Salinity fight honoured in hall of fame
Lake Grace landcare champion Michael Lloyd is the latest inductee to the Royal Agricultural Society's Hall of Fame.
Honoured by WA Governor Kerry Sanderson at a luncheon on Tuesday last week, Mr Lloyd was the 60th inductee to the hall of fame, established in 1999 to pay tribute to the men and women who have made an impact on agriculture.
Mr Lloyd was recognised for saltbush-based revegetation practices, which have led to major advances in land management across Australia.
His work to regain the productivity of salt-affected land started after watching his own wheat and sheep property at Lake Grace, named Bundilla, slowly degrade.
Mr Lloyd said he noticed the first signs of salinity in the mid 1970s, then watched his property deteriorate over 10-15 years to the point where 40 per cent of the property was affected by salinity and waterlogging.
"I was in denial, but when things got really bad, I knew I had to do something," he said.
He started planting saltbush and saw the first results after just five years.
Over the years, Mr Lloyd managed to revegetate 600ha of saltland via saltbush pastures, increasing productivity and benefiting biodiversity.
The scale of investment in saltbush-based saltland pastures at Bundilla was unique in Australia and became a case study for scientists.
