Farm Table says:
This fact sheet delivers information to new and existing producers on beef stocking rates for properties located in the Hunter region of NSW. It covers a large range of detail from climate, soil types through to beef cattle production to ensure producers can be sustainable and more profitable.
The items covered in this article are:
• Sustainable beef cattle
• Climate
• Soils
• Pastures
• Types of beef cattle enterprises
• Carrying capacity
• Link to appendix 1 – 4
Key points were as follows:
• Beef cattle are one of the main uses of rural land in the Hunter Valley and ensuring that beef cattle enterprises are sustainable is vital. Some options to increase sustainability is better land management, aim for a specific target market, reducing operating costs and look at leasing options for land or machinery instead of buying.
• The Hunter region is classed as a sub-tropical climate with annual rainfall between 500-1100 mm.
• There is a large variation in soil types in the Hunter region and for this key reason, it is important producers understand soil types so they can stock their property based on its carrying capacity and not over stock.
• Pasture carrying capacity can alternate depending on the level of natural or introduced species and the use of the land, the main factor influencing pasture productivity is the level of phosphate in the soil.
• Common types of beef cattle enterprises in the Hunter include:
1) vealer production 2) weaner production 3) yearling production 4) EU production 5) feeder steer production 6) Jap Ox production 7) organic beef production
• Use this six step process to calculate your lands carrying capacity
• Click on the following link to access the relevant appendix below:
http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/70610/Beef-stocking-rates-and-farm-size—Hunter-region.pdf
Appendix 1: Average feed requirements (page 23)
Appendix 2: Common native and naturalised grasses – Hunter region (page 24)
Appendix 3: Common introduced perennial grasses – Hunter region (page 25-27)
Appendix 4: Land classification (page 28-29)
