Amber and her team of Alpacas take you on a journey towards sustainable farming

1. Leave some Nature
for the Future
Sustainable Farming
Makes Sense

2. • Sustainability is deliberately
working towards a more
desirable quality of life, whilst
remaining mindful of those in the
future.
• It is using resources today with
an eye on making sure there will
still be resources for others to
use tomorrow.

3. Hi,
I’m Amber. Hi,
I attend Cranebrook High I’m Dolce and
. School.
I am currently studying
today we are
going to take
Agriculture. you down the
road to
sustainability.

4. One of the most important topics I have studied
in agriculture is sustainability.
• Why so important you ask?
Sustainability requires serious thinking about
food production and how to enhance and
influence sustainable development in third
world countries.

5. When our farming lands become degraded, soil is
no longer able to support the production of food
and fibre.
Air and water may become polluted, which in turn
can disrupt the Earth’s natural ecology and may
endanger our plant and animal species.

6. Even if the world can
support the extra
billions of people soon
to come, without a
focus on sustainability,
the majority will be
living subsistence lives.

7. Sustainable agriculture
is the farming practices
or systems which ensure
the economy and the
community are
protected, whilst
maintaining resources
and ecosystems.

8. Sustainability involves the integrated
systems of plant and animal
production that, over the long-term,
will:
• Satisfy the human demand of food
and fibre.
• Protect and improve the natural
resource base.
• Make the most efficient use of non-
renewable and on-farm resources.
• Sustain the economics of farm
operations.
• Enhance the quality of life for
farmers and society as whole,
• Consider the needs of the
environment, society and economy.

9. Is the wise
use of our
land, water
and energy
And for
you this
means........

10. Affordable Food and
and Fibre for
nutritious Everyone

15. Cranebrook High School Agriculture was lucky enough to have a lot of
fun when we studied sustainability as part of the Archibull Prize.
The Archibull Prize is a competition set for school students. They are
provided with two life size, fibreglass bulls, which they then paint,
create a mosaic, build from, or decorate to send out a message
about a particular topic to the viewer.
Cranebrook chose the topic “farm management and sustainability.”

16. • The Archibull Prize is a six
month program.
• To ensure big ideas flow our
teachers encouraged us to
investigate and design.
• Our team came up with the
idea to incorporate our bulls
into our “District Exhibit”
display at Penrith Show.
• We took this opportunity to
practice on our bulls.

17. The topic for our Penrith Show display was
“Farm Gate to Plate”.
For the display we dressed the steers up to
look like a couple at a cafe.
One wore a beautiful pink skirt, with frills and
bow on her head.
The other wore black suit pants, glasses
and bow tie.
The school also created a huge chicken burger
and milkshake which the bulls ate and slurped.
On the left side of the bulls was a dairy farm,
where cows were being milked.
The dairy farm showed the process of milking
and steps in which milk went through to
become a milkshake for our bulls.

18. Don't know about
you cutey by I think
we look AMAZING!!

19. The proud
Cranebrook
team

20. Using the Archibulls for our
Penrith Show display was a
great experience and allowed
us to experiment and practice
with the bulls for the Archibull
competition.
Watching the positive public
reaction to our display at the
show made us realise that the
community is interested in the
art work we create.
We recognised the Archibull
Prize is a great opportunity for
us to showcase our school, our
students and our agriculture
department.

21. We collected
Once we had images of what we
finished at the hoped to achieve
Penrith Show and put together a
we started portfolio on our
designing and Archibulls.
sketching our
bulls.

22. Love it or you will turn
around one day and its gone

23. The theme for the Archibull Prize was Love it or Lose It.
So we decided our bulls would show contrasting stories about the future of
agriculture in our area
So we called Bull 1 “Sustaina-Bull” and Bull 2 “Undesira-Bull”.
The two bulls allow the viewer to see the planet how it was “meant to be” and the
planet that we have “forced it to be” by only thinking about today and not planning
for the future
Meant to be: healthy and sustainable environment.
Force to be: unhealthy and unsustainable environment.

