#Strongwomen. "I write about the power of trying, because I want to be okay with failing. I write about generosity because I battle selfishness. I write about joy because I know sorrow. I write about faith because I almost lost mine, and I know what it is to be broken and in need of redemption. I write about gratitude because I am thankful – for all of it." Kristin Armstrong
There is no denying that agriculture can have a significant and detrimental impact on the health of the Great Barrier Reef, This is a big concern for governments, landcare groups, farmers, and the public alike. More and more Queensland farmers are trying to change that and farmers whose waterways flow into the Great Barrier Reef Catchment are keen to showcase how their industries are meeting their responsibility to farm in a way that protects the Great Barrier Reef.
Today’s post is a Hats off to the students at Tambo State High School who participated in The 2015 Archibull Prize. It was clear that the health of the reef is a the forefront of these young people’s minds and they have done a great job of using music to show how farmers and they, as the engineers of the future, are protecting waterways
Sadly the distance to Tambo means art judge Wendy Taylor wont be able to meet these amazing students in person. Which is a real shame as they sure are a talented lot. Check out their blog here
This year the schools are taking the program to a whole new level
Who would have thought you could teach agriculture through dance.
Never underestimate the power of the story of the journey of the food you eat, the clothes you wear and the roof over your head
Well done Northlakes High – on behalf of farmers everywhere we salute
your
True Colours is the animation entry from Northlakes High School for the 2015 Archibull Prize.
“True Colours – Woolbaakee Weaving an Australian Woollen Dream” explores our ideas about the Australian Wool Industry, and all that we have learnt through our 2015 Archibull journey.
This year our approach to exploring our commodity, Wool was a little different. We wanted to take an abstract and artful view. We have showcased more of the exceptional talent we have at Northlakes High School.
As in our artwork, we also wanted to use the line and form created by the woollen yarn in dance conceptually and physically in this piece. We also focused heavily on the reciprocal relationship of native vegetation (expressed through Aboriginal dance and movement), grazing and Western farming methods. The fine balance and interaction between the two is one element that is key to Australia producing the highest quality woollen products and garments anywhere in the world.
There are also personal references to our Young Farming Champion, Bessie Thomas in our lyrical piece, as in our Archibull artwork as well. We thought this was an important element to include in the finished product as it is a very important part of our 2015 Archibull journey. The Australian wool industry isn’t just about farming, it is about building relationships, working together and supporting each other – symbolised through our school’s relationship with Bessie.
This certainly was a huge group effort. We are very proud of the finished product and can’t wait to share it.
Want to know more read the very powerful back story here
These days when some-one asks me to speak at, or judge something they usually request a photo and a bio
The photo part is easy but the bio gets more and more difficult. Yes I can always tailor it for the audience I am presenting to or will be meeting but I don’t even know what to call myself any more.
At the moment as I collaborate with a diverse group of people who are helping to send Young Farming Champion’s Josh Gilbert and Anika Molesworth to Paris for COP21, I am finding myself being referred to as a global campaigner for equity for farmers as we lobby the Australian government for action on climate change.
Australian Young Farmer of the Year Anika Molesworth
What does being a campaigner for equity for farmers mean for me?
It means creating awareness and getting government to ‘embrace the future’ by recognising agriculture does so much more that produce food and fibre. It creates jobs, grows wealth and vibrant, healthy and resilient rural and regional communities. This is the bright future all Australians want and deserve
It means getting our government to understand climate change is happening and it is a real threat to reliable access to safe, affordable and healthy food not only in 20 years’ time but now.
It means I fully support these comments that agriculture can play a big role in helping deliver the solution
Australia’s food production sector can make a substantial contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and moving our communities, environment and economy to a more sustainable basis. ….
Farming systems that produce their own renewable energy, and are based on sustainable agricultural practices that increase carbon storage in vegetation and soils, reduce the need for expensive nitrogen-based fertilizer, reduce soil degradation, save water, and protect our natural resource base will have win-win impacts – helping reduce the prospects of climate change to which we cannot adapt, as well as increasing the reliability, profitability and quality of our food supply.
