Graziers attending an upcoming Low Stress Stock Handling School at Lancewood near Glenden will learn strategies to handle stock calmly, safely and efficiently to help improve production gains and better meat quality.
The NQ Dry Tropics event, funded through the Grazing BMP project will be held at Ben and Julie Pini’s property Lancewood on June 27 and 28.
Leading educator and cattleman Jim Lindsay will guide participants through two days of hands-on activities.
Event organiser NQ Dry Tropics Grazing BMP coordinator Lisa Hutchinson said NQ Dry Tropics had run three highly-successful and oversubscribed schools in the Trible B, Upper Burdekin and Belyando regions in the past two years, and that this workshop was an opportunity for the southern part of the catchment to get in on the action.
Ms Hutchinson said the beef industry was under increasing pressure to demonstrate ethical production and sustainable practices, and workshops like low stress stock handling provided a great opportunity to influence practice change.
“Animal welfare and animal stewardship are high-profile topics, and it is always comforting for a grazier to have a piece of paper that says ‘I did this course and I am doing the right thing by my cattle’,” Ms Hutchinson said.
“While the course is all about keeping the stock in a good state of mind, low-stress stock handling shouldn't be mistaken for no stress.
“At some stage, most animals will be exposed to stress or pressure in some form, the trick is to ensure they are conditioned to deal with it.
“The concepts taught at the school are a natural progression of the Animal Production and Animal Welfare modules of the Grazing BMP,” she said.
Attendance at a Low Stress Stock Handling School has been used as evidence of ‘good cattle handling techniques’ to meet core criteria of the Grazing BMP audit.
Mr Lindsay has long been involved with large herd management in extensive areas as well as droving cattle, and in 1980 purchased his own cattle property near Hughenden in North West Queensland. He has been conducting Stock Handling Schools since the early nineties, and has trained some of the country's biggest pastoral companies.
For further information and to register for the workshop phone Lisa Hutchinson on 0427 594 192.
