Farmer Feature - John Gargan

Sustainable Table's Sally Fields visited with Mutchilba farmer, the larger-than-life John Gargan. He has been farming in Far North Queensland for more than 60 years!

Over the last 14 years, John has been changing things up and exploring how he can work with the environment to improve his farm. Read on to hear more about his adventures.

Farmer Fast Facts

Name: John Gargan

Location:  Mutchilba Far North Queensland

Zone: Semi-Arid Zone, 40 km west of the East Coast at 480 metres above sea level

Average rainfall:  875 mm

Running rainfall since Cyclone Jasper (13/12/23 - 23/3/24):  1353 mm

Soil type: Very poor sandy soil

What do you farm? Beef cattle and experimental syntropics

How many years have you been farming? 61 years - "It has been my primary income since I was 16 years old in 1963."

Farming & the Environment

How long have you been farming in a way that considers the environment as central to your practices?

14 years

What led you to make these changes?  How did you make these changes? What resources did you lean on to help you (courses, articles, people, etc.)?

It all started when I made a cow slurry and pond at the cattle yards. I met Hugh Lovell and he told me to add effective microbes (EM), that took the smell away from the cow slurry pond. It was like living in a house for 50 years and all of a sudden you find a door that opens up into a new universe.

We then heard about biodynamics, Linda White gave us a lovely cup of tea, she was the secretary at the time and signed us up. It's been an evolving learning curve, courses, composting, and monthly Biodynamics gatherings. Ongoing, we never stop learning.

One of the turning points was three or four years ago when I met you, Sally.  We started to measure things, to quantify whether it actually was improving or just my imagination. Our Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) was 2.5 in 2020. By 2021 it was above 7 in our experimental syntropic row. Quantitatively things have improved like hell.

What does this look like for you on your farm now? What practices have you implemented and modified?  What impact has this had? How have these practices improved your soil health and biodiversity?

Incorporating organic matter into the soil and working it in has been huge for building our topsoil. It has drastically improved.

The main principle in Biodynamics is that we are all part of the same whole. We treat our farm as if it is an entity. The plants bring in what is required, (short of zinc, though plants will germinate that will bring in zinc), cows eat those plants, and process it through their system and they give it back to the land. It's a circle. They are eating those plants because they have got the minerals in them they need and they put it back on the land - after a while, we saw certain plants disappear because they are not needed anymore, they have done their job. I have beautiful clean pastures without these particular plants in them and everything is booming.

Have you noticed any changes in your crop yields or farm resilience since transitioning to methods that consider the local environment?

Incorporating organic matter into the soil has been huge for building our topsoil.

Our CEC was less than 2. The topsoil was only an inch thick. In 12 months that went to 8 inches.  Growing a cover crop and then working it into the soil - I noticed it was comparatively more drought-resilient.  Whereas, the adjacent pasture started to dry off, which is a normal seasonal occurrence.

What challenges have you faced in adopting these practices, and how have you overcome them?

Adapt, measure, adopt.

What advice would you give to other farmers interested in transitioning to practices that centre the environment?

Try a little corner of your farm first to learn and then take those learnings and expand from there.  Don't jump in boots and all as you can come unstuck and end up leg up like a dixie chicken.

Another thing that has awakened me is that we have very poor soil and this area traditionally has very poor soil - it's a gravel pit with sandy areas, very good for making concrete. I’ve grown crops that are absolutely phenomenally good, the soil test does not support that kind of production but the production is there. In my opinion, we are harnessing energy from the cosmos.

What is your favourite food/recipe?

Lamb chops and veggies

Keen to hear more from John and Sally? Watch them talk about ground cover in this video.