Sustainable Beef Production To
Adapt To Climate Changes
Sustainable food and fibre
production is about finding
more effective ways to
produce crops, pastures and
livestock with less pests and
invasive species and counter
threats to biosecurity, while
maintaining biodiversity,
replenishing soil fertility,
reducing greenhouse gases
and minimizing our use of
water and non-renewable fuels
at all stages of the production
chain, from paddock to plate.
How do we know which
heifer is the best one?
Pedigrees
Weights
Performance
Herd recording
Estimated Breeding
Values
(EBVs)
Farmers need to adopt innovative management practices that help them reduce their
water and carbon footprints and maintain a healthy environment, while boosting
productivity and improving food safety and quality.
How to achieve Sustainable
Beef Production
 Minimise chemical use –
Use less herbicide and pesticides
to kill weeds and pests
 Reduce the amount of
water used – It takes 103 and
515 litres of water to produce a
kilogram of beef live weight in
Australia.
 Use conservation farming
methods to grow more pasture
ManagementStrategies
Improving weight gains- Growth
promotants help boost growth
rate and feed efficiency. Achieve
market weights faster less
methane into the atmosphere
(E.g. Ralgro ear implant)
• Maintaining health of cattle
• Drenches and vaccines prevent
and treat pests and diseases. This
improves productivity.
• Have highly efficient beef cattle –
cattle which have high feed
conversion rates
•
(Amount of beef being produced
compared to the amount of feed being
eaten).
– Selecting cows that emit less methane
(methane is gases from belching and
passing wind). This can be tested by
scanning a herd of cows with a laser
beam. Approximately 10% of Australia’s
total greenhouse gases comes from the
emissions of Australia’s livestock.
Invest in drones and automatic platforms
to check and monitor cattle remotely
without having to go to the paddock . The
drone is a remote controlled helicopter
with a camera. With automatic platforms
the cattle walk through the gate way and
over the automatic platforms to get to the
water source their electronic ear tags are
scanned to check all cattle are healthy and
walking to water each day. The
information is sent to a computer where it
can be analysed.
What diseases are we trying
to keep out of Australia?
 Mad cow disease
 Hendra virus
 Foot and mouth
 Rabies
 Avian influenza
These diseases are kept
out of Australia and have
been found in other
countries.
Over view of Beef
Sustainability
As caretakers of nearly half
(47 per cent) of Australia’s
landmass, cattle and sheep
farmers aim to continually
improve their land
management practices. This
is to ensure they can
continue to produce food
sustainably in a changing
environment for the world’s
growing population. By the
year 2050 we will have to
double the amount of food
which we produce.
Target 100 and Beef
Target 100 is an initiative by Australian cattle and sheep farmers,
along with the broader industry, to deliver sustainable cattle and
sheep farming by 2020. Every day cattle and sheep farmers
across Australia are doing simple things to improve their
environmental sustainability, whether it is installing solar panels,
fencing off dams to increase biodiversity on their properties or
using different stocking strategies to improve soil health and
groundcover.
For Australia’s cattle and sheep farmers sustainability isn’t only
about the environment, it’s also about good animal welfare,
contributing to their local communities, and ensuring that cattle
and sheep farming is economically viable for future generations.
Target 100 outlines 100 research, development and extension
activities covering soil, water, energy, pests and weeds,
biodiversity, emissions and animal welfare.
Target 100 is about sharing what’s going on every day of year
on cattle and sheep farms, and helping to connect the
community with how their beef and lamb is produced.
Grazing
Management
Matching stocking rates to the carrying capacity of the land is the
most important factor for success. Farmers need to regularly
adjust grazing strategies to the changing needs of the pastures
and livestock.
Some grazing strategies are:Continuous grazing on extensive areas of land, with pastures never or rarely spelled is successful where
stocking rates are conservative.
Rotational grazing gives you control over when, and for how long, a pasture will be grazed then rested. It
involves moving stock between paddocks, destocking and resting also known as spelling a paddock after use.
This allows for pasture regrowth.
Cell grazing is a form of rotational grazing, where small paddocks are heavily stocked for short periods,
followed by a long spelling. This is management-intensive, requiring extra fencing and watering points. The
livestock are moved according to the needs of the pasture. This has proven to increase pasture productivity.
Forage budgeting -inspecting paddocks and estimating standing pasture available for grazing, then adjusting
stock numbers to meet residual
yield and groundcover targets of pastures.
Supplement feeds – If pastures are insufficient for livestock needs feed extra feed i.e grain, hay or silage. This
reduces pasture intake by animals and reduces grazing pressure on the pasture, allowing a more sustainable
pasture.
Complementary feeds – these increase animal grazing of a pasture e.g when grazing older pastures or
stubbles. Provide urea and molasses to increase livestocks grazing of the pasture.
Sustainable Beef Welfare
 Whether cattle are being produced
through broad acre grazing or in intensive
feedlots, owners and managers have a
duty of care to ensure that the animals
basic needs are being met. They have a
responsibility to provide:
 sufficient food and water
 appropriate living conditions
 an opportunity for cattle to display
normal behavioral patterns
 protection from injury or disease and
treatment if required
 appropriate handling according to the
codes of practice
Beef Farming of the
Future
We live and operate in a globally interconnected and complex food system. Environmental, social, economic
and political factors influence the way food is produced, distributed and consumed. Boosting productivity,
quality and equitability is essential if we are to meet the increase in the demand for food as the world
population approaches the estimated nine billion by 2050. This year is the UN International Year of soils.
Waste products from beef production made of manure and urine; contain precious nutrients and are important
for soil conditioning. Organic materials applied in bulk can improve soil texture, promote better absorption of
moisture, reduce run-off, reverse deterioration in soil structure and prevent crusting of the soil surface.
Improved use of manure benefits crop production, which in turn provides flow-on benefits to livestock
yields and this in turn increases the income of farmers.
Healthy soils are critical for global food production. Healthy soils play a vital role in the carbon nitrogen and
water cycles, storing and filtering water, and improving resilience to floods and droughts, as well as recycling
nutrients into forms useful for agricultural purposes.
Future Farming
Strategies:•
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Increased ground cover and biochar in soils to sequester carbon from the atmosphere
Majority of farmers closely measuring and adjusting management practices using electronic software
packages i.e the stocking rate calculator and in yard data collection tools.
Less methane being produced through use of feed additives like algae extracts and Grapemarc and
selective breeding. Vaccines are being researched to reduce methane
Virtual farm tours and interactive games which promote beef as a product and portray a realistic vision to
the wider community of the journey their beef has taken before it reached their plate.
Wider adoption of nutrient cycling within beef enterprises. E.g manure and urine as pasture fertiliser.
Farming sustainably requires good information, adaptability, support networks, and passion to strive
forward even when the odds are not in your favour.
Holistic management is operating with a birds-eye perspective. It involves a comprehensive, anticipatory
design approach. In extensive grazing systems this means working with, not against, the resources within
the property boundaries and beyond.