Longevity in farming is getting harder to find as longtime owners only get older. Lawrence Baillieu, Clondisse, Flinders, still operates his family’s farm, one of only a few remaining iconic properties left on the Mornington Peninsula.
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Clondisse, a 607-hectare (1500-acre) property overlooking Bass Strait, was first purchased in 1947 as a rabbit and tussock infested holding with many kilometres of spectacular cliffs.
The Baillieu family transformed Clondisse into a highly productive farm, which turned off an annual draft of Angus-Hereford steers, last Thursday, at Pakenham. Their timing could not have been better after heavy rain two days before, and their 103 steers sold to $1540.
This rain event covered most of Victoria and large areas of Tasmania, NSW, South Australia, and parts of Queensland. Prices at physical sale jumped immediately.
Flying back from Sydney on Monday, after a short trip to see my new grandson, I was surprised to see such a quick change in the colour of paddocks, across two states.
While in Sydney, I read a statement by Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce, about a potential agreement for affected producers to claim a percentage of any profits derived from coal seem gas extraction.
My interest was peaked because I have made similar comments, back when coal seem gas extraction was mooted for parts of Gippsland.
As I am sure most of you are aware, any title holder only owns a few feet below the surface, the rest can be subject to mining rights, whether it be gas or coal, or other mining.
Currently, miners do not have to pay a landowner for what comes out of the ground, just some small compensation for disruption to their land.
Should landowners be compensated? I believe so.
However, how does this fit into other governmental criteria, when they say we must preserve “prime agricultural land”? Is not most of our land prime agriculture? Do we not need this land to earn an income, and feed our population and the world?
Some of the best farming land in Gippsland has coal beneath it, and until a recent Government decision, potentially subject to mining.
Just imagine if a property, such as Clondisse at Flinders with such pristine coastline, had the potential to be mined. What would possibly be a ugly outcome could surely not be allowed, according to many.
