Agriculture - Beef Industry - Northern Temperate Zone
Northern Temperate Zone
Benchmarking Rural Industries' Practices and Productivity Performance and Review of Industries' Capacity to Change
Where is beef produced in the Northern Temperate Zone?
The beef industry's Northern Temperate Zone stretches from inland of Mackay to inland of Rockhampton. Beef cattle are grazed over 6.3 million hectares of land. 4% of the pasture in this region are sown or introduced, and 96% of the pasture is native or naturalised. The following maps represent the distribution of cattle and feedlots within this region.
How much beef does the Northern Temperate Zone produce?
In 1999, the statistics on beef production in this region were:
- 1,344,926 head of grazing cattle in specialist enterprises
- 5,552,750 head of cattle in mixed or feedlot enterprises
- an average specialist producer stocking rate of 0.6 hectares/head or 1.8 head/hectare
What land and water resources are used in Australian beef production?
The Northern temperate zone experiences a tropical and subtropical climate, where pasture growth depends upon conservation of soil moisture from variable rainfall. The climate is described as hot, dry summer with cold or warm winters with mostly summer rainfall.
Enterprises in this region average approximately 11,255 hectares in size and produce beef for foreign and feedlot markets. In 1999, grazed land in the Northern Temperate Zone included:
- 2,315,036 hectares of native pastures
- 1,495,090 hectares of sown pastures
- 1,070 hectares of lucerne pastures.
Beef cattle typically graze sown pastures in this region.
What are the key characteristics of beef producers and farms in the Northern Temperate Zone and how do they compare with industry averages??
Key characteristics of beef producers and farms in this region include:
| Region Key characteristic |
Industry average | Region Average |
|---|---|---|
| Age of owner/manager | 58 years | 52 years |
| Owner/manager education and skill: - Completed university/tertiary or trade |
30% | 23% |
| - Completed 5-6 years high school | 22% | 47% |
| - Completed 1-4 years high school | 34% | 22% |
| - Primary or no schooling | 15% | 8% |
| Family members working on farm | 71 hr/wk | 135 hr/wk |
| Owner manager work on farm | 45 hr/wk | 55hr/wk |
| Number of dependent children | 0.6 | 1.1 |
| Farm cash income ($) | 43,954 | 201,751 |
| Total farm debt - June 30 ($) | 120,487 | 591,160 |
| Farm business profit ($) | - 9 033 | 120,394 |
| Total off farm income ($) | 29,858 | 19,931 |
| Owner work off farm | 6 hr/wk | 2 hr/wk |
| Area operated - June 30 | 11,688 ha | 11,255ha |
| Farm ownership/ tenure: - Freehold |
12% | 65% |
| - Long term crown lease | 85% | 35% |
| Employment of non-family labour | 9 hr/wk | 73hr/wk |
| Landcare membership | 33% | 18% |
| Length of group involvement | 6 years | 5 years |
Producers in this zone work longer hours than the industry average, have a higher cash income, larger farm debt than the industry average, positive business profit, higher off-farm income and total farm debt and operate on more freehold land. These combination of attributes suggest that the industry in this region has a capacity to implement change, but financial considerations will need to be taken into account due to high debt levels. More landcare group involvement may assist with improving adoption rates.
What environmental challenges face the beef industry in the Northern Temperate Zone?
The proportion of beef farms with significant degradation problems is shown in the chart below. Weeds have been identified as the most significant of the nine ABARE (2000) surveyed degradation forms.
What is the beef industry doing to meet these environmental challenges in the Northern Temperate Zone and across Australia?
The regional adoption and applicability of various management practices being implemented by the beef industry are illustrated in the chart below.
Codes of Practice in the Northern Temperate Zone.
The beef grazing industry does not currently have a specific code of practice, however, some guidance is provided to farmers through codes of practice for general agriculture such as that developed by the Queensland Farmer's Federation or through the PROGRAZE program.
The PROGRAZE program, jointly developed by NSW Agriculture, the Meat Research Corporation and the International Wool Secretariat, commenced in NSW in April 1994. PROGRAZE uses a series of organised courses run by state department officers and other accredited deliverers such as agricultural consultants. The courses concentrate on setting and achieving livestock and pasture production targets using skills in assessing livestock and the quality, quantity and stability of plant species within the grazing system
Research and development being undertaken/planned in the Northern Temperate Zone.
The Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for the Cattle and Beef Industry (meat quality) is a joint venture between the University of New England, CSIRO, NSW Agriculture and the Qld Department of Primary Industries. The CRC officially commenced operations in 1993 and has funding of $60 million over seven years. The Commonwealth Government and industry sponsors provide funding for the CRC operations.
The principle objectives of the CRC are:
- To develop genetic breeding technologies.
- To design novel feeding and management strategies to meet meat quality objectives in Australia's difficult environments.
- To address and resolve major constraints to intensive beef production by eliminating health and welfare concerns and reducing environmental pollution.
- To develop an understanding of economic relationships, evaluation of new technologies, and to assess broad community issues such as land and water use and long-term industry sustainability.
The CRC receives sponsorship from over 40 commercial firms from the beef production, processing and service centres. These firms provide cash or in-kind resources to facilitate research and education activities. Producers in this region participate in this program.
In addition, the CRC for the Sustainable Development of Tropical Savannas conducts research pasture and production system in the area bordered by Townsville, across the gulf and top end and over to the Kimberley. Research from this CRC investiges how the landscape works and various savanna ecosystems function. This research assists in the development of sustainable production systems in this region.
How is the Australian beef industry working with other agricultural industries to overcome some of the challenges faced by this region
Beef production systems in the Northern temperate zone do not typically form part of mixed farming systems and/or mixed farming regions. In localised areas, grain and cotton are produced in the same district. The remaining areas are predominantly beef areas. Historic natural resource management issues that have potential to impact on environmental values and beef production in this region in mixed farming areas include:
- woody weed invasion;
- containment of herbicides through spray drift and runoff mobilisation;
- soil erosion with off-site impacts; and
- vegetation management for habitat protection (eg cassowary protection).
The resolution of these issues requires ongoing research, consultation and development. The beef industry in this region has involved itself in the planning processes presently proceeding on the resolution of these and other natural resource management issues such as:
- Water quality improvement;
- Vegetation management plans.
How do these factors affect the future prospects of the industry?
The beef industry in this region is geographically spread down the central inland areas of Queensland. Production levels are marginally trending up over time.
The localised nature of agriculture of the grains and cotton industries within the region results in natural resource management issues such as pesticide movement, erosion and nutrification of waterways. The less intensive areas face environmental issues such as weed infestation and habitat loss. The management of these issues is needed in this region when the sensitivities of downstream environments are considered.
Research will need continual development, particularly in the areas of woody weeds and water erosion. Cross industry environmental effects such as:
- herbicide containment
- floodplain management
- vegetation management
occur in the intensively developed areas. The characteristics of producers in the region suggests a capacity for the region's beef producers to progressively implement the needed changes.
Further information
Link to Map maker to make a map using this information.
Link to data available for download on "A spatially consistent sub-set of agricultural statistics (AgStats) data 1982/93 to 1996/97"
"Benchmarking environmental challenges and agricultural practice - an overview" report
Link to related web sites:
- Ausmeat website
- Australian Lot Feeders Association website
- Cattle Council of Australia website
- Cooperative Research Centre for Cattle and Beef Quality website
- Meat and Livestock Australia website
- Producer Initiated Research and Development website
- CSIRO Livestock Industries website
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