Take the next step

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I want to take the next step and improve my knowledge and skills in…

  • Pasture & grazing management
  • Business management
  • Livestock management

Scroll down to find out about the tools, resources and training opportunities under each of these topics.

MLA’s Profitable Grazing Systems program

Have you previously been involved in More Beef from Pastures or Making More from Sheep events or training?  MLA has a new extension program called Profitable Grazing Systems, which is focused on building skills to enable red meat producers to implement changes to their business to improve performance and sustainability.

Through Profitable Grazing Systems, you will be able develop and practice skills with small groups of like minded producers to improve business performance.

Whether you want to learn about genetics and reproduction, the value chain, feedbase or managing people and the business, specialist coaches work alongside groups to share their knowledge, skills and experience.

For more information about the Profitable Grazing Systems program, click here.

Pasture & grazing management

Training activities

Grazing management decisions are the key driver for how productive and profitable livestock businesses are. On average, producers who have upskilled in grazing management lift their return on assets managed by three to six times.  Click here to listen to the story of two producers who have recently undertaken a pasture management training course; Bruce Abblitt from Fairview Dairies at Redpa and Piers Dumaresq from Mount Ireh Estate at Longford.

Pasture Principles

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Pasture Principles is currently recruiting for participants.

The Pasture Principles course has been approved by MLA as a recognised Profitable Grazing Systems training program and this means the course cost will be discounted by $600 per business for red meat producers (full course cost of $2,500 per business, minus the MLA discount of $600 = $1900). ** Please note that the discount has a finite source of funds, and this will be allocated on a first come first serve basis. **

Depending upon interest, the courses will be located tentatively in:
  • Western northern midlands (Cressy, Longford to Meander Valley districts)
  • Eastern north midlands/Tamar (Tamar Valley, Nile and Evandale districts )
  • Central midlands (Campbell Town, Tunbridge and Ross districts)
  • South east (lower east coast and wider south east district)
  • Alternatively, if you have a group of 8+ producers located elsewhere and are keen for a course, get in touch.
The course involves two theory days to learn and understand about feedbase and livestock production and six practical sessions held approximately every 8 weeks over a 12 month period. The key areas covered in the program include:
  1. An understanding of the relationship between plant requirements, leaf emergence rates and pasture growth
  2. Plant morphology and the relationship with pasture quality, pasture quantity and plant persistence
  3. Measuring and predicting pasture growth
  4. Allocation of pasture on a dry matter basis
  5. Variations in pasture quality throughout the season
  6. The relationship between stocking rate and pasture utilisation
  7. Animal requirements for maintenance, growth, pregnancy and lactation
  8. Feed budgeting
  9. Feed planning
  10. Marginal cost and marginal revenue decisions associated with feeding livestock

For more information about Pasture Principles, contact Georgia McCarthy on 0400 763 904 or gmccarthy@macfrank.com.au or to view the information flyer, click here.

To register online for Pasture Principles 2019, click here.

Tools & resources

Business management

Training activities

MLA Business EDGE – Launceston, 28-29 May 2019

Business EDGE is a two-day, interactive financial and business management training workshop for producers, delivered by John Francis from Holmes Sackett. Business EDGE will improve knowledge and skills in financial and business management, enhancing business efficiency and profitability. The course uses case studies and practical examples, to bring meaning to the underlying principles.

Business EDGE will give participating producers the ability to analyse their business, including better understanding their profit drivers and what is needed to improve profitability; determine the financial costs and benefits of making changes; assess and manage agricultural business risk.

John has over 10 years’ experience as a business management consultant, working with agricultural enterprises throughout southern Australia. John is an engaging deliverer who is able to work at a strategic and tactical level with farm businesses to demystify the complexities of financial management and improve on-farm productivity and profitability.

For more information;

Register to attend here.

Powerful engagement for successful livestock businesses – Launceston, 19-20 June 2019

Powerful Engagement for Successful Livestock Businesses is a two-day workshop followed by a mix of individual and group-based coaching sessions and will be delivered by The Right Mind and Macquarie Franklin during 2019.

The program coaches and guides participants in improving their skills in communication, business health and delivering Excellence in Execution. Participants will build and consolidate the skills and knowledge necessary for a high performing business, as no matter the size or structure of the business, the same principle applies; people skills are fundamental to improved business productivity and performance.

Key topics covered over the course of this program are: managing conflict, understanding workplace dynamics, and setting your team up for success.  Following the workshop, participants will be provided with professional support to put their learning into action.

For more information:

To register to participate here.

Tools & resources

Livestock management

Training activities

Lifting Lamb Survival

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If the 2018 lambing season highlighted some opportunities for you to improve your ewe and lamb survival, you’re not alone. Industry-wide, reproductive efficiency has been identified as a top priority for lifting productivity, profitability and improved animal welfare standards.

Lifting Lamb Survival is a practical on-farm training program focusing on learning and applying management practices to improve lamb and ewe survival. The program runs from pre-lambing to until after marking with four separate sessions, including three workshops held at a demonstration farm, and one visit to each participant’s property.

Lifting Lamb Survival is delivered in Tasmania by Leanne Sherriff  and Georgia McCarthy from Macquarie Franklin, and a program will be delivered during the 2019 lambing season.

What you will learn:

  • Strategies to improve lamb survival and reduce ewe wastage
  • Best practice management for lambing
  • How to prepare the ewes and their lambing paddocks to enable better lambing
  • How to increase the kilograms of wool and/or lamb produced per hectare

Cost:
This course is recognised under MLA’s Profitable Grazing Systems Program and the cost to participate is $1,120 (exc. GST) per business (two people per business).

For more information about Lifting Lamb Survival:

A minimum of six business are required for a Lifting Lamb Survival group to go ahead in 2019. Groups can be delivered anywhere in Tasmania given there is enough interest.

Register here

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Tools & resources

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