“Feeding a Hungry Nation: Climate change, Food and Farming in Australia 2015” by Professor Lesley Hughes, Dr. Martin Rice, Professor Will Steffen
Farmers are perfectly placed to contribute to the solutions to Climate Change. Not only are they on the frontline of Climate Change already, they are innovative, resourceful and determined.
Our Australian farmers are part of a global farming community. They know they have to learn from each other’s successes and failures in order to help us all move forward. Farmers have always been focused on feeding and clothing us, and now they also in a position to POWER us as well using renewable energy technologies.
Its means that I am dedicating every spare minute I have to ensure our farmers are provided with the knowledge, the skills, the support and incentives necessary to help them feed and clothe and power us profitably
With a 2am start this morning catching up on all the things I don’t know that I need to know to be effective at what I do – bloody hell yes did I relate to this story Coal Seam Gas and Country Women #gogirlfriends
Women are very passionate and if you threaten our homes, families and livelihoods we swing into action. Clean water, air and soil are a right for every man woman and child in this beautiful country. We have a right to know how and under what conditions our food and fibre are grown. We owe that to ourselves and our children and grandchildren. The methane is still in the coal seams under the ground so the fight is not over. Sustainable energy is the way of the future. “You can’t eat coal and you can’t drink gas”. Australian agriculture has a huge job ahead feeding the world with only 6% prime agricultural land. If our precious agricultural lands are left unmined, future generations of Australian farmers will still be feeding the world in the centuries to come.
Watch some of these magnificent women here
Where does this leave all the wonderful people who work in the coal industry?
As some-one who has friends with friends who work in the coal industry its is also very important to me that there will be great jobs in clean energy technologies to keep them in work. Here is a great story about Mark Wiggins who after 20 years working in coal and hydro is a coal miner who has successfully made that transition
With the mining boom now at an end, Australia is grappling with a sharp jobs contraction in the coal, gas and resources sectors. As thousands of workers contemplate their futures, many of those in regional Australia will increasingly look to jobs in clean energy technologies to keep them in work.
Wind farms are a logical next step for workers experienced in fossil fuel power generation and that neatly describes the trajectory of AWA member, Mark Wiggins. After 20 years working in coal and hydro, Mark is now Operations Manager at Boco Rock Wind Farm, standing on the Monaro plains, 150 km south of Canberra
We all know farmers feed, clothe and house the world the question that is the key focus of my lobbying activities going forward will answer is – can they also power the world through renewables?
Working alongside me are the dedicated Young Farming Champions team at Picture You in Agriculture who also believe our farmers can help power the world. They are not alone and they have joined forces with a very powerful group (both in size and capacity) of people who vehemently share this belief
There is no denying that an poltical environment in Australia that facilitiates and encourages our farmers and their equity partners to invest in reneawble enery will provide a watershed opportunity for our farmers to not only leave a phenomenal legacy for the planet, it will also provides a new, exciting and pivtoal opportunity for farmers to significant reduce the market and prodcution inputs volitiltyand business risk that a reliable source of dual income from farmers putting energy back into the grid offers
I look forward to sharing our journey to get the Abbott government to share our vision and make it their mission to deliver the necessary incentives and policy to turn “Farmers feed and powers us” from possible into reality
This week as I attended face to face meetings and participated in conference calls from unique locations I was constantly reminded of another often unrecognized service our farmers provide
Last Wednesday saw me travel down the south coast of NSW to meet with farmers and bright minds who share my vision and I documented my journey through the following photographs
Enjoy this pictorial reminder our farmers are the unpaid park keepers of Australia.
Sunrise on my front verandah greeted me like this…….
Salute to Michael and Nicholas Strong who wake up every day committed to growing the best pasture ( and they do) the magnificent rain fed soil the landscape at Clover Hill rarely fails to deliver
Salute to the magnificent and adorable herd of record breaking “girls” our family has selected and bred over the past 40 years
On my journey I took this picture of contented bliss on the Burke family farm
My meeting with Mike Logan ( Dairy Connect) and Rob McIntosh ( Chair NSW Farmers Dairy Committee) took place in front of these scenes at the McIntosh Family farm
and then it was back home as the sun set on our gorgeous girls
Yes our farmers and Australia’s landscape are definitely worth my time. I look forward to sharing our journey to ensure Australian farmers get a fair return on their significant investment in the health, wealth and happiness of all Australians
Having spoken to a number of people who were interviewed for this article I know it was months in the writing.
