Farm Management
ROUTINE CHECK THE TURNING POINT FOR CATTLE STATION Pip Houghton, Livestock Production Consultant Thomas Elder Consulting A meeting to discuss feed tactics proved to be a turning point for a West Australian cattle station. With the property in the grip of severe drought, the station’s owners had called in Thomas Elder Consultant Pip Houghton for a fresh perspective. She found difficult infrastructure was distracting managers from making the big decisions, leaving the cattle station in a precarious position. “A drought pressure-tests all your systems and soon exposes any weak points,” Ms Houghton said. “You can’t help but feel for anyone dealing with drought but it’s a lot easier for clients who have planned for all possible scenarios than those having to make tough decisions under pressure. “Identifying your thresholds prior to a drought allows a sensible and systematic response, resulting in more predictable outcomes.” Ms Houghton and TEC colleague Bruce Creek spent a day and a half with the manager on a thorough review that included the management strategy, infrastructure, animal health and welfare, genetics and the breeding program, feed on offer, sustainability, carrying capacity and efficiency.
“It was clear that managerial interventions were minimal due to other competing priorities, so we developed a strategy to achieve sustainable numbers based on the available water and vegetation,” she said. “Just maintaining water points was taking up an entire labour unit.” Progressively switching from the near-derelict windmills to solar and implementing technology such as Farmbot water point sensors drastically reduced the time spent dealing with breakdowns. TEC and the station are currently assessing the viability of installing cameras at key sites. The carefully budgeted infrastructure upgrades were part of a comprehensive management strategy to improve welfare, safety, sustainability and productivity to make the station more resilient financially. The station sits near the border of what may be considered the line of viable vs non-viable country for a cattle scenario, Ms Houghton said.
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