However as the time passes by, our country's physical and environmental state is gradually getting fatigued due to the incorrect farming practices brought in from Europe.
The reasons why these practices, which have been imported from Europe, do not suit the environment of our country, is simply because of the startling differences between the land. In general, our soils are less fertile, our rainfall is extremely unreliable, and our land is relatively weathered and flat, meaning our drainage and nutrient distribution is not very similar to that of Europe's environment. This means that the farming practices brought in from Europe are not only unsuitable for our country, but instead of helping the environment to grow and prosper, it is only serving to disintegrate it.
When European farming practices were brought into Australia so many years ago, these differences were not taken into account. Due to the incorrect techniques being practiced everyday, our soil, catchments and complete biodiversity are struggling to keep up. It is also harder for farmers to keep economically sound while still meeting market demands, as the environment has already been drained. More and more fertilisers, chemicals and other inorganic substances are being introduced to try and match the deficient environment which causes even more problems. Rainforest areas were cleared by early settlers for agricultural land, causing the top fertile soil layer to be eroded quickly, loss of natural habitats for wild animals as well as water table levels and salinity levels to rise. Overall, the European farming practices brought to Australia are detrimental to the environment and are only serving to destroy it little by little.
On the other hand, the Aboriginal land management practices, although some were seemingly damaging to the environment (such as burning of forests), were very sustainable and helped the land of Australia to stay fertile. Their practices involved using “resources in such a way that they are renewed and not exhausted” [Charles Sturt University - Agriculture 2006]. In fact, their practices were so sustainable that they hardly damaged the environment at all in the 40,000 years before the Europeans settled in Australia. Their practices were reliant on their extensive knowledge of the environment, including climates, varieties of species and the physical environment around the country.
Their practices involved foraging and hunting from the land that they lived on and allowing it to regrow and renew rather then cultivating and exploiting the land that they owned (which was the European view). They believed that they were the guardians of the land and had a spiritual attachment to it, unlike the Europeans. This certain respect for the land was the reason why the Aborigines where able to keep the land sustained for many years and generations. The men hunted animals such as kangaroos, possums, ducks, snakes and more while women gathered wild fruits, nuts, berries, seeds, edible leaves, roots and plants such as native figs, Macadamia Nuts, Coolabah tree seeds (in areas of scarce rainfall), bush tomatoes, desert fig and desert yam roots just to name a few [Dept. of Environment and Heritage - Aboriginal Trail 2006].
The extremely diverse amount of food they hunted and foraged meant that no one source was overly-exploited. The Aborigine also took other measures to ensure that food sources were not destroyed and that the environment remained sustainable. These included leaving some seeds to grow, not killing young animals or females caring for young animals and leaving some eggs in the nest to hatch instead of taking them all. This was very unlike the Europeans who took whatever they could and did not think of future sustainability. Another technique that the Aborigines used, which actually helped the environment (despite initial thoughts) was the use of controlled fires to burn forests. By burning forests, they were able to drive out animals for hunting and also encourage faster regrowth of plants. It also let them walk through vegetation more easily. The Aborigines and their land management techniques made sure that the land of Australia survived without deterioration for over 40, 000 years. Their basic belief that they belonged to the land rather than the land belonging to them (as the Europeans believed) shows us how they were able to achieve their sufficient needs while keeping sustainability in the Australian environment for such a long time.
Social Aspects
The Family Farm
Family farms play a significant role in the agricultural industry of Australia. A family farm is a farm which is owned and run by the family members and passed down generation to generation. Family farms make up nearly 95% of farms in Australia, meaning nearly the whole agricultural industry is held up by family farms. As the years have gone by however, their functions have changed significantly due to social and economic demands.
Making up nearly 95% of all farms, family farms are an important part of Australian agriculture. The agricultural industry employs nearly 25% of Australia's whole workforce both directly and indirectly, and if these farms were to be lost, many people would be affected. Although these farms are of great importance, family farm numbers are starting to decline. “The number of farming families in Australia decreased by 22% between 1986 and 2001” [Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006]. Family farms are also getting bigger and bigger than before due to the families selling to neighbouring farms.
