GrazingFutures Livestock Business Resilience — Narratives and collaborations
GrazingFutures Livestock Business Resilience has many collaborators and partnerships. These narratives describe the relationships and shared experiences of key partners and stakeholders.
Grazing business owners get hands on with Microsoft Excel 
Livestock producers across southwest and central Queensland have been upskilling to improve their proficiency in using Excel. Excel is one of many products in the Microsoft Office suite of programs included in a standard Microsoft Office subscription. However, despite being a standard program on the computer of almost all livestock producers, its often rarely used or not used at all. This is usually due to lack of experience or training and the capabilities of Excel are often poorly understood by the user. This combined with the lack of understanding in how to use it generally means people don’t have the confidence to use this very beneficial tool. Read more about what ConnectAg are teaching: Excel for producers (PDF, 372 KB)
Cybersecurity in agriculture – are the gates locked or left ajar?
Australian livestock producers have adopted the use of technology and digital programs to boost business efficiencies and help meet the demands of the digital world. However, in doing so they are increasingly becoming aware that they have also inadvertently acquired new risks to their businesses. Cybersecurity is increasingly becoming one of the most important precautions a business needs to act on. However, this is currently a topic poorly understood by most primary producers and small business owners in rural and regional Queensland. Learn more about staying cyber-safe here: Cybersecurity in agriculture (PDF, 357 KB)
Pasture improvement at Muttaburra 
Peter Ahern of Girrahween in the Muttaburra district tells how, following the drought, the property had Mitchell Grass Downs that did not ‘come back’. Working with Desert Channels Queensland, he carried out a trial of broadcasting Mitchell Grass Seed with outstanding results. In October 2023 a field day was held at Girrawheen to share the knowledge gained through the trial with other landholders. Learn more by watching this YouTube video: The Girrawheen story
Mapping reminders eBook
Have you attended a mapping workshop but since forgotten some of the tips you were taught? This eBook from SQ Landscapes is for you! Whether you use Queensland Globe, VegMachine or FORAGE, the Mapping reminders eBook will help you. Put together through the GrazingFutures Livestock Business Resilience program, the eBook includes numerous screenshots to demonstrate how to navigate through these complex, yet helpful, online mapping programs. Download your copy today: Mapping reminders (PDF, 3 MB)
Succession planning for industry
Succession planning is not limited to property ownership; it also applies to knowledge transfer from senior extension officers to up-and-coming extension officers located in other regions. The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries acknowledges this challenge, and through GrazingFutures, is providing an opportunity for less experienced staff to travel with, and learn from, knowledgeable and respected long-term extension officers. Read how Extension Officer, Caitlyn Frazer from south west Queensland benefited from two and a half weeks travelling around north Queensland assisting workshop delivery with members of the North and Central Queensland extension teams: GrazingFutures north west Queensland educational road trip (PDF, 1.1 MB).
What we now know in preparation for the next drought
Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) staff working in the GrazingFutures and Leading Sheep projects have been collecting learnings obtained during drought from affected primary producers since the middle of 2019. This case study features the feedback provided by sheep producers located in the north, central-west and south-west regions of Queensland. The insights that have been kindly shared are inspiring and practical, many of which can be implemented immediately by anyone in the business of grazing livestock. Click here to read the Drought learnings case study (PDF, 400 KB).
Going the distance: using technology to get connected
Mobile ZOOM ROOM technology has helped overcome distance, break down barriers and reduce project costs by enabling key industry presenters to join workshops in remote communities – even presenting from their car! Reading how the GrazingFutures team have been using this technology to host events. GrazingFutures Narrative-Zoom as a extension tool (PDF, 500 KB).
Partner spotlight: Collaboration goes both ways for central region Rural Financial Counselling Services and Department of Agriculture and Fisheries teams
GrazingFutures was set up in 2016 to provide a united approach to information delivery and support to graziers in western Queensland. Since commencement, the Rural Financial Counselling Service (RFCS) has proved a crucial and active partner for the project, providing support that contributes significantly to the GrazingFutures project objectives. “Being able to refer clients to each other’s services is a key strength of this collaboration” explains GrazingFutures team member Jenny Milson. Read more about the value of the GrazingFutures : Rural Financial Counselling Services partnership: Spotlighting the value of collaboration in the RFCS and GrazingFutures partnership narrative (PDF, 300 KB).
Elements of a successful paddock walk
Paddock walks can be a fun and interactive way of bringing producers together to discuss all topics relevant to their enterprise management, particularly pasture and nutrition. In early 2021, Desert Channels Queensland (DCQ) E-Beef officer, Kate Paterson, and Leanne Hardwick, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) organised two paddock walk days through the E-Beef and GrazingFutures projects. In this GrazingFutures narrative, Leanne Hardwick, Beef Extension Officer based in Longreach, discusses the elements that made a series of paddock walks successful. Read Elements of a successful paddock walk (PDF, 650 KB).
Continuity yields results – a decade of relationship building sees landscape level results
Ten years of extension support with Eddie Maxwell, a beef producer on a family business in the McKinlay Shire, has seen reduction in stock numbers by approximately 1,000 adult equivalents, cull cows turned off earlier and recognising the value of buying good quality hay for their weaning program. Learn about the importance of developing rapport between stakeholders and organisations. Click here…
Collaboration yields results
When Anne Alison started with Southern Gulf Natural Resource Management in 2017, there was very little collaboration between agencies in north-west Queensland. In this narrative, Anne describes how the GrazingFutures project has enabled a united front between not only Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and Southern Gulf NRM, but also Queensland Rural Industry Development Authority, McKinlay Shire Council, Primary Healthcare Network and many other community organisations. To read more of Anne’s experience, click here.
Slow start to Mitchell grass
A vast area of north-west Queensland, including the northern Mitchell Grass Downs, extending into the Gulf, was damaged after a monsoon trough flooded the area in February 2019.
General consensus was that there had been a widespread Mitchell grass seedling germination event that followed, providing an opportunity for pasture recovery after a long drought. However, after the 2019 – 2020 wet season graziers have reported poor seedling survival and a slow response of the Mitchell grass to rain in many areas. These enquiries prompted local Department of Agriculture and Fisheries pasture scientists and extension staff to review Mitchell grass growth requirements. Read more about the growth requirements of Mitchell grass tussocks and the recovery of the landscape 12 months on…
Wet season spelling in the Northern Gulf — A method for restoring degraded paddocks and increasing animal productivity
Wet season spelling is the practice of removing cattle from a paddock during the growing season. It is one of the most practical and scalable tools that graziers in north Queensland have at their disposal to manage land more sustainably.
In this narrative, the GrazingFutures Team partners with the E-Beef project to discuss the implementation of wet season spelling demonstration sites including how the results will be monitored over the coming years. Read the Wet season spelling narrative (PDF, 1.5 MB).
Collaborating with Biosecurity Queensland
GrazingFutures project members and Biosecurity Queensland staff based at Longreach have been collaborating to improve efficiencies in livestock inspections, producer enquiries and disease monitoring systems. Read this case study to find out how the collaboration is conducted in north-west Queensland: Collaborating with Biosecurity Queensland (PDF, 500 KB).
Know your herd for sustainable and profitable decision making
Incorporating breeder management tools into extensive beef enterprises is essential to fine tuning an operation to ensure an efficient and sustainable business. Identifying unproductive breeders, surplus females that may suit other markets, and understanding the nutritional demands of a herd results in better grazing land management and supports proactive future planning and decisions making. Read this narrative (PDF, 241 KB) to learn more about the work Southern Gulf NRM is doing.