South Australian livestock service providers are being upskilled in applying new technologies as part of the Marshall Liberal Government's $7.5 million Red Meat and Wool Growth Program.
Wool buyers, brokers, livestock agents and consultants are being encouraged to explore the opportunities that Precision Livestock Management technology can offer to the red meat and wool sector through a series of workshops across the state.
Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development Tim Whetstone said increasing productivity across the entire supply chain is critical in growing the red meat and wool sector.
"The Marshall Liberal Government wants to support our producers to increase the number of cattle and grow the sheep flock to capitalise on strong market returns," said Minister Whetstone.
"The red meat and wool industry is South Australia's largest manufacturing employer supporting 30,000 jobs and with a total farmgate revenue of almost $2 billion in 2018-19.
"The workshops aim to improve awareness on how technologies, such as electronic identification (eID), can be used to continuously monitor farm animals and their immediate environments, and how this data can be used to make informed production decisions on-farm," said Minister Whetstone.
"Upskilling service providers in the latest on-farm technology is important as they are often the first point of call for livestock producers for advice.
"Through the workshops service providers will develop a greater understanding of the technologies available and be able to better support producers to implement technology, and data-based decision making on their properties.
"Data could be used to make decisions, such as which animals should be retained based on their past reproduction success and other production qualities including growth rate or carcass quality.
"The selection of more productive animals will lead to less mortalities and result in improved economic outcomes for the industry.
"Recent research from Meat and Livestock Australia highlighted that for every dollar invested in eID to improve breeding and selection decisions in Merino and crossbred sheep operations, the producer can see up to a $4.12 return.
"South Australia's livestock industry faces serious challenges as a result of ongoing drought and the recent bushfires, it is very timely to provide greater support to producers in the application and adoption of technology on-farm.
Data has the potential to help producers identify top performing animals and inform management decisions – which is particularly important when faced with seasonal setbacks or market variability."
The $7.5 million Red Meat and Wool Growth Program focuses on technology adoption, vital infrastructure for growth, and measures to enhance biosecurity in the red meat industry.
A key element of the program is a planned roll out of voluntary electronic individual sheep identification readers to increase traceability and improve decision-making in the sector.
For more information on the Red Meat and Wool Program including industry service provider upskilling workshops, visit www.pir.sa.gov.au/redmeatandwool.
