This is because excess water pushes salt up to the surface. In winter, their wet season, much waterlogging can occur if bush has been removed and natural drainage patterns have been disturbed. The Woodwards' interceptor banks are clay-sealed to hold rainfall where it falls on the slope. Waterlogging has been greatly reduced. Much work has also been done to intercept underground water flow, by deep soil drainage with slotted agricultural pipes over plastic sheeting, placed 5 to 7m underground.
Harvested water is sent to underground bores for use.
Farm We travelled next to the farm of Ron Watkins, a keynote speaker at the IPC6. In 1988 he was awarded a Churchill Fellowship. I Can Do That' Award, the only Australian recipient of the prestigious UN Global 500 Award and a UN Environment Program award winner - one of eight people selected worldwide as a success story in combating land degradation and desertification. The Watkins farm is a showcase of holistic farm planning. In 1908, the 552ha of land was selected from bush, and later Ron's mother was born in a mud hut.