Julie Brown at her Ilfracombe property.
Running livestock during a drought requires tough decisions and plenty of them. Julie and Adrian Brown earnt that the hard way after eight years of drought on their property near Ilfracombe, Queensland.
The Browns run cattle and sheep across 20,000ha. During the extended dry period, they destocked twice.
"We made mistakes. From that experience, we wanted to do better for our land, our livestock and our family," Julie said.
Doing better meant upskilling and increasing their knowledge. The Browns attended several grazing and livestock management courses, including MLA's 2024 Nutrition EDGE workshop in Longreach, Queensland.
The three-day workshop covers all aspects of ruminant nutrition for sheep and cattle. This supports producers to make better decisions to help achieve their herd performance targets through improved breeder fertility, weight gains, reduced mortality, optimal use of supplements and overall management.
Taking home practical strategies
"The workshop taught us the importance of nutrition in growing healthy, well-performing animals which is critical for a profitable business," Julie said.
During the workshop, the Browns learnt the impact of feed and nutrition on all aspects of animal welfare and performance.
"Especially for weaners, we learnt nutrition is what helps them to develop a healthy rumen and establish all those good gut microorganisms. That's what will set them up for a healthy life," Julie said.
"As a result, we immediately set out to source a good quality hay, like vetch, for our weaners.
"The workshop also gave us a better understanding of the dynamics between livestock energy and protein requirements and the usefulness of dung sampling to tailor supplementation depending on the season.
"In addition, we now place more importance on putting out lick blocks for our wethers as required, which we hadn't done before."
Connect with like-minded producers
Julie, like many producers who attend workshops, found Nutrition EDGE provided much more than expert information.
"It's great to meet other producers from your region and discuss what is and isn't working. Often there will be a lot in common, and more gems to take home," Julie said.
"I was nervous to attend the workshop, thinking I would be too uninformed on the topic, but everyone was there to learn and it's nice to be in an environment with like-minded producers who want to do better for their livestock and their land.
"We came home from the workshop with the ability to make more confident and timely decisions about the nutritional and supplementation requirements of our livestock."
Julie featured in a recent video on 'What producers can expect from Nutrition EDGE'. Watch it here:
