Incentives are available for farmers within the Leschenault Catchment to look after waterways.
The Regional Estuaries Initiative’s fertiliser management program provides farmers access to expert advice on improving their productivity, and financial bottom line, by keeping nutrients on the farm and out of waterways.
The funding is available for farmers with grazing livestock to undertake subsidised whole farm soil testing, fence off waterways, plant native vegetation, and gain assistance to better manage dairy shed effluent.
To date, 12 farmers have taken up the opportunity to fence off waterways and plant buffering native vegetation to help filter nutrient run-off from paddocks before it enters waterways.
The program is led by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, in partnership with the Leschenault Catchment Council.
The department’s fertiliser management program coordinator Kelly Lavell said nutrient run-off from agricultural land represented the largest source of nutrients entering estuaries in the South West.
“Farmers and the fertiliser industry play a critical role in improving water quality of local waterways and estuaries,” she said.
Fertilizer Australia executive manager Nick Drew said the program was at the heart of the industry’s efforts to manage environmental risks.
“Our industry recognises the damage nutrients can do at the wrong concentration and in the wrong place,” he said.
“We support good environmental management policies and are pleased to have been involved in the fertiliser management program.”
For more information on the initiative, visit rei.dwer.wa.gov.au.