24. Sustaina-Bull will
show a healthy and
profitable sustainable
environment which
produces nutritious
and affordable food
and fibre.
This is a place
where both
humans and
nature live
harmoniously
together.

25. Undesira-Bull will show
a degraded and arid
landscape where food
security is threatened
and the future looks
bleak for the planet.

26. Studying sustainable farming provided us with vital
information about the impacts of poor farming
practices on the environment and those which are
required to ensure our agricultural lands are
sustainable for future generations.
Understanding these issues and practices allowed us
to work together to design and create our Archibulls.

27. We studied so many things:
 Erosion  Wildlife corridors
 Compaction  Wind breaks
 Water quality  Wind farms
 Land clearing  Landfill
 Pest infestations  Damming
 Weeds, pollution  Biodiversity
 Urban sprawl  Ecosystems.
 Green manuring  Stubble Retention

28. • In order to
communicate our
messages to the
community we
studied both
sustainable and
unstainable farming
practices.
• So firstly lets talk
about sustainable
practices.

29. The use of sustainable practices will maintain and
enhance the world how it is meant to be.
A world where the human race and the world of nature
live together in peace, harmony and tranquillity.

31. Sustaina-Bull shows best
farming practice methods
like carbon smart farming.

32. • Carbon smart farmers manage their land to grow healthy
soil first and last
• The starting point is making sure your soil is always covered
with pasture.
• Plants are the key to removing excess carbon dioxide from
the air, therefore the more ground cover there is, the more
carbon will be stored in the soil( bare earth gives its carbon
up to the atmosphere.)

33. • Good pasture cover means nutrients don’t wash into
waterways , so they are healthy for livestock and the broader
community.
• Added benefits of soil that is high in carbon is it:
– Stores and holds more water.
– Is more fertile.
– Has better soil structure and less soil erosion.
– Has more wildlife and more native vegetation –because the food chain
starts in the soil.
The following slides show some examples of
Carbon farming and sustainable practices.

34. Green manuring is the method of incorporating green leafy
matter directly into the soil to:
• Increase soil fertility and improve soil structure.
• Add organic matter to soil and improve soil aeration.
• Increase nutrient levels.
• Control pest and disease.
• Restrict weeds.
• Encourage native and other wanted species.
• Increase natural soil biodiversity and biological activity.

35. Is the successive cultivation of
different crops in a specified order
on the same fields, in contrast to a
one-crop system.
It is usually a planned pattern or
sequence used to break the weed,
pest and disease cycles and to
improve the soil fertility and organic
matter.

36. Wildlife corridors allow wildlife to move between
inhabited areas. By planting local species of flora and
connecting shelterbelt corridors you can provide
animals with food, shelter and water and protection
from predators.

37. • Wind Farms use renewable energy to generate
electricity.
• They usually consist of a group of wind turbines
that spin to produce power.
• This process uses natural wind and produces no air
pollutants. Even though bird mortality has
increased the negative effects on the environment
are very minor and are much more sustainable
than coal burning.
• When we were learning about wind farms, we
found that livestock was not disturbed by wind
turbines and will happily graze in close vicinity.

38. Biodiversity
• Biodiversity is the variation
of life within a region.
• The biological diversity
among animals, plants and
other species is under
threat from land clearing,
global warming, and the
spread of invasive species.
If you wish to help support
biodiversity visit:
Helping Citizen Science Grow
in Australia

39. Hey Amber
Thanks for
creating a
bright future
for me.

40. Undesira-Bull shows a world where pollution
and degradation are adversely impacting on
the environment.

41. • Landfills
• Damming
• Poor pest
management
• Urban sprawl
• Land clearing
• Salinity
• Water pollution
• Compaction
• Erosion
• Weeds

42. Burning coal to generate electricity
causes severe environmental
problems.
Coal is full of hazardous substances
that, when burned, contaminate
the air, the land and water.
Other sources of electricity
generation, including water, wind,
and solar do not have as much
impact on the environment.

