Dan and Emily Dempster farm in the Goomalling area with Dan’s parents and his brother’s family.
The Dempster’s are committed mixed farmers. They acknowledge the many synergies gained in a mixed operation.
Dan and Emily run Karabein Poll Merino and Poll Dorset Studs and produce prime lambs aimed at the autumn market.
Merinos ewes are the core of the operation, with their top line fine wool being consistently some of the best in the Wheatbelt.
This commitment to Sheep is what convinced the Dempster’s to apply to be part of Wheatbelt NRM’s Optimising fodder options project.
Dan and Emily will be one of our demonstration farms and we will work with them to maximise the outcome from a range of ground cover options identified through a whole of farm planning process.
In the past Dan has trialled quite a few different options for summer ground cover options and has had some success with subtropical pastures, summer cropping and forage shrubs.
Dan would like to investigate how these options can be better used across the farm. It would be a bonus to come up with an option that tackles African Love Grass as well.
Dan is also keen to utilise remote sensing, such as Pastures from Space to monitor and improve winter biomass production.
If you would like to see how Dan and Emily progress their plans register your interest with Bonny Dunlop-Heague at bdunlp@wheatbeltnrm.org.au.
Photo: Vern Dempster, Dan Dempster and Project Officer Bonny Dunlop