What do I think about it.? I don’t know. It does raise some issues that concern me. I think the main one being does this megatrend and the FTA mean ‘foreign workers”
What it does clearly indicicate is the world finds technology very exciting except it appears when it comes to using it to help produce our food
I had a pre theatre meal in Sydney last week with a small group of non farming background people some of whom I met that night for the first time. Robotic dairies came up as part of the dinner conversation and one of the group said she was uncomfortable with the concept as from what she had seen on television robots for milking cows meant less human/animal interaction
I know where she is coming from Michael Strong always said the reason he loves to dairy is because he loves to milk cows so I can’t see any robots on the horizon for Clover Hill in his lifetime
I on the other hand never wanted to milk cows, and having been to farms where robots milk cows, I love the concept of cows wandering in to get milked voluntarily, getting their backs scratched on the way out and then wandering back to the paddock
I especially love all the data the system collects that allows farmers to spend more time focusing on cow health and less time washing udders, spraying teats and dealing with all the stress milking time invariably brings twice/three times a day
From a dairy consumer point of view – it’s an interesting article. The journalist very pointedly is it appears wanting to be seen to be giving a balanced viewpoint. – Interviews with two farmers, a Dairy Australia analyst, a couple of university experts, an animal welfare group and an animal liberationist group
It reminded me how right Josh Gilbert is in this article titled Whoever Tells the Story Wins the War.
This is part of what Josh had to say ………………….
In Australia, our agricultural industry made towns, supported and raised families and provided resources through times of struggle and conflict. Our farms became a location where dreams were realised, memories created and history shaped.
But too often we forget to share this story, the journey shaped by where we are and the lifestyle we grew up with. Too often, we surrender our love and incite fear that food will no longer be on the shelves. And too often, we fail to recognise that what we want most is equality and the same opportunities as our city peers.
Late last year I stood before agricultural rockstars and policy makers and stated that;
‘The farming narrative will be told- it is up to farmers to decide who tells that story and how it will be remembered.’
That the agricultural world that we want to portray is our responsibility and if we don’t share our story, we risk leaving it to someone else. Someone else who may not feel our love and our connection of the land, someone else who may criticise our actions, with little knowledge for why we do it.
Having spent time this week with environmental groups, faith groups and Indigenous organisations to discuss climate change, I have come to appreciate that there is great respect and support for what we do by all parties. We have people who want to listen, who are thirsty for information, but their ability to find information is limited. Our opportunity to share our story is the greatest it has been- agriculture needs to grasp it, take advantage of it and realise this potential.
Whoever tells the story wins the war- the war of opportunity and of accurate, positive stories
History is indeed written by the victors. I am looking forward to everyone being a winner in the production of safe, affordable, healthy food produced by people who care and get paid a fair return for their efforts.
Just as there is love at first sight between people, there can be love at first sight between a person and a place.
A landscape is more than a location, it is one party in a relationship – Vaclav Cílek ,
Coming from a farming family that supplies 50,000 Australians with the milk for their breakfast every day we have come to realise that farming is so much more than food and fibre production. It’s nature that sustains us and our cows. When Nature thrives we thrive..
We live in a world that is becoming more and more aware of our environmental impact and we realise that what our family love doing could damage the pristine rainforest we were surrounded by.
We see our role as a food and fibre producer and custodians of the land is to ensure the people we employ, the people we feed and Mother Nature and the animals in our care have a voice
We realise for nature to thrive we had to be prepared to evolve just like nature
As farmers whether we own or lease the land we farm on we have a responsibility to plan for the legacy we want to leave behind. Until we have a plan, a legacy is only a good intention.
For the last ten years I have been accessing funding and expertise for multiple land holders in my region to help them leave the legacy they will be proud of
Along the way I have met many people with very different ideas on what their legacy looks like and how much time and effort and personal funding they are prepared to put into it.
As I put the final touches on the latest partnership report I am seriously despairing about what the current federal government think their land stewardship legacy will look like.
