Making more from each drop

Owner, Scott Kennedy-Green, with his wife, Angela, aim to produce one kilogram of beef to every three millimetres of rainfall per hectare.

The average rainfall is 650 millimetres, so the equation equals 220kg of liveweight gain per arable hectare.

“That’s our aim. It’s ongoing and won’t happen overnight,” Mr Kennedy-Green said, whose family purchased the Erudgere district property in December 2007.

With the climatic change to more rainfall during the past two summers, his quest may take less time if the drought has broken and the average annual rainfall returns.

Working closely with property manager, James Stephens, who has established a strategic plan for the 405ha property, the Kennedy-Greens continue to breed their favourite cattle, Santa Gertrudis, in their commercial herd of about 200 breeders.

“The days of just running cows are completely over,” Mr Kennedy-Green said.

“Today it’s about productivity.

“It’s more about grass production and livestock management.”

Mr Stephens said the program is setting up pasture mixes that match soil type and rainfall to seasonal rainfall and feed requirements of the grazing stock.

The property has been classed into three production types and divided into 24 paddocks with the lighter, less arable paddocks larger in area.

Production zone 1 is the most arable type country and will include more fescue and lucerne type pastures.

Production zone 2 is for phalaris and sub-clovers.

“The third zone is less arable country of lighter soil types that is required to keep an annual grass coverage,” Mr Stephens said.

“These paddocks are more acidic, lighter and cocksfoot-type pastures.”

Overall, the soil is slightly acidic, but not unbearable, and can be fixed with lime, according to Mr Stephens.

The next step is getting the phosphorous, sulphur and potassium levels right.

“Then keeping pasture mixes simple,” he said.

“One grass and a combination of legumes, depending on intended use for the paddock.”

The property is in an area of distinct geographic bands.

“We’ve got creek flats and then a middle section of phalaris country and then a back section of cocksfoot country,” he said.

The cocksfoot country runs cows and calves while the good lucerne country carries weaners and fodder conservation.

Mr Kennedy-Green said “Erudgere” was originally a fine wool Merino breeding property of note in the Mudgee district, but has been broken up into smaller blocks through time.

Some 560ha of the family’s original purchase has since been resold. They have kept the homestead area which has a six kilometre double frontage to McDonalds Creek.

“We could see a change in land use because of the soils, which we believe are more beneficial to beef production,” he said.

“It could be better utilised and better grazed and easier to manage as a beef operation.”

As a first step to building up the dry sheep equivalent (DSE), last year’s plan included sowing oats in an old lucerne stand to “bulk it up”.

“This year we will have to repeat that and expand the program paddock by paddock,” Mr Stephens said.

“At the same time we are conscious we can’t do all this to the detriment of our carrying capacity.

“We can’t afford to destock for five years, because pasture improvement is expensive.

“We’ve still got to make a quid.”

So the plan is for the first three to four years to be a slow process.

“But the snowball will get bigger and after four years we’ll see a marked improvement in carrying capacity,” Mr Stephens said.

“I think we can get up to 12 DSE/ha over the five-to six-year period.

“But we must continue to get rain.”

Mr Kennedy-Green said the property was boasting five DSE/ha when purchased, now it’s at seven DSE/ha.

Last year “Erudgere” had 1000mm and already this year precipitation totalled 650mm by the end of February.

“If we get 650mm every year, we’ll achieve our goal easily,” he said.

“The lower, more productive country is holding moisture pretty well and that’s been our saviour.”