25-Mar-2011

Rising production costs means grazing land managers in the beef industry are constantly looking for new ways to increase their productivity and profitability.

SEQ Catchments is helping to achieve this through a series of workshops for landholders which provide practical tools to increase profits in a sustainable way. Workshops will be run in Beaudesert on a number of dates during April and May this year.

Local landholders who have already completed the workshops are advocates of the benefits to their business.

"I believe all who attend these grazing workshops achieve a better understanding of pasture and property management. We have increased production and our stock condition has improved greatly", said local grazier Col Clark.

The first of the workshops focus on Property Management Planning tailored to the needs of the grazing sector. These workshops use the best available aerial imagery to help landholders design infrastructure and management strategies to increase the productivity and profitability of their enterprise. The PMP workshop will be delivered as two half day workshops on 8th April and 13th May.

The Stocktake workshop, to be held on 13th April, steps participants through the concepts of land condition and monitoring and demonstrates field assessment techniques. The workshop helps graziers determine how long their feed is going to last under current stocking levels which is a valuable tool as we head into the winter feed gap.

Grazing Land Management is a practical workshop which aims to help graziers increase their understanding of the relationships between pasture, water, soils, woodlands, biodiversity, fire and weeds.

Managers can assess the suitability of different pasture development options and determine the financial impact of a range of grazing management options. This four day workshop will be run on the 6th and 7th and 20th and 21st of May.

Ian McConnel, from the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, with over a decade of experience in the grazing industry, will be the principal deliverer of the workshops.

"Grazing Land Management is the real basis and key of managing a cattle business. The course will increase the producers ability to understand the processes involved in growing more grass and utilising that grass for beef production. By looking at the management of your land as a complete system, producers will be able to develop a management plan taking into account grazing strategies, fire, weeds, climate and environmental and economic sustainability", said Ian.