Grazing Forum hits the spot

From feral pig trapping, crushside cattle technology and erosion repair, to woody thickening, genome technology or dealing with rogue cattle in national parks, this year’s Cape York NRM Grazing Forum was a lively review of the latest information on all things grazing.

Up to 50 people attended the event, held on May 16 and 17, with a large contingent of presenters and experts across private, government and land management groups.

“These gatherings are always informative, but I think this turned into a real networking and social event as well,” Cape York NRM Sustainable Industries and Water Quality Manager and MC, Michael Goddard said. “We were also careful not to overload everyone with too many, or too lengthy presentations, and I think we hit the spot.”

This year also had a late change of venue to Crocodile Station following the closure of the kitchen at the Laura Rodeo Grounds, where it is usually held. 

“Roy and Karlene Shephard were fantastic, they hosted in true Cape style and also found the time to present a great demonstration on how they measure and track their cattle using Gallagher technology at their yards,” Mike said.

“The wonderful Laura Rodeo ladies brought the kitchen to Crocodile, so everyone went home a little rounder. We had beautiful music from Jasmin Inderbitzin during the evening dinner and the feedback overall from participants was excellent.”

Qld Parks and Wildlife Services and Partnerships has a new, dedicated Director for the region, and Matt Brien was keen to tackle the tricky issue of cattle roaming into national parks. He and Steve Coulson, Assistant Principal Ranger NRM and Technical Support, and Cameron Jackson, Senior Ranger Cattle and Technical Support, have been working in the Northern Parks and Forests division since March and bring a fresh approach to the problem. 

The message was clear: more communication with landholders and Traditional Owners, more support for keeping cattle out, and more opportunities and timely approvals to muster cattle from the parks before rangers take any culling measures. 

For landholders, it was good news, with long-term Cape York grazier Tom Shephard giving his tick of approval by saying he “liked the way this was going”. 

Feral pigs also featured throughout the forum with a demonstration on site from husband and wife team at GPS Tracking, Graham Schoorl and Pattie Jeffers, of the US-developed Boar Busters trap which can safely cage more than 30 animals at a time.

Biosecurity and Local Laws Manager from the Cook Shire Council Darryn Higgins, provided a presentation on his 15 years experience of trapping feral animals, with particular focus on the amount of 1080 poison to use to ensure native animals are not harmed.

Dr Heather Channon, Coordinator of the National Feral Pig Action Plan, told the forum that new methods for ground baiting were being examined and a new management plan template drafted which would provide consistency in data capture. 

“We need to monitor in a more effective way, there is no use saying how many pigs you killed, we need context on how big the problem is,” she said. “We need long-term funding to help us collaborate, share knowledge and labour, otherwise the pigs just repopulate.”

Looking at the bigger picture, AgForce CEO Mike Gurien told the forum that landholders were “on the cusp of some of the biggest opportunities we’ve had in years”, with the Federal Government putting climate change, landscapes and biodiversity top of the list.

“The Federal and State governments are [mostly] of the same colour, so we have a better chance of fundamental reforms in the industry.”

He said for the first time in a long time, AgForce, which represents 6000 members in the agricultural industry, “had been invited to the table” to discuss the Nature Repair Bill, the Vegetation Management Act 1999 and the Nature Conservation Act 1992.

The forum also heard the latest news on:

• Australia and Rangelands Fire Information (NAFI) service from Peter Jacklyn;  
• Emerging diseases in nearby countries, such as Lumpy Skin disease and African Swine Flu, from Biosecurity FNQ’s Dr Tom Couston; 
• How to tackle erosion control on a small scale from Soil Conservation Officer with the Dept of Agriculture and Fisheries Simon Hunt;
• Genome technology in cattle selection from the Qld Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation’s (QAAFI) from Harrison Lamb and James Copley.
• Technology to improve livestock performance from Gulf Savannah NRM’s Rangelands Project Officer Keerah Steel; 
• Vegetation management laws and how it relates to grazing infrastructure from Management Officer at the Qld Dept of Resources Bernadette Nicotra;
• Environment protection, training options and the use of traditional ecological knowledge from Rural Fire Service’s Chris Wegger;
• Woody thickening and how it affects the future of Golden-shouldered Parrots from Pat Webster from the Artemis Nature Fund;  
• The ins and outs of ground cover assessment from Dept of Environment and Services’ Deanna Vandenburg and her monitoring team; and 
• Financial assistance available to help improve agricultural business from Financial Manager Lynette McGuffie. 

Cape York NRM’s Coastal Ecosystems Coordinator David Preece and Michael Goddard also delivered information on the latest fire management news and woody thickening issues. 

“It is gratifying to see so many organisations willing to travel and meet with landholders to offer assistance and to touch base with people who live remotely in our region and let them know where they can get help if they need it,” Michael said. 

The 2023 Grazing Forum was delivered by Cape York NRM through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program, with support from the Australian Government’s Reef Trust, Meat and Livestock Australia and AgForce.