Cattle & Cotton Open Day profiles nutrition trial progress

Northern pastoralists can get an update on a project using crop by-products to boost profitable, sustainable beef production at the Cattle & Cotton Open Day near Kununurra later this month.

The event at the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development’s (DPIRD’s) Frank Wise Institute of Tropical Agriculture will share the results and progress of the Cropping Enabled Cattle project.

DPIRD is leading the three-year project with co-funding from the WA Agricultural Research Collaboration, Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia (CRCNA) and the Cotton Research and Development Corporation.

The project brings together networks from DPIRD, CSIRO, Murdoch University and The University of Western Australia to strengthen linkages between cropping and cattle systems in the north.

Department research scientist Hugo Quinn said the Open Day program included a tour of DPIRD’s beef facility to examine the latest consignment of trial cattle and an opportunity to learn how their feed regime differs to the previous year’s cohort of cattle.

“In 2025, a herd of 80 Brahman cross steers were fed a basic diet of Rhodes grass hay, top dressed with dryland cotton seed from the Katherine gin,” he said.

“CSIRO research scientist James Dougherty will share the 2025 trial results at the Open Day, which includes a liveweight gain of 190 grams per head per day, together with higher feed efficiency and lower costs, as well as production implications and modelling work.

“In August this year, 69 Droughtmaster cross steers from Moola Bulla Station, Halls Creek arrived for the project, which are being fed a higher energy, protein dense diet, as the research attempts to push the previous results further.

“This new diet includes a mix of Rhodes grass-sorghum hay, corn, urea and various minerals, top-dressed with irrigated cotton seed sourced from the Kununurra gin, while the control animals’ diet will not include the additional cotton seed.

“The research collaborators will test the cattle for a range of performance measurements, including weight gain, body condition, carcase fat, behavioural traits and meat characteristics.

“The Open Day will be a great opportunity to hear more about the research outcomes and how it could inform and benefit producers’ own cattle feed programs.”

DPIRD research scientist Eli Staugas will also discuss a water quality project exploring tailwater quality in Stage 1 of the Ord River Irrigation Area, also funded by the CRCNA.

Murdoch University meat science research program researcher Khizar Hayat will present on microwave fat scanning of live cattle and temperament data.

The day will conclude with a barbecue.

The free Cattle & Cotton Open Day will be held on Wednesday, 14 October from 2pm to 4pm, at DPIRD’s Frank Wise Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Durack Drive, Kununurra.

Register for catering purposes by visiting the Humanitix website. 

Image: DPIRD research scientist Hugo Quinn will be one of the presenters at the Cattle & Cotton Open Day at the Frank Wise Institute of Tropical Agriculture on 14 October. Picture credit: Bel Carlson, CRCNA