Friday 29th August had us at Cooyong in Crowther for our ‘Bounding into Spring’ grazing group meet up. Cooyong is a 600 Ha mixed farming business consisting of a prime lamb operation using planned grazing management principles incorporating irrigation & fodder cropping.

Forage and fodder crops include forage sorghum, pennisetum, millet, lablab, cowpeas, soybeans, grain sorghum and maize. NSW Dept Primary Industries

Our grazing group leader Scott Hickman welcomed us to the event and introduced everyone to new recruit Tom (pictured below) who’ll be leading the charge in engaging with those looking to start their careers in this area with a particular focus on younger graziers. Do get in touch with us if this appeals to you.

Kicking off the day was District LLS vet Emilee Johnstone who not only answered all our animal health questions but also shed insights on emerging opportunities and threats from her research on animal nutrition and grazing rotations. Local Land Services have great resources online covering Ewe nutrition &Parasites.

Host Tamara Harris talked about how she and her husband set up their farming operation to work around two full-time off-farm jobs plus a young family. Good fencing & prompt maintenence was identified as an essential element of this style of farming along with technology such as remote controlled water troughs & Maia Grazing. These infrastructure & software investments have payed dividends over the recent years and reduced day-to-day management stress.

During the day we took the opportunity to share how we’d each travelled through winter before sharing our plans for spring – the result being a mood of cautious optimism albeit with the usual caveats over factors out of our control.

Finally we heard from Leonie Coleman, Senior Land Services Officer (NRM) about her Natural Capital farm planning project & how these reports are being utilised to help demystify Natural Capital Markets & guide decision making. It was also interesting to hear how individuals have used their farm’s assessment to help market the products they produce and even the property itself. Some have also found it helpful in attracting funding, securing loans to help grow their businesses & even succession planning.

After a quick cuppa we headed out to the paddocks for a poke around and check out the roots on some chickory, plantain and phalaris. These paddocks had been heavily cropped before being grazed.

Points of note from the day included:

• Look out for pulpy kidney in sheep this seasion. This can quickly become a problem when the diet changes too quickly. Maintaining rumen health is key.
• Barbers Pole is a parasite to be alert to.
• Cattle can be used to clean up a paddock and reduce parasite burden on sheep as most worms are found in the first 5cm of grass.
• Fluke could be an emerging problem in wet paddocks.
• Tamara has fenced off her dams to take the pressure off them and improve their ecological value and function.
• Supplimenting cattle with Cotton seed worked well for one of our members
• Members noticed that grass was growing faster where grazed – the Golden Hoof!
• Add Kangaroo’s to your grazing chart when grass budgeting.
• Consider your relationship with agistment early – will you do it, will you offer it. It’s a relationship business that works best if planning proceeds need.
• The Farming Forecaster App was mentioned as a useful tool for understanding soil moisture across the region.
• Cibo Labs Pasture Key was also mentioned as a useful feed budgeting and management tool.
• Confinement feeding was discussed as being ‘multi-purpose’ including in times of drought, bush fire, quaranteen for sick stock and for paddock recovery.
• Local Land Services Natural Capital Farm Report was designed to help you understand what questions to ask aggrigators and providers (such as carbon accounting & off-setting) before you sign up. It’s since been found helpful for many more elements of farm planning.

Our grazing group meet-ups are open for everyone with an interest in livestock and a passion for soil & environmental health. We’ll be holding another meet-up later in the year so watch this space or get in touch to be added to our mailing list.