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Rockhampton’s got beef
Cameron Magusic
Cameron Magusic summarises the fortnight's agriculture news from around Australia
4/5/21
This week’s Beef 2021 conference in Rockhampton has a wide range of exhibits for every stakeholder in Australia’s cattle industry.
The world’s first information platform to monitor animals using satellite capability is one of many products being launched this week at the conference, according to Beef Central.
Angus Australia is hosting a panel discussion on ‘the influence of Angus genetics throughout the supply chain,’ and will highlight two producers who are using Angus genetic techniques.
Other products on display include a grazing, backgrounding and breeding management app, and new fence post technology.
Western Australia will take the lead in the national oat breeding program, the McGowan government has announced.
Taking over from the South Australian Research and Development Institute, the program will shift to the western state, which will become “a centre of excellence for oat research and development” according to a media statement.
Western Australia is Australia’s largest producer of food grade milling oats, the statement says.
West Australian agriculture and food minister Alannah MacTiernan said the program “will help farmers to diversify their products and markets, improve their productivity and profitability, and drive local jobs across regional WA.”
A new online tool will help West Australian farmers and graziers make better decisions about how to manage their land.
Landgate and the West Australian department of primary industries have built a platform that uses NASA imagery to measure seasonal land trends, Aimee Chanthadavong writes for ZDNet.
West Australian agriculture and food minister Alannah MacTiernan said all of this information can be used to decide how much to budget on feed, for example.
"This new resource will be particularly useful in dry seasons, informing crucial stock and land management decisions to best manage the condition of both the animals and the rangelands," she said.
The Queensland government has built a similar platform for that state’s farmers.
A research body funded by the federal government is telling Australian farmers to reach for the stars.
That’s the takeaway from a new report Agribusiness Australia commissioned Australian National University (ANU) to write on the potential for satellites increase farm value and productivity, Vernon Graham writes for Queensland Country Life.
Among other outcomes, the report found satellite connectivity could increase agriculture, fisheries and forestry productivity by $15.6 billion every year.
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