Hannah and Jason Simms managed Armraynald, a 214,090ha Brahman cattle breeding property in far north-western Queensland, before their recent move to Gregory Downs Station.
Armraynald is one of the research sites participating in the CRC-P study, “New Pastures to Increase Livestock Productivity in the North“.
Armraynald’s Southern Paddock was allocated to grazing weaners. Looking to improve productivity, Hannah and Jason made the decision to sow it to Progardes® Desmanthus as part of the CRC project.
Preparation:
The pasture consisted of tall rank native grasses which were burnt before the adjustabar (light disc) was used to cultivate the paddock. The Progardes® seed was broadcast by a spinner/seeder off the back of the adjustabar and rolled.
Study:
Over a 6-week period, the weight gain of 500 head of weaners was monitored.
Results:
The average live weight gain was 510g per day. The property average for a similar cohort is 330g per day.
“You’ve gotta be happy with a 50% weight increase!” says Hannah and Jason.
The Simms continue to work with Chris Gardiner (JCU) and Agrimix to develop reliable, commercial-scale establishment methods of Progardes®, to increase livestock productivity across Northern Australia.
