Weather whiplash sees farmers turning to native plantings for protection

Verena Doyle has been fielding orders from cropping and livestock farmers at markets who want her to grow native shrubs for windbreaks - a shift from the traditional single-row tree plantings that lined agricultural properties for generations. The reason is the weather is changing. 

❓What happened: Verena and Tony Doyle have run Allendale Native and Habitat Plants since 2018. 

The couple previously worked as educators, delivering programs for children about the importance of native plants and revegetation projects under The Lord of the Rings-inspired name “Entmoot”. 

During this period Verena realised it was more sustainable to grow her own plants than buy them, and Allendale Native and Habitat Plants was born. Today, the couple work with local farmers, scout camps and gardeners, providing native plants for revegetation projects. 

Gone with the wind: Verena told the Brolga that nature-inspired designs for agricultural systems and gardens have become more popular. This includes wind breaks on West Vic farms. 

Just quickly: A windbreak is defined as rows of trees planted to protect crops, shelter livestock and redirect wind velocity. 

🗣️: “You have your trees, shrubs in front of that, and smaller shrubs and ground cover in front of that again,” Verena said. “The wind is pushed up over the top of the shrubs instead of just slamming into the trees themselves.” 

This layered planting technique offers greater protection to agricultural land. Thickened windbreaks help reduce evaporation and increase moisture retention in the soil. 

• “It also helps stop land erosion,” Verena said. “Shrubs will soften how hard the rain and wind hit the soil, and it helps to stop the rain from washing away the soil. The wind is coming from the north, and you want to stop the wind from actually taking the moisture out of our soil, you need to get the wind over the trees rather than face on.” 

Verena said cropping and livestock farmers were approaching them at farmer’s markets, hoping to order plants for the next growing season. 

Between the trees: Verena said wind breaks layered with native shrubs and plants also help biodiversity. 

🗣️: “It’s not just about trees; we need to go beyond that into shrubs, like bottlebrushes, because all these things are where wildlife live. [The wildlife is] going to be there to look after the soil.” 

🌏 The bigger picture: Victorian farmers are increasingly dealing with a whiplash weather environment intensified by climate change, switching from drought one year, to flooding impacts the next. 

Victoria’s Climate Science Report states that West Vic daily rainfall extremes could increase by eight percent for every degree of global warming. The Victorian Water and Climate Initiative found that while overall rainfall has declined since the Millennium Drought, heavy rainfall events - leading to negative land impacts like flash flooding - are on the rise. 

With El Niño declared in June, the likelihood of drought in the next 12 months has increased for the entire country. Farmers are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of this extreme weather.