I have the joy of working with people like Erin Lake as young person passionate about our landscape
The dedicated bush regeneration team
Regeneration work as part of the project
Protecting the endangered Illawarra Zieria (Zieria granulata)
.and the Illawarra Socketwood (Daphnandra johnsonii),
and filming our work to share with the world
I am with the Australian Conservation Foundation’s CEO Kelly O’Shanassy on this one and our politicians need to start acting in the interests of the people they represent.
Most Australians want to do the right thing for the environment, but we are seriously lacking in political leadership on protecting nature, life and our shared future.
There are ….local climate action groups working with councils and businesses to reduce their impact on the planet. … Landcare groups restoring creeks and replanting trees on degraded land. …. solar panels going up on rooftops all over Australia. (Did you know one in five Australian households now has solar power?)
…. we should celebrate these acts of leadership which are actively creating a better future.
If only our political leaders would follow suit. Unfortunately political inaction is holding us all back. In fact, some political decisions are driving environmental destruction.
Australia’s environment has never needed a helping hand like it does now. Yet, more than ever, our leaders are turning their backs on our natural places.
…. politicians are making decisions that go against the interests of the people. And right now across Australia decisions affecting our future are being made.
The good news is clean energy is here, ready and waiting, and other countries are deploying it at a fast and furious pace. We just need the political will in this country to move towards a clean and safe future.
At a national level we desperately need multi-partisan support for strong climate change action, after all, it will take more than one term of government and therefore more than one political party to solve climate change.
Most political leaders around the globe are getting on board the clean energy train. It makes me wonder why our Prime Minister is still on the coal train.
I think one of the most important ways to tackle Australia’s environmental challenges is to raise the voices of people in this country who love nature and who want a safe future for their family and friends. That pretty much describes all of us.
Like Kelly my aim is to make it so that our political leaders find it impossible to ignore these concerns.
Surely they can see the management decisions they make now will have impacts far into the future. Surely they care. I look forward to them showing me they do
Want to join me and take a stand and Keep Australia Great Sign the petition here
From the requests I am getting more it appears my area of expertise is answering the question
‘how can we attract, retain and empower high calibre people into Ag to foster innovation?.’
Answering the question is a lot easier that agriculture realises and it starts with recognising agriculture can be a phenomenal space to be in
When Nick Hovey first applied to be a Young Farming Champion representing the Sheep and Cattle Industry I did some research into his employers. How exciting would it be to work for the Wright Family at Coota Park at Woodstock – the whole mindset behind their business is just so innovative. I love the way they think, what they do and how they share it and I love the way they identify young people and nurture them.
Reprinting Nick’s blog for Art4AgricultureChat found here
This is Nick’s story ……….
Beef cattle and working dogs: It isn’t often that I’m not talking about either one of these two topics. Or in general…Agriculture and farming.
A David and Goliath moment if I ever saw one
Growing up in three capital cities my ‘fate’ didn’t look like I would end up on a farm. My ‘want’ to be a farmer began at a very early age when my family would make a once yearly road-trip to Gulargambone NSW. Why Gular?? Mum’s sister and her husband lived on a sheep/wheat property there. Uncle Phil took my brother and I everywhere with him for the week that we were there; whether it was simply moving mobs, shearing, drenching or lamb marking, we were always there.
I am the youngest of three children and the only one who ended up on the land. My schooling years were spent in Adelaide, Melbourne and then finally settled in Sydney where my primary school years were spent bragging about our visits to ‘my uncle’s farm’. High school was interesting for me as I went to Saint Ignatius College, Riverview. There were 250 students in my year, of which some were boarders from farming families. I spent some holidays on mate’s properties and we helped out with some of the mustering duties. It was in year nine at Riverview that I was introduced to the Ag program and show cattle. For the next four years I spent plenty of afternoons (when I wasn’t at footy training) down at the Ag plot preparing steers for various shows.
Nick Hovey combining a love of the land, cattle and dos to live the dream
Inspired by being part of the school cattle show team my passion for the sheep industry suddenly shifted to beef cattle. Through the show program I met many people and was fortunate enough to be taken under their wing. After leaving school, I decided to take six months off study before starting at the University of Western Sydney. After the first six to eight weeks of uni I just wasn’t enjoying it and still wanted to be a grass roots farmer. Alistair McLaren saw this and took me in, gave me a job on the Angus stud that he managed and guided me in the right direction. It was then that I managed to finally get my first working dog.
