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Vintage cultivation pattern used to save topsoil after bushfire
- bootload 11y ago"The geometrical pattern has been worked up in 1ha blocks using a standard five-metre 33-tyne cultivator. The constant directional changes mean there are always ridges at a 90-degree angle to the wind, reducing the chance of wind erosion. ... He said his father used that style of erosion protection in the 1940s when there were some bad droughts and horrific dust storms." Ingenuity of farmers. The motivation? Australia has very poor soils: "“There are about six inches (15cm) of top soil here and then clay. You may as well walk off your property if you lose that topsoil because after that you’ve got nothing.”