43. Land clearing is the procedure where all vegetation is removed
usually to create space for housing, paddocks for crops or
factories.
Land clearing reduces the production of food, fibres and other
products.
Erosion, sedimentation, destruction of vegetation, salinity and
loss of habitat can all be a result of land clearing.

44. Landfill is a human process that effects the sustainability of large
environments. The build up of waste effects the soil, vegetation,
habitats, waterways, ecosystems and micro-organisms.
Pests such as birds, rats, flies, rabbits and dogs are attracted to
landfill areas.
A sustainable environment is one which encourages recycling,
reusing and reducing .

45. Dams provide water to urban areas and livestock but the effect on the environment
can be devastating.
Dams reduce the flow of water in rivers and streams and often result in the death
of many aquatic species.
Although damming is efficient and useful for the distribution of water to cities and
urbanised areas, ecosystems and habitats are often ruined and the damage to
waterways can be irreversible.

46. Erosion is the process where the top soil is removed by water or wind.
Erosion can be accelerated by poor farming practices such as the clearing of
trees and ploughing which removes the pasture cover from the soil.
Bare soil also assists fertilisers to enter waterways in high rainfall events.
This can impact on the ecosystems, creating blue green algae and reducing
oxygen available to aquatic life.

47. Australia is one of the world’s most urbanized countries. More than
four-fifths of the people live in cities and towns. About 70 per cent of all
Australians live in cities of more than 100,000 people.
Only about 15 per cent of Australia’s people live in rural areas.
As Australia’s population continues to grow there will be more and more
competition for land for housing rather than growing food.
Our prime agriculture land along our eastern seaboard is being filled with
houses, factories, roads and shops.
Urban sprawl is a major concern to agricultural sustainability and food
security.

48. Feral species have an immense impact on the environment.
They destroy the farmland and reduce the production of agricultural
products.
Feral species include: rabbits, rats, mice, pigs, cats, horses, dogs and toads.
Sustainable land practices are those that promote biodiversity and provide
water, food and shelter and protection for native flora and fauna.

49. Soil compaction is the process
where the weight of heavy
machinery, constant movement of
large animals or compressing of the
soil, forces out the air and water
within the soil.
The removal of air and water
minimises the growth of plants as
there is a restricted amount of
nutrients, air and water for
survival.

50. Practices that minimise soil compaction
include:
• Reducing the number of tillage operations
• Avoiding traffic and tillage when the soil is
moist or wet.
• Reducing the compacted area by confining
as many tillage and traffic operations to the
same wheel tracks i.e. ‘controlled traffic’
farming or ‘tramline farming’.
• Cell grazing and rotating livestock.

52. The Archibull Prize
theme has been an
amazing journey on
sustainability for
Cranebrook High.
Over one hundred
pairs of hands have
helped create the
incredible bulls, lots
of big ideas were
floated and tonnes
of effort has been
put in.

53. We learnt all the little
things each person does
towards a sustainable
environment is part of a
much bigger picture that
includes maintaining
biodiversity, development
of renewable resources,
preserving ecosystems and
working together with
nature to protect it.

54. Our needs have traditionally come from nature and
we still rely on nature to support us;
• fish from the sea, rivers and lakes
• meat and milk, hides and wool from pasture land
• cereals and fibres like cotton from cropland
• timber from forests
• energy from oil and gas.
We need productive land and water to supply these
resources.

55. Sustainable agriculture will ensure that those in the
future will benefit from our environmental commitment
today.
I hope this presentation will motivate and encourage
other students to study agriculture, so that we can all
work together to build our skills and knowledge to
create a better future.
A number of images and text used in this presentation were obtained from Landlearn NSW and the web

56. Margaret Meade said
“Never doubt that a
small group of
thoughtful, committed Lets prove she
citizens can change the was right.
world; indeed, it's the
only thing that ever
has.”
And help us
create a
better future.

58. WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE SPONSORS OF THE
2010 CREAM OF THE CROP COMPETITION
PLATINUM GOLD SILVER
BRONZE