Cotton Grains Cattle program: Crops for Cattle

Project locations: Darwin, Katherine, Douglas Daly, Larrimah, Batchelor, Sturt Plateau, Daly Waters, Timber Creek

Project partners: NT Government (DAF) ; Surf & Turf Cattle Operations Pty Ltd (Legune Station) ; Northern Livestock Company Pty Ltd (Maryfield Station) ; National Feed Company Pty Ltd ; Northern Livestock and Agriculture Pty Ltd ; Larrakeyah Station ; Gillnockie Station ; A.A. Company Pty Ltd ; Ridley AgriProducts Pty Ltd ; Avago Station Pty Ltd ; Northern Ag & Civil Pty Ltd

Project summary and impacts

This project is part of the CRCNA’s $8 million Integrated Farming Systems – Cotton, Grains and Cattle Program across northern Australia.

Currently, low growth rates during the dry season limit cattle production in the region. This project aims to support the intensification of the northern cattle industry by integrating cropping and cattle production systems to increase weight gains during the dry season.

The project will assess the feasibility and profitability of supplementary feeding strategies using locally produced feed to improve cattle weight gain during the post-weaning dry season. The goal is to enable a higher proportion of steers being to be turned off after one post-weaning wet season and to improve heifer performance through increased pre-mating weights. These improvements are expected to have flow-on effects on re-conception rates, calving distribution, average weaning weights, and  ultimately, heifer mating weights – thereby increasing whole-of-herd productivity, especially as heifers and first-lactation cows make up more than 40% of the breeding herd.

The project will achieve this through:

1. Demonstrating improvements in dry season growth through feeding different crop products produced in northern Australia – providing foundational knowledge for the following objectives.
2. Assessing the whole-of-herd impacts of increased post-weaning dry season growth on herd structure, productivity, and profitability. This includes identifying the feed cost and cattle sale price combinations at which strategies become economically viable.
3. Evaluating the impact on methane emissions, including reductions in whole-of-life methane emissions (e.g. steers turned off a year earlier, more productive females, and fewer breeders required). The project will also explore whether these outcomes could qualify as an approved method for generating carbon credits.

The data and insights generated through this project will be used to evaluate the effectiveness and profitability of various feeding strategies , providing valuable information to northern cattle producers to support more informed feeding and investment decisions.

Additionally, the project will contribute to the sustainability of the northern cropping industry by providing a strong and enduring local market for crop-based feed products.

Publications

One page submission to the Joint AAAP & AAAS Animal Production Congress 2024: Crops for cattle — increasing the efficiency of north Australian cattle production systems through using local crops to improve dry season weight gain (PDF, 500 KB).