Somehow in the year of 2011 I managed to wrangle two jobs (Tobruk Sheep Station and Sweven Angus) along with TAFE at Richmond. Tobruk was a great experience, which gave me the ability to hone my public speaking in front of what were mainly Japanese, Chinese or Korean tourists whilst doing something that I really enjoyed. It gave me the opportunity to get my Kelpie dog working in the yards, learn to shear and also teach people how to crack a whip and throw the odd boomerang. The days at Tobruk were rewarding, Sweven were challenging and TAFE started to give me a step up.
The progression onto a large sheep breeding operation in the Goulburn district was a challenge. I was still seen as that ‘city kid’ and many people didn’t think that I could do it. However, I am grateful for the time that I had both there and then in Illabo on a mixed enterprise in 2012 that my bosses had the faith in me. I will never forget the night in the Illabo pub where I was told ‘well, from the city you must be not much chop eh?’. It is the paradigm of thought such as this that has helped me to strive to be the best that I can possibly be.
I still loved the idea of showing cattle at Sydney Royal, however 2012 was my final year and I haven’t looked back. At the beginning of my employment at the Chudleigh’s property in Frogmore it was very clear that I would not be allowed to show cattle at the Sydney due to shearing. By that stage I had completed a Holistic Management course, which really opened up my eyes to using the ‘tools’ of our trade in a different manner. The idea of regenerative agriculture and the ability to capture and store carbon in the soil through the use of planned grazing management and recovery periods has really appealed to me.
It feels like I have packed a lot into the five and a half years since leaving school, however I have appreciated the opportunities and experience that have been put to me and have tried not to let one pass me up. I now feel like I have found my niche with my position as the Assistant Manager at Coota Park Blue-E.
Nick Hovey Assistant Farm Manger at Coota Park Blue-E
We currently have 600 breeding females, growing out our steers to feedlot weight and joining all our heifers.
Measuring Feed Conversion efficiency is the measuring the ability of cattle to turn grass in beef ( or milk) as efficiently as they possibly can. We are currently running two tests per year in the purpose built facility that has 48 individual pens. For a period of 91 days (21 of which are allow for the bull calves to adjust to the ration) we have bulls in the pens. Feed is weighed into each bull’s feed tub and what isn’t eaten is weighed at the end of each week. Every fortnight, the bulls are weighed and then put into new pens. I love this because the methane emitted from a cow, bull, steer or heifer is directly related to the amount of feed eaten. So beyond the fact that cattle that are highly efficient grass converters require less feed for the same weight gain they also have a smaller footprint on the planet
I am also very passionate about my team of working dogs, they have the brains and ability to get to cattle in the hills that the motorbikes are physically not capable.
Taking my dogs to working cattle dog trials has become a hobby of mine, which means that my best mates aren’t only with me at work, they are there for play too. I’ll tell you an important thing to remember – your dogs will always listen, you can tell them anything and be confident that they wont blurt it out to anybody else.
So if you see me around, chances are dogs and cattle will come up in conversation. But I am always open to new ideas and conversations.
We give our cattle the best environmentally friendly life experience we can and we are proud to know that when they go of to be processed we are part of the team of Australian beef farmers who supply 6 billion protein meals to the world each year
BTW if you want to know more about the science around feed conversion efficiency and breeding cattle fit for purpose that have a lower environmental impact. You can find a paper written by Coota Park principal Jon Wright given at the Grasslands Conference here
One should never underestimate the power of the quiet achiever to pose the courageous questions and drive the direction of conversations the world needs to have
Everywhere I go Australian agriculture’s most admired quiet achiever Marian MacDonald keeps popping up doing what she does so well – Envisioning the future we all want to have, sowing the seeds of change and empowering the movement in Australian agriculture
Photo Source
Last weekend I was lent a copy of Bill Hampel’s ‘Against the Grain’ and was not surprised to see Marian’s story on Page 39 featured along with 14 other inspiring Australian farmers
“a love of nature and farming and a thirst for knowledge’ drives this little pocket rocket
“There is a refreshing honesty about this life, everything you do makes a difference. The joy of being outside with the animals is something that I can’t put into words. It’s where I really feel at home”
Read her latest blog and you too will see why people like Marian as so important and why they are celebrated
I must admit I have never figured out why 6% of the Australian population are so hell bent on debating whether climate change is real or not.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
After all if 97 engineers said the Sydney Harbor bridge was going to fall down and 3 engineers said it wasn’t would you drive you and your family across it?
