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A farm designed in a geometric pattern sounds very feng shui but this planting technique is helping an Australian farmer combat erosion on his land.
Brian Fischer, whose farm is located in Southern Australia, told 3AW radio that the idea was inspired by farming techniques his own grandfather used in 1944 when a brushfire destroyed acres of land.
Recently, the land suffered other damaging brushfires and soil erosion was eminent. That's when Fischer rolled up his sleeves, channeled his grandfather, and created a geometric design that prevents fires and combats erosion. "Whichever way the wind blows it’s always at 90 degrees [to the furrows] so it can’t get started," he explained.
It took several days of ploughing but the geometric design is saving 15 cm (5.9 inches) of topsoil, Fischer says. “It’s really worked. It’s stopped [the erosion] completely. You only get one shot at doing that. If you do it and don’t get it right, if you get it wrong, you can’t go back.”
The farmer then picked up the camera and shared the stunning images of his artistic work you see here.
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