Starting at the Grassroots
21/11/2016
A new pilot program MLA is offering producers guidance and coaching in profitability and productivity.
The following is a summary of an MLA news article. For the full article click through to the MLA website.
Article Summary:
- A new pilot program MLA is offering producers guidance and coaching in profitability and productivity.
- Profitable Grazing Systems is being piloted with 95 producers nationally, including Sam and Cassie Bassingthwaighte.
- Sam and Cassie returned to run the 5,500ha family cattle business in SE QLD 4 years ago.
- With a new direction and young family the learning curve was steep.
- Having completed a Grazing Fundamentals course they were offered a spot in the Profitable Grazing Systems pilot with coach Jill Alexander.
- The course updated their traditional practices with modern techniques: pasture identification, feedbase stocking rates, production and business principles.
- Immediately the course showed them improvements they could make to their business consisting of Droughtmaster / Santa Gertrudis and Shorthorn/Wagyu breeders, and background Wagyu composite cattle.
- These included:
- pasture identification to determine the percentage of 3P (palatable, productive, perennial) grasses
- dung sampling to identify pasture deficiencies (which will be backed up by soil testing)
- feed budgeting to assess short-term carrying capacity
- supplementation strategies that are economically and nutritionally sound.
- Flipping the business focus from 75% breeding to predominantly backgrounding
