Environmental management for beef cattle
Environmental management is intrinsic to all aspects of beef cattle production in Australia, in particular grazing land management.
Resources
Resources available to help you meet your environmental management goals include a range of publications, software programs and tools. Examples of these resources are listed below. Local Landcare and natural resource groups also have valuable information, experience and contacts for your area.
Multimedia
National Livestock Methane Program
As presented at the Northern Beef Research Update Conference 2013, Tom Davison (Manager – Climate Change R&D, Meat & Livestock Australia) outlines the management and adaption of life cycle assessment and climate forecasting within the framework of the national livestock methane program. Tom’s discussion includes the research in enteric fermentation, manure, nitrous oxide emissions, soil carbon and modelling and how they align to government and industry objectives (20:16 minutes | 31 March 2014).
Fact sheets
- Native vegetation 1: Assessing the condition of remnant vegetation (PDF, 61KB), Meat & Livestock Australia
- Native vegetation 2: Improving the value of remnant vegetation (PDF, 69KB), Meat & Livestock Australia
- Native vegetation 3: Revegetating the farm (PDF, 51KB), Meat & Livestock Australia
- Increasing earthworms in pastures (PDF, 51KB), Meat & Livestock Australia
- Encouraging biodiversity benefits (PDF, 62KB), Meat & Livestock Australia
- Encouraging birds onto your farm (PDF, 53KB), Meat & Livestock Australia
- Managing soils to keep them healthy and productive (PDF, 131KB), Meat & Livestock Australia
- Cooper Creek Catchment Flood Rules of Thumb (PDF, 5MB)
- Diamantina River Catchment Flood Rules of Thumb (PDF, 654KB)
- Georgina River Catchment Flood Rules of Thumb (PDF, 676KB)
Books
- A farmer’s guide to increasing soil organic carbon under pastures (PDF, 4.8MB) – download from Department of Primary Industries New South Wales
- Rain waiter or decision maker? Managing Mitchell grass during drought (PDF, 954KB)
- Carbon capture project final report: an evaluation of the opportunity and risks of carbon offset based enterprises in the Kimberley-Pilbara region of Western Australia (PDF, 6.6MB)
- Net carbon position of the Queensland beef industry (PDF, 568KB)
- Enhancing economic input to the CQSS2 project (PDF, 4.54MB)
- Healthy rangelands: principles for sustainable systems – buy from Tropical Savannas CRC
- Healthy soils for sustainable farms (PDF, 3.3MB)
- Productivity tradeoffs and synergies for grazing lands in central Queensland to generate carbon offsets (PDF, 893KB)
- Responding to climate change in the Fitzroy Basin (PDF, 609KB)
- Soil carbon sequestration – myths and mysteries (PDF, 107KB)
- Soil conservation guidelines for Queensland – download from the Queensland Government
- Trends in natural resource management in Australia’s Monsoonal North: the beef industry (PDF, 6.9MB) – download from The Cairns Institute
- Trends in natural resource management in Australia’s Monsoonal North: the conservation economy (PDF, 7.6MB) – download from The Cairns Institute
Related links
- Grazing land management
- Pastures and forage crops
- Climate Clever Beef
- Climate change and variability, Meat & Livestock Australia
- Climate, Queensland Government
- Field crops and pastures, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries
- Native forests, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries
- The Long Paddock website
- WetlandInfo, Department of Environment and Science
- A change in climate, Australian Government
- Climate Change Research Strategy for Primary Industries (CCRSPI)
- Target 100, Meat & Livestock Australia
- Beef industry newsletters and magazines
- Workshops