
Fencing
- Species and area
- P.radiata - 13ha
Survival rate
- 87.9% as at October 2022
Challenges
- Browsing animals
- Drier Winter/Spring 2021 and drier than average 2022 for the north-west
Progress to date
- Refill completed July 2022 with open rooted seedlings
Planned management
- Ongoing weed control on shelterbelt component
Site 3, Blocks 8, 9 & 10 E.nitens woodlots
Site preparation
- Clearing of vegetation and harvest slash
- Rip mound
- Fencing
Species and area
- E.nitens - 11.93ha
Survival rate
- 92.8% as at October 2022
Challenges
- Browsing animals
- Drier Winter/Spring 2021 and drier than average 2022 for the north-west
- Competition with native eucalyptus and native forests
Watch the video
Matthew and Pippa Gunningham are organic dairy and free-range chicken farmers located at Montumana in Tasmania’s far North-West. The Gunningham’s have strategically planted a mixture of niten and radiata pine trees displaying the benefits of creating more biodiversity on farm whilst providing a genuine level of shelter for livestock and reducing water evaporation.