The potential of feeding young cattle with irrigated crops to manage supply chain challenges in north Australian beef enterprises

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

6-2025

Conference Title

XII International Rangeland Congress 2025: Working Together for our Global Rangelands Future

Place of Publication

Adelaide

ISBN

978-0-646-72121-7

Keywords

Northern Western Australia, beef enterprise, irrigated forage, finishing

Disciplines

Agricultural Science | Beef Science | Environmental Monitoring

Abstract

The northern Western Australian (WA) beef industry is characterised by a reduction in dry-season forage quality leading to weight loss in livestock and reduced market readiness. A potential solution is the use of irrigated forage to provide a reliable source of energy and protein to finish cattle before sale. The feasibility of this feeding strategy was simulated using the Crop Livestock Enterprise Model (CLEM) and compared with the baseline of the usual practice of grazing on dry native pasture. Calving oc curs during the wet season and weaning and mustering during the dry season, with a finishing scenario for castrated males (steers) based on feeding irrigated forage during the dry season. The CLEM results showed an improvement in livestock productivity under this scenario, with higher live weight (LW) at sale due to faster weight gain while fed the irrigated forage. Furthermore, selling a higher proportion of animals at an earlier age, could potentially reduce methane emissions (and thereby create a more sustainable system) or there is the possibility of diversifying the market to include animals with higher LW but at an older age. Overall, integrating cattle production with irrigated pasture/forage, presents a significant opportunity to enhance the efficiency of beef production.

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