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In this section you will find detailed information, including national overviews and state and regional level assessments, from the 2000-2002 National Land and Water Resources Audit theme assessments.
Agriculture - Beef Industry - Southern High Rainfall Zone
Southern High Rainfall Zone
Benchmarking Rural Industries' Practices and Productivity Performance and Review of Industries' Capacity to Change
Where is beef produced in the Southern High Rainfall Zone?
The beef industry's Southern High Rainfall Zone stretches from north of Bundaberg, east of the Dividing Range and around the eastern seaboard to South Australia. Beef cattle are grazed over 7,832,294 hectares of land, with the majority of feedlots located in the northern districts of the zone. 39% of the pasture in this zone are sown or introduced, and 61% of the pasture is native or naturalised. The following maps represent the distribution of cattle within this zone.
How much beef does the Southern High Rainfall Zone produce?
In 1999, the statistics on beef production in this region were:
- 3,809,750 head of grazing cattle in specialist enterprises
- 3,936,852 head of cattle in mixed or feedlot enterprises
- an average specialist producer stocking rate of 0.2 hectares/head or 4.2 head/hectare
What land and water resources are used in Australian beef production?
The Southern High Rainfall Zone experiences a range of climates including tropical, subtropical and Mediterranean. Pasture production depends upon conservation of soil moisture from generally variable rainfall.
Enterprises in this region are relatively smaller, and average approximately 720 hectares in size and produce beef for domestic markets
In 1999, grazed land in the Southern High Rainfall Zone included:
- 8,886,622 hectares of native pastures
- 8,621,409 hectares of sown pastures
- 142,144 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 Southern High Rainfall 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 | 59 years |
| Owner/manager education and skill: - Completed university/tertiary or trade |
30% | 37% |
| - Completed 5-6 years high school | 22% | 18% |
| - Completed 1-4 years high school | 34% | 26% |
| - Primary or no schooling | 15% | 19% |
| Family members working on farm | 71 hr/wk | 64 hr/wk |
| Owner manager work on farm | 45 hr/wk | 43 hr/wk |
| Number of dependent children | 0.6 | 0.5 |
| Farm cash income ($) | 43,954 | 25,711 |
| Total farm debt - June 30 ($) | 120,487 | 83,898 |
| Farm business profit ($) | - 9 033 | - 24,929 |
| Total off farm income ($) | 29,858 | 34,221 |
| Owner work off farm | 6 hr/wk | 7 hr/wk |
| Area operated - June 30 | 11,688 ha | 720 ha |
| Farm ownership/ tenure: - Freehold |
12% | 93% |
| - Long term crown lease | 85% | 3% |
| Employment of non-family labour | 9 hr/wk | 15 hr/wk |
| Landcare membership | 33% | 34% |
| Length of group involvement | 6 years | 6 years |
Producers in this zone work marginally less hours than the industry average, have a lower cash income, lower farm debt than the industry average, negative business profit, higher off-farm income, operate on more freehold land and have average landcare group membership levels. These combination of attributes suggest that the industry in this region has a number of constraints in capacity to implement change, and that financial considerations will need to be taken into account due to high debt levels.
What environmental challenges face the beef industry in the Southern High Rainfall Zone?
The proportion of beef farms with significant degradation problems is shown in the chart below. Weed infestation, water erosion, soil acidity and surface waterlogging 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 Southern High Rainfall 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 Southern High Rainfall 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 Southern High Rainfall 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 produced in this zone typically forms part of mixed farming systems and/or mixed farming regions. In the northern districts, sugar, dairying and horticulture are grown alongside areas supporting beef production. Southern districts generally have mixed operations with dairying, grains and horticultural industries. Historic natural resource management issues that have potential to impact on regional environmental values and beef production include:
- containment of herbicides through spray drift and runoff mobilisation;
- runoff coordination affecting erosion rates and water flow patterns;
- unknown effects of genetically modified plantings;
- rural/urban interface land use incompatibilities.
The resolution of these issues requires ongoing research and development. The beef industry in the zone has involved itself in the planning processes presently proceeding on natural resource management issues such as:
- Water Allocation Management Plan (WAMP) development;
- Salinity Action Plan responses;
- Water Quality Improvement.
How do these factors affect the future prospects of the industry?
The beef industry in the Southern High Rainfall Zone is geographically spread across southern coastal eastern catchments and the coastal areas of South Australia. The general intensive nature of agriculture and urbanisation within this zone results in natural resource management issues such as irrigation salinity, weed infestation, soil acidity and water logging being difficult to manage.
Technology and research will need continual development if the insidious nature of salinity, woody weeds and rising groundwater levels are to be checked. Cross industry environmental effects such as:
- herbicide containment
- water allocation
- runoff coordination
- salinity management
occur in the intensively developed areas. The variability in the number of producers implementing improved management practices suggests a capacity for the region's beef producers to progressively implement some change, however as landscape processes become better understood, ongoing programs to maintain change behaviour will need to occur.
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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