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: March 2018

BD group

Pasture Principles is currently recruiting for participants to join up for the 2018 course, which will be commencing in March/April 2018.

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 (Campbelltown, 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 Jason Lynch on 0459 031 311 or to view the information flyer, click here.

To register online for Pasture Principles 2018, click here.

Tools & resources

Business management

 

Tools & resources

Livestock management

Tools & resources

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