CASE STUDY

SAVING OUR SOILS Burdekin Project

Improving the reef by making Burdekin grazing properties more productive and profitable. The Saving our Soils project is funded by The Reef Trust and aims to improve local water quality. The Reef Trust is being delivered by the Australian Government, in collaboration with the Queensland Government Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. The Fitzroy Basin Association (FBA) is delivering the project across the Fitzroy Basin NRM region and NQ Dry Tropics is delivering the project in the Burdekin Dry Tropics NRM region. Working with graziers in the Burdekin region, Saving Our Soils will foster and support improved grazing systems to increase productivity and profitability of enterprises while improving the quality of water discharged to the Great Barrier Reef Lagoon.

Weetalaba Station Julie and Reid Muirhead • • • • •

65km south of Collinsville Bowen,Broken,Bogie Basin 600mm annual average rainfall 20,645ha Cattle trading enterprise

business, supplying young cattle to the export and domestic markets.

their system and maximize their profits, whilst improving land condition at Weetalaba.

They are reintroducing a small breeding operation, and running all of their cattle in a rotational grazing system to take advantage of recovery periods in paddocks.

“We love what we do, and are keen to learn any new ideas that are going to help our family into the future.”

The Muirhead family purchased Weetalaba Station in 2004. Reid and Julie have lived at Weetalaba since then, raising their four kids on the property.

With all of their kids now at boarding school, Reid and Julie are in a position to dedicate themselves more fully to their business.

They have developed Weetalaba into a predominately trade-based

They are interested in options and opportunities available to diversify

Gregory Springs

breeding operation, turning off store and slaughter cattle for domestic and export markets.

Kate and Peter Murphy • • • • •

110km SW of Greenvale Upper Burdekin Basin 740mm annual average rainfall 40,700ha Cattle breeding enterprise

Gregory Springs has been in the Murphy family since 1921. It is currently owned by Peter’s parents John and Geraldine Murphy. Peter and Kate are raising their three children at Gregory Springs. Gregory Springs as run as a

Six Mile Station Tracey and Ross Tapiolas • • • • •

15km south of Home Hill Don Basin 950mm annual average rainfall 2,250ha Cattle breeding and fattening

the breeding operation will impact future business making decisions. “Knowledge is power.”

They manage stock under a combined continuous grazing and strategic rotational spelling model as well as implementing control mating. They are excited to reintroduce the Profit Probe tool and use this to improve the efficiency and profitability of the family business. Having recently completed a KLR marketing school, they are interested to see how implementing these principles into

internal fencing, and therefore are running a continuous grazing system. They are focusing on breeding to supply young stock to local producers for growing out, with a small number sold to slaughter.

The Tapiolas family owned Sheep Camp Station until 2015, when the property was subdivided and Ross and Tracy purchased the northern section, renamed Six Mile Creek.

Whilst Six Mile Creek is a smaller block, Ross and Tracy want to learn more about the capabilities of their country, and establish good grazing and cattle management from the onset.

They run a herd of 160 breeders at Six Mile Creek. They have limited

They are keen to adopt a more intensive, rotational system

and learn from graziers already undertaking these practices. Ross and Tracy also want to develop skills to make sound herd decisions. “We have a holistic view of how Six Mile Creek will fit into our family situation, we just want to learn as much about how we need to set up and run our business to achieve this.”

Strathalbyn Station Bristow Hughes and Ureisha Tooma • • • • •

70km NW of Collinsville Bowen, Broken, Bogie Basin 700mm annual average rainfall 34,066ha Cattle breeding and fattening

The Hughes family purchased Strathalbyn Station in 2002, adding the 34,066 hectare property to the family’s agricultural portfolio. Bristow worked overseas before returning to work alongside his parents, Richard and Dyan, at their Clermont property, Wentworth Station. In 2015 Bristow and fiancee Ureisha moved to Strathalbyn. The Hughes family attended Grazing For Profit™ in 2014 and participated in a series of Holistic Management education events with NQ Dry Tropics in 2015. With a new direction in the grazing management, the Hughes are taking this opportunity to monitor and measure their operations more independently of each other to ensure the right enterprise

Jess and Jono Rich • • • • •

40km south of Ravenswood Lower Burdekin Basin 640mm annual average rainfall 27,217ha Cattle breeding and fattening

Business performance and sustainability are always at the forefront. Careful monitoring of the various management practices undertaken in building a healthier landscape, with a particular focus on diversity and pasture recovery, animal performance, and weed control will ensure we are moving towards our goal of pristine water, abundant pastures, and happy stock and people. “ We are really excited to see the capability of Strathalbyn and how much we can improve it with different grazing and management techniques. If we don’t measure it, we can’t manage it, so we want to know if we’re performing as well as we think we are.”

In 2008, the Rich family diversified their pastoral holdings when they purchased Mt Ravenswood Station.

In addition to their primary Brangus herd, in 2014 they introduced lines of Wagyu cattle to diversify their business.

Jono and Jess Rich moved north and began managing the property and are raising their three young sons.

They recognise the impact of the Wagyu bloodlines to their business, and are keen to adopt practices to track the performance of their entire herd and monitor the condition of their grazing pastures.

Mt Ravenswood is nestled between the Burdekin River and Leichhardt Range, with 35km of river frontage adjoining north of the Burdekin Dam.

Mt Ravenswood Station

mix, and firmly establish the productivity of each as separate entities.

They run a continuous graze system with a rotation of selected paddocks under a wet season spell. The Rich’s have undertaken an extensive infrastructure programme, reinstating internal fencing and water points to manage grazing pressure and control stock access to the Burdekin River.

“It has always been at the forefront of our business to implement practices that benefit both us as graziers and the environment, and we want to continue this into the future.”

The Murphy family has a long history of cattle production in the West Burdekin, with David and his family owning cattle stations in the district since 1901. David and Jo married in 1998, and have managed Clothes Peg in partnership with David’s parents Alison and Tony since. Their two children are currently at boarding school and have a strong connection and interests in living on the land.

Clothes Peg Station Jo and David Murphy • • • • •

110km SW of Greenvale Upper Burdekin Basin 700mm annual average rainfall 26,038ha Cattle breeding and fattening

The Brook Station Lynda and Darcy O’Brien • • • • •

120km west of Charters Towers Upper Burdekin Basin 650mm annual average rainfall 21,047ha Cattle breeding and fattening

Clothes Peg has traditionally run a breeding operation, turning off feeder cattle for export and domestic markets. Cull cows are sent to slaughter. Clothes Peg is under a continuous grazing system with a spelling program in place. They completed their second Grazing For Profit™ school in 2015, and they are

The O’Brien family purchased and moved to The Brook in 1983. Through succession planning, Darcy and Lynda have owned the property since 2007 and now raise their three children on the property. They participated in Holistic Management training with NQ Dry Tropics in 2015, and set about transforming their operation from rotational grazing to a higher density model. They run their herd predominantly in a single mob during the growing season and split the herd in the non-growing season. Implementation of higher density grazing with the use of smaller paddocks and electric fencing is evolving. Darcy and Lynda had followed recommended practices of

looking to adopt some key principles into their current operation. With renewed motivation and focus on the whole of Clothes Peg’s operation, David and Jo were searching for opportunities to learn more about their current grazing business and how to best shape it for future success. They particularly want to understand their business key performance indicators, what records are critical to keep and how to use these to make good business decisions. “Ultimately, we want to have a business that is as self-sufficient and labour-efficient as possible, and the knowledge that we are using the best information available to help us make good decisions.”

splitting paddocks and wet season spelling, but weren’t happy with the quality or speed of pasture regeneration. A fire in 2013 wiped out a third of their grazing pastures and was followed by three years of drought. Despite these challenges, Darcy and Lynda have enthusiastically moved into High Density grazing, and are monitoring how this new system impacts on their business, their pastures and their cattle. “Every time we go to a training course, we realise how much we do – and don’t – know. It’s all about making incremental improvements to create better business, happier people, healthier environments, and great work-life balance.”

The Lyons family partnered with four neighbouring producers to purchase the historic Wandovale Station in 1998. With the subdivision completed in 2016, Damien, Fran and their three kids have now moved to Basalt River. Basalt River has been under a continuous graze system whilst improvements and upgrades to infrastructure have been occurring.

Basalt River Station Fran and Damien Lyons • • • • •

120km NE Charters Towers Upper Burdekin Basin 625mm annual average rainfall 30,202ha Cattle breeding and fattening

Kangaroo Hills Station Norma and Dino Penna • • • • •

70 km east of Greenvale Upper Burdekin Basin 650mm annual average rainfall 63,000ha Cattle breeding enterprise

They were involved in an NQ Dry Tropics Holistic Management program in 2015, and want to integrate key elements they have learned into their business, to achieve greater pasture recovery and undertake a more detailed financial analysis of their business.

independently running Basalt River. They want to ensure their business structure suits their family, that they keep a good track of their financial position and property/stock performance, and that property development is done right the first time. “ We want to be confident that we are making the right decisions from both land management and business perspectives. We aim to achieve balance between ecological soundness, productivity and profit.”

Despite seeing a regional decline in pasture quality over the years, they are enthusiastically accepting the challenge of owning and

In 1988, Dino and Norma purchased Kangaroo Hills located atop the Seaview Range.

agricultural sector, and are keen to look at their current grazing performance.

The family moved to Kangaroo Hills, where two of their five children worked alongside Dino and Norma to build their grazing business.

They are also interested to look at their current production system and assess whether there are alternative options or changes they could make to improve finances and labour efficiencies.

They have made extensive improvements to Kangaroo Hills, managing their herd to include wet season spelling of paddocks in turn each year. The property’s terrain allows all stock water to be captured by the 85 dams installed across the property. They also have a small area set aside for growing Rhodes Grass and sorghum, which supplies the property as needed. In addition to owning Kangaroo Hills, Dino and Norma have more business interests across the

“We have a devotion to the beef industry, and for us to stay here we have to make a profit and modernise our grazing practices. Learning from the past is helping us make decisions about where we need to go in the future.”

They currently run a continuous graze system, breeding and selling store and fattened cattle. Hillsborough presents a range of challenges for Kale and Karin, as the property is over 40 km long and straddles the Leichhardt Range. To improve labour efficiency, they are interested in adopting technology to monitor waters, track livestock performance and draft sale and cull cattle easily.

Hillsborough Station Karin and Kale Robinson • • • • •

15km east of Ravenswood Lower Burdekin Basin 680mm annual average rainfall 42,573ha Cattle breeding and fattening

Kale and Karin Robinson and their three kids moved to Hillsborough Station from Winton, following the purchase of the 42,573 lease by Karin’s family in late 2015.

They are excited by the business opportunities that Hillsborough provides, with its close proximity to export and domestic markets and the potential for irrigated pastures. Since taking over Hillsborough, they have focused on property development to improve stock management, spread grazing pressure, allow over utilised country to recover and better manage stock access to permanent water.

They are also keen to improve pastures on Hillsborough by including legumes, and using machinery to spread surface water across the property. “We want to move forward in the industry. Sometimes that means opening yourself up to new ideas and learning how management practices can help us make good business decisions – both short and long term.”

Who are we? NQ Dry Tropics is an independent, not-for-profit, nongovernmental organisation that supports the Burdekin Dry Tropics community to sustainably manage its land and water. As the leading Natural Resource Management body for the 146,000km² Burdekin Dry Tropics region, NQ Dry Tropics views innovation as crucial to the future of the agriculture sector.

The Programme The NQ Dry Tropics Sustainable Agriculture programme offers information, training and support to assist agricultural producers to use best management practices for resilient landscapes and productive enterprises.

The Project The Saving our Soils project is funded by The Reef Trust and aims to improve local water quality. The Reef Trust is being delivered by the Australian Government, in collaboration with the Queensland Government Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

For more information NQ DRY TROPICS I TEL 07 4724 3544 I 12 WILLS STREET TOWNSVILLE CITY I WWW.NQDRYTROPICS.COM.AU