Sustainability Loan lays foundation for water security and pasture improvement

With a QRIDA Sustainability Loan, Matt and Kristie have been able to undertake a range of property development works including upgrading water infrastructure and improving their pastures by removing lantana and rubber vine on their property, Moonkan Park, 40 kilometres west of Rockhampton.

“When we first purchased Moonkan Park in 2019 we saw there was a lot of development opportunities and that’s where the QRIDA Sustainability Loan really helped us,” Matt said.

Competing with invasive plants, pastures were running at 30 per cent capacity which encouraged them to clear some of the timber and invasive plants from the paddocks to allow more grass to grow.

“Lantana and rubber vine were taking over everything, so we removed it with mechanical means. We used a bobcat with a cutter bar on it and bulldozers,” Matt said. 

Laying poly pipe, adding extra watering points and a solar pump and installing watering tanks on Moonkan Park was part of the Lisle’s water infrastructure plans they implemented with the Sustainability Loan. 

“We’ve laid over 26km of pipe and there are over 30 troughs and we have 750 thousand litres of water storage. All of our water infrastructure and land development has been done through QRIDA’s Sustainability Loan,” Kristie said. 

Reliable water security has given the Lisles peace of mind about the future of their enterprise, giving them full use of their property. 

“It’s an awesome feeling we’ve got water all the time, everywhere we want it. We can utilise 100 per cent of the place and you’ve got that in the back of your mind that you’re safe with water and that’s the biggest commodity,” Matt said. 

Kristie said the application process was a learning curve but a beneficial process to learn more about their business. 

“To this day we still use the cashflow and livestock schedules and they have really helped us keep track of where our business sits and where our livestock position is at. We can forecast for the next couple of years and where we want to be,” she said.

Local, reliable service from someone that knows the industry well was a key element in helping the Lisles through the application process. 

“To have a local Regional Area Manager in Rockhampton was beneficial. We went in and met John [Metelli] in his office in Rockhampton and he helped us through the application. To have that sit down and one on one made a difference,” Kristie said.

“John helped us with how to apply and what we needed to apply. The application is a bit daunting but to this day we still use the cashflow and livestock schedule.”

Kristie encouraged other primary producers to ‘give it a go’ and get in touch with their local Regional Area Manager to see how QRIDA could build their beef business.

“We really appreciate QRIDA for giving us the opportunity. We wouldn’t be where we are without the funding from QRIDA.”

To find out how a Sustainability Loan could help develop your farm business, visit the Sustainability Loan page.