Beef producers in Gingin, Badgingarra and Esperance are invited to free workshops to hear the latest on beef backgrounding from the Department of Agriculture and Food.
The workshops, organised by the West Midlands Group, are supported by the department’s Grower Group Research and Development Grants program, made possible by State Government Royalties for Regions investment.
The West Midlands group had been awarded project funds to develop a robust pastoral cattle backgrounding sector for WA via two stages. Stage one focusses on working with producers to identify barriers to entry; and Stage two will address those barriers and facilitate producers to enter and remain in the backgrounding sector.
Department Northern Beef Futures (NBF) market analyst Roger Verbrugge has also been collaborating with the West Midlands Group to evaluate returns from the value-added beef method.
“Backgrounding is the practice of moving cattle from a breeding property to a secondary property to grow-out cattle to a specific weight to suit a target market,” Mr Verbrugge said.
“Pastoralists can gain access to higher-value markets and turn-off cattle at times of the year when cattle prices are higher, but stations are inaccessible by road due to weather conditions.
“This opens up more market options for entry to feedlots and South West-based meat processors.
“The benefits for southern producers include an additional revenue stream, depending on the arrangement with the pastoralist, through the payment of backgrounding fees or profit shares based on weight gain.”
At the workshops, Mr Verbrugge will present his economics modelling of backgrounding northern cattle in the southern areas of WA, developed in liaison with the West Midland and Mingenew Irwin Group.
The model will be developed into a smart device application to enable producers to input data specific to their property to calculate the return from a north-south alliance system under different conditions, using different cattle specifications.
Department research officer Rebecca Butcher will also present at two workshops on post-weaning growth paths and options for feeding backgrounded cattle.
Workshops are scheduled:
Wednesday, 2 November, 8.30am to 1pm, Badgingarra Hall, