Search

The land and pasture development practices of 375 northern Australian beef properties in 8 regions were surveyed during 1996–97. These properties represented a broad cross-section of the beef industry in terms of geographical location, enterprise and herd size, and ownership structures. Both tree clearing and killing were more common in Queensland than in the Northern Territory or northern Western Australia. In all regions where trees were poisoned, native pasture was more widely used than sowing introduced grass and/or legume species. In contrast, tree clearing was most often accompanied by sowing pastures (either an introduced grass only or introduced grass and legume species together), rather than using native pastures. Central coastal Queensland had the highest use of poisoning trees for pasture development. Tree clearing and using native pasture was most important in central Queensland regions and the Maranoa South West. Sowing introduced pasture species under live trees was more commonly practiced in northern Queensland, the Northern Territory and northern Western Australia than in other regions. A considerable number of introduced grass and legume species were sown by producers. Most of the sown species were grasses. Many of the sown grass and legume species were spreading naturally. Buffel grass was spreading in all areas with < 1000 mm average annual rainfall, but most sown species were spreading only in wetter regions. Stylosanthes spp. were the most commonly spreading legume species in regions with > 500 mm average annual rainfall. The results are discussed in relation to contemporary natural resource management issues and how this may affect land and pasture development activities in the future.

During 1996 and 1997, a survey examined the business activities of 375 selected northern Australian beef producers during the 1991 and 1992 to 1995 and 1996 financial years. The producers represented a broad cross-section of the northern beef industry in terms of geographical location, size of enterprise and herd, and ownership structures. The survey examined the enterprise structures and herd productivity of the participating properties. A diverse range of production activities were carried out with breeding and finishing, of which breeding stores and live cattle export being the most common activities. About 50% of the survey properties were run in conjunction with another property, both of which tended to be located in the same survey region. The additional properties served various purposes, depending on their location. There was evidence of specialist roles for the additional properties. The purchase of store cattle tended to be an opportunistic activity with younger cattle (

Breeding herd performance and husbandry were surveyed on 375 northern Australian beef properties in 8 regions during 1996 and 1997. Mean branding rates ranged from 62.6% in the Northern Territory to 77.1% in the Maranoa South West regions of Queensland with considerable variation within regional herds. The proportion of herds using controlled mating was highest in the Central Coastal, Central Highlands and Maranoa South West. Mean mating period across all regions varied from 5.6 to 11.8 months. Calving was seasonal with peak activity in the August–December period. Calving commenced earlier in the south (August) than it did in northern regions (September–November). Rainfall influenced the timing of commencement of calving and peak calving activity. The use of pregnancy testing was widespread but selective and often not all females were pregnancy tested. About 97% of properties used weaning strategies with a peak in calf weaning in April–July, and a minor peak in September–October. Although mean weaner ages were similar across regions (5.9–6.9 months), mean weaner liveweight varied markedly with weaners in the more northern regions being lightest (200 kg. Culling criteria for cows and heifers focused on temperament, conformation and reproductive failure; age was also important for cows with a common culling age of 10 years. Bulls were more commonly culled at 7–8 years of age. In addition to age, bulls were culled for physical defects, reproductive problems, temperament and poor quality/performing calves. Four to 5 criteria were commonly used to select bulls. Structural soundness and temperament ranked highest followed by conformation, weight for age, Breedplan and colour. Producers using Breedplan tended to use structural soundness and temperament also as selection criteria. The results suggest that producers associated increasing turn-off weight or decreasing turn-off age more with pasture improvement than with bulls of higher genetic merit for growth. Supplementation of the breeding herd increased in the last half of the calendar year. Supplements containing molasses, urea, phosphate source, salt, and sulphate of ammonia were the most commonly supplied supplementary nutrients. Vaccination for botulism was quite common (>30% of regional survey groups) in all regions except Central Coastal and Maranoa South West regions of Queensland. Comparisons with previous surveys show that there have been marked improvements in breeding herd performance and management over an extended period. The results are discussed in relation to scientific developments over the last 2 decades and future development of the northern Australian beef industry.

The herd performance of 375 northern Australian beef producers during the 1991 and 1992 to 1995 and 1996 financial years was surveyed in 1996 and 1997. Estimates were made of annual liveweight gain from production systems based on native and improved pastures together with hormonal growth promotant use and supplementation practices. The most commonly used pasture communities for growing and finishing cattle were black speargrass and brigalow communities in Central Coastal Queensland and the Central Highlands; black speargrass in Northern Queensland; Mitchell grass and gidgee in Central Western and North-west Queensland; Mitchell grass in the Northern Territory and northern Western Australia regions and brigalow–softwood scrub in the Maranoa South West. There was considerable variation and overlap in the production ranges of the various pasture communities. The estimates and ranges of annual liveweight gains were comparable with measurements from scientific and commercial studies for 3 major pasture communities (black speargrass, brigalow and Mitchell grass). On this basis, the annual liveweight gain data are considered to represent sound estimates of performance from the pasture communities and husbandry systems in use in northern Australia. Mean annual gains for pasture communities in the more northern regions tended to be 90% of the supplements offered. The percentage of producers supplementing various classes of cattle varied widely (0–77%). Steers were often the least supplemented class and weaners were the most common. The highest percentage of producers (>68%) supplementing weaners was found in North-west and Northern Queensland, the Northern Territory and northern Western Australia. Significant correlations explaining 3–23% of the variance were found between annual liveweight gain and latitude and/or longitude for native black speargrass and Mitchell grass pasture communities and improved brigalow pastures. Generally, annual liveweight gain increased with increasing latitude and longitude. The results are discussed in relation to herd management practices and sources of variation in the northern Australian production environment.

Natural resource management practices were surveyed on 375 northern Australian beef properties in 8 regions during 1996–97. These producers represented a broad cross section of the beef industry in terms of geographical location, size of enterprise, and herd and ownership structures. More than 48% of producers reported land degradation (erosion, salinity, weeds, etc.) and >68% reported woody weeds on their properties. Eucalypt (Eucalyptus and Corymbia spp.) and wattle (Acacia spp.) regrowth were universally common native woody weeds. Parkinsonia (Parkinsonia aculeata) was widespread across all survey regions occurring with the greatest frequency in northern regions. A range of native and exotic woody weed species were regionally significant. Brigalow (Acacia harpophylla) regrowth was mainly reported in the central Queensland and Maranoa South West regions. Prickly acacia (Acacia nilotica) was mainly reported in central and north-west Queensland. Rubber vine (Cryptostegia grandiflora) was mainly reported in northern Queensland with a significant presence in central coastal and north-west Queensland. Infestations with multiple weed species were common. Although many producers reported the presence of problem woody weeds, only 3–29% indicated that weed management was practised. Most producers (67–100%) used fire. The intended purpose of fire varied across survey regions but fire was commonly used to reduce rank material, reduce fire risk, control woody weeds and for grazing management. Seasonal conditions and variability restricted fire use. Assessment by visual observation was a commonly used practice for determining stocking rate. Between 4–20% of producers were using visual observation combined with some form of calculation of stocking rate at the end of the growing season to determine stocking rate. A majority (>67%) of producers used some form of paddock spelling or regeneration practice. Many producers (47–89%) considered that they used conservative stocking rates. Carrying sufficient stock to meet income requirements was significantly (P66% of producers had increased the number of stock watering points, and more than 85% of producers had erected fencing. Most fencing was for new paddocks and laneways, or to replace old fences, and was not associated with new stock watering points. However, the installation of new stock watering points was associated with the creation of new paddocks. Planned future fencing focused on creating new paddocks or laneways or replacing old fences. The results are discussed in relation to contemporary natural resource management issues and the future approaches to and challenges of implementing sustainable rangeland management.

The soil seedbanks in three patch types (tall grassland, short sward and lawn) were measured in native pastures near Crows Nest, south-east Queensland in two experiments. In the first experiment, seedbanks were measured at four sites, and in the second, the variation in seedbanks during the year was measured at one site. In each experiment the size and composition of the seedbanks were determined by germinating the seeds in soil samples. In the first experiment, total seed numbers ranged from ~6000 to 12,000 per m2. There were no significant differences between sites for total seeds or for seeds of any species group except legumes which comprised only a small portion of the seedbanks. There were significant differences between patch types for total seeds and for the following species groups, medium tussock grasses, short tussock grasses, stoloniferous grasses, legumes and forbs but not large tussock grasses and sedges. Total seed numbers, and those of medium tussock grasses, stoloniferous grasses and forbs were highest in the lawn patches and lowest in the short sward patches. Legumes had higher numbers in the tall grassland patches than in other patch types. In the second experiment, there were large differences between total seed numbers at the different sample dates (January, May, September and November). Numbers were highest in January and then declined throughout the year. This pattern was largely a reflection of the changes in numbers of forb seeds, the species group with the most seeds. There were no significant differences between patch types for total seeds but there were for medium tussock grasses, stoloniferous grasses, sedges and forbs. There was no relationship between the composition of the pasture sward and the composition of the seedbank for any of the three patch types. Twenty-eight species were allocated to persistent and transient seedbank types; all seedbank types occurred in all three patch types. The major species in the seedbanks were sedges (Cyperus gracilis, C. sesquiflorus), forbs (Gamochaeta spp., Paronychia brasiliana, Daucus glochidiatus) and Eragrostis spp.