In the quest to reduce water pollution, soil degradation and fly outbreaks, far north Queensland Farmers are assistance from the smallest of creatures — one cow pat at a time.
A passing observer might think the cattle and dairy farmers of far north Queensland have been behaving very strangely by digging through their paddocks — elbows deep in cattle dung.The natural activity of dung beetles improves soil quality and reduces effluent pollutionFarmers plan to import another species after identifying 13 species on the Artherton Tablelands
But until now, there have not been any comprehensive long-term studies on how to breed and propagate species suited to northern Australia. "Cattle dung attracts flies, and that's why the Australians had the fly salute, and had corks on their hats because there were so many flies." She and 14 other farmers obtained a Landcare grant to undertake their own research — and they have not been afraid to get their hands dirty.
"They're the smaller ones who eat the fly larvae … and some of our beetles don't live down south. They're just up here in the tropics."South Australia's Dr Bernard Doube is among the world's leading dung beetle ecologists and is helping the group with beetle identification.
"And our experiences from southern Australia indicate that we get about a 30 per cent increase in productivity due to the dung burial activity of the beetles."Importantly, Dr Doube said the study had also revealed a gap in the winter population of dung beetles.
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