Farmers say salt project too late

Article outlines a unique research project on salinity problems in the catchment of the Wellington dam has brought strong criticisms from the Farmers' Union. Mr. Harry Whittington, the Union's senior vice-president who has been associated with salt problems on his Brookton property and with those of other farmers for many years, said that the project was 30 years too late. The joint venture research project by the CSIRO, Agriculture Department, Public Works Department and Forests Department involves clearing about 450 hectares in the catchment with extensive monitoring and measuring to see what happens under such circumstances. Scientists argue that more specific information is required for better decision-making for the management of farm and forest areas. Mr. Whittington said that the so-called experts had not changed their advice for over 30 years, saying that planting salt resistant trees and shrubs was not the answer, and that it was no wonder that farmers are hostile at the news that the project could take seven or eight years more and cost up to one million dollars. PLEASE NOTE: We are unable to provide a public view of this newspaper article as the copyright is held by the publisher of The West Australian. If you would like to obtain a copy of this newspaper article for research purposes, please ‘request a copy'. This article is part of the WISALTS (Whittington Interceptor Sustainable Agriculture Land Treatment Society Incorporated) Collection