Cow poo is often one of smellier, sloppier, less appealing components of farm life, but one Riverina farmer says she was thrilled when a research project revealed her cow's manure was being well managed with the help of one very special little creature.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Jill Coghlan said she was surprised to learn her Gerogery property was home to a large number and diversity of dung beetle species last year, when she was approached by technical research coordinator with the Beetles with Benefits project Dr Russ Barrow.
"Russ has given me a monthly measure of what beetles he's been finding on our place, so I think there's about seven to nine different species," Mrs Coghlan said.
"The main one was the Bubas Bison beetle and it was just prolific.
"I was thrilled to know what these dung beetles were doing underground as well as above ground, like fertilising the soil and removing manure from on top of the soil."
The Beetles with Benefits project aims to expand the range of dung beetles in Australia and analyse their performance for livestock producers.
IN OTHER NEWS:
Dr Barrow said there were numerous benefits to the having a healthy population of dung beetles, such as reducing the risk of fly problems.
"The adult beetles, they don't physically eat the dung, but they suck the moisture out," he said.
"So they're making it a less friendly place for flies."
Dr Barrow said the beetles helped process the dung below the grounds surface and made the soil like a sponge, allowing rain to soak in, nutrients to be cycled and pastures to grow.
"You've also got the sheep and the cattle, which compact the soil and that compaction leads to a very hard surface so when the rain comes it just runs off the surface, that causes erosion and any dung lying on the surface gets washed off onto water ways and you've got pollution," he said.
"But if you've got dung beetles, the dung is being processed and it can be taken down under the ground."
Research is continuing into why Mrs Coghlan's property has such an abundance of dung beetles, but Dr Barrow said one contributing factor was her good grazing practices.
"Jill uses really strict grazing practices where the cattle basically eat out a strip of land and then she moves them on and they don't go over the same ground," he said.
"The beetles that are then dining out on the cattle dung, they're not being trampled... so we would attribute some of the abundance to the innovative grazing practices, giving the beetle the best chance of survival."
Mrs Coghlan said she is keen to see more research into the dung beetle, including whether it could play a role in managing climate change.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark https://www.bordermail.com.au/
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter: @bordermail
- Follow us on Instagram @bordermail
- Follow us on Google News