A grazier support program in North Queensland has kicked off their 2019 schedule by delivering pasture management tips to producers near Collinsville.
The Landholders Driving Change program has been running for about 15 months, delivered by NQ Dry Tropics to improve land management, productivity and water quality in the Bowen Broken Bogie catchment
Their 2019 schedule started with the pasture management and productivity field day held at Weetalaba Station, near Collinsville last month, with 40 producers turning out to learn more about how well-managed forage systems can contribute significantly to the profitability and sustainability of a grazing business.
Five speakers from Resource Consulting Services, the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and the cattle industry shared their knowledge.
Event organiser LDC senior grazing field officer Brendan Smith said the day had been designed to start new conversations.
"Informed business decisions leads to Improved financial sustainability, and ecological benefits, and this is important for a thriving cattle industry in the Bowen Broken Bogie catchment," he said.
"All speakers addressed these issues, and it invoked a lot of discussion with producers talking about what works, what doesn't, and throwing around ideas about what they'd like to trial on their land."
Charters Towers grazier Jane Weir of Amelia Downs urged producers to spend more time in the office working on the business.
"If you've got a pasture budget, you've got a risk mitigation tool, and that means you have options to survive the hard, dry times," she said.
Clermont grazier Peter Anderson, Glenlea Downs, said economical beef production must consider the needs of the animal and the forage plant at the same time.
"Nutrition should always be front of mind," he said.
"Do not wait until you see cattle slipping, that's too late and you end up spending a lot of time and money trying to get them back into condition."
Other training activities planned for the region this year include forage budgeting, photo monitoring sites, assessing pasture diet quality with Faecel NIRS testing, soils testing and analysis and one-on-one consultations.
Two forums were also been held in Eungella and Collinsville in March as part of the program, aimed at helping utility companies, mines, government departments and local councils come up with ideas to adopt best practice in areas in works around the region.
The catchment area has been targeted by the program due to having high rates of sediment loss compared to other sub-catchments in the Burdekin and dry tropics region.