I came across this fantastic document today titled A Tool Kit … for assisting Australia’s country towns and communities with understanding and addressing longer-term climate change impacts found here and I couldn’t agree more with the conclusion
The key message of this Tool Kit is that planning is needed to prepare for the climate of the future. Regardless of your views on the certainty of climate change, it is clear that actions taken to adapt to the weather conditions of the future can only work to the benefit of local communities. Importantly, communities need to take responsibility for their own future. Government policies and strategies will not ensure the future of any country town if the residents and businesses do not mobilise to action. Change is an inescapable feature of life in Australia’s country towns, and climate change adds another dimension of complexity to an already fast moving environment. The critical question is: will the community act to take advantage of the opportunities that may appear on the horizon – the farming of carbon credits, the development of new industries, and introduction of new, more water efficient, crops – or will they wait to act in the hope of a return to the past?
Rural and regional Australia is full of towns that have died because they could not, or would not, adapt. Australia’s regions are known for their resilience and innovation – these are the resources that can ensure the wellbeing of country towns across Australia for the coming generations.
Yes there is a 1 in 100,000 chance the scientists are wrong. Do we seriously want to take the chance?
The majority of farmers have stopped talking about the cause and are getting on with finding the solutions and wow are they leading by example
NSW Farmers Young Farmer Council Chair Josh Gilbert on ABC Rural. Source
What we need now is a serious rethink on policy on renewables. Visit here for more information
Reducing the impact of climate change on all of us is an area where Australian farmers have the opportunity to be a game changer and help secure Australia’s future. The possibilities for our farmers in this space are endless and the way forward is to do it together
Its time to move the conversation forward and put Australia on the road to health, wealth and happiness with our farmers leading the way
and how wonderful is the philosophy behind this concept
In the words of Mark Howden “Adaptation changing what we do to get what we want’
I am writing this blog post to debunk a lot of the inaccuracies and misconceptions that appear on the internet about livestock production. *See my level and expertise to do this at the bottom of the post
Let’s put a few things up front
All food and fibre production has an environmental footprint. Domestic livestock (as opposed to pets) are bred for purpose and that purpose it to provide high quality healthy protein for human consumption with a low environmental impact.
It is absolute rubbish to say ruminant livestock are not ‘evolved to eat grains’ after all a grain is part of a plant. It’s like saying humans are not evolved to eat grains. What humans are not evolved to do is eat grass and this is what cows do very well.
The role of the farmer is to ensure his/her livestock has as low an impact on the planet as possible and to give their livestock the best whole of life experience they can
One of the ways farmers are able to reduce their livestock’s environmental footprint is to breed cattle that have genes that ensure they can turn what they eat into protein for human consumption as efficiently as they can. That means less grass per cow eaten per kg of meat produced. Beef cattle in this country produce 15% more beef per animal than they did 30 years ago. This means they have also reduced their greenhouse gas emissions by 15% – Well done cattle (and farmers)
Cattle are ruminants and this digestive process allows them to break down the cellulose content of the grass, which then allows them to take grass through a process that turns it into meat (or milk)
To do this they have little bugs in their stomachs which break down the food. These bugs produce methane which is quite a significant greenhouse gas (25 x more powerful than Carbon Dioxide). The better quality the grass the less work the bugs have to do and the less methane they produce
So smart farmers grow high quality grass which is better for their cows and better for the environment. Feeding cows grain which is much easier for cows to digest than grass obviously means the bugs in the cows stomach do less work and hence produce less methane. All good stuff
There is no denying grain feeding means in farmer lingo cows have a “hot” diet and this means too much grain can make the stomach a bit too hot for the bugs and they die. Not good for cows or bugs so both cattle ( and bugs) are introduced to grain feeding slowly to allow them to adapt just the same as when they are moved from poor quality grass to higher quality grass
Its also important to note cows on a grain fed diet aren’t exactly on a fully grain fed diet. Their ration is a mixture of feed stuffs that includes lots of high quality fibre like hay and silage to ensure the cow’s stomach environment is conducive for bug survival. The other thing to note is cows spend most of their lives eating grass. The grain feeding is just a finishing process
Because cows on a grain fed diet grow quicker they can be processed quicker and this is better for the environment from a whole of life methane output perspective. Lots more info at the bottom of the page**
But let’s not get too carried away about methane – both systems are environmentally sustainable in their own way, and the choice between the two types of beef (Grass and Grain) is purely based on taste personal preference
At AGvision this week thanks to Kylie Schuller an expert in this space I had the opportunity to get a clearer understanding and have a taste test. The eating quality characteristics of meat (texture, juiciness, flavour) are indeed entirely dependent on the feed that the cattle eat.
Kylie Schuller from Andrews Meat giving students the low down on grass fed vs grain fed with Sally Strelitz Marketing and Communications Officer University of New England
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Students at AGvision do the taste test – Grain Fed vs Grass Fed
What is marbling
The take home message from all of this is
A balanced diet containing red meat as a nutritious protein is good for you
My expertise
I have been in agriculture for close to sixty years. In the main ensuring cows can produce safe, affordable and nutritious milk. I also spent 20 years on a mixed farm that grew crops and produced lamb and beef
I am not a scientist but have completed a ‘high level’ science and medical degree
Grain fed facts
Cattle are considered grain fed if they have been on a grain based ration for at least 60 days for a male and 70 days for a female. To be classified as grain fed, cattle must also be sourced from a feedlot that is accredited by the National Feedlot Accreditation Scheme and audited by AUSMEAT.
Depending on the market requirements cattle are generally entered into a feedlot at around 12 months of age, and fed for a specified period of time. They fed a variety of grains (e.g. wheat, barley, and sorghum), roughages (hay, straw) and bi-products (brewers grain, cornflakes) in a ration that is formulated by a nutritionist to ensure the animals are receiving optimal amounts of protein, energy, vitamins and minerals for their stage of growth and development.
Grain feeding greatly increases the ability to produce a consistent product in terms of yield, quality and supply:
Marbling is greatly increased in grain fed cattle due to specialised nutrition
Grain feeding helps to even out inconsistencies in supply caused by Australia’s volatile environment.
Grain fed beef is often described as having a buttery flavour
Key Ideas surrounding Grain Fed beef:
Grain fed cattle produce 38% less CO2 per kg of beef than grass fed cattle
Grain fed cattle spend majority of their life in a paddock
The feedlot industry represents around 2% of the Australian cattle herd at any one point in time.
Higher incidence of marbling, which means higher levels of good cholesterol.
Like the grass fed industry the Australian feedlot industry is predominantly owned and run by families. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) confirms that 98% of feedlots are Australian owned and that 91% of farms are owned by families.
Grass Fed Beef:
Grass fed cattle live and survive solely on pastures for their entire lives. Grass contains a pigment called “carotene” which is absorbed into animal fat giving it a distinctive yellow hue. Due to the variation in grasses eaten, grass fed beef is often described as having a complex beef flavour.
The ability to produce high quality beef off of grass is entirely dependent on the environment. If grass is in limited supply or of low quality (due to extreme heat, lack of rainfall etc.) then beef production is of a lower quality. Therefore most superior grass fed beef comes from areas with a consistent high rainfall, and moderate temperature ranges.
Key Ideas surrounding Grass Fed Beef:
Grass fed beef can be lower in overall fat content than Grain fed beef.
High in Vitamin A and Vitamin E, due largely to the beta carotene in their diets.
Grass fed cattle have high levels of vital antioxidants
Healthier balance of Essential fatty acids – but this very much depends on the types of pastures they are fed (having done these on farm pasture trials myself I can certainly testify to that)
Grass fed cattle help reduce land degradation, desertification and soil erosion and maintain more than 50% of Australia’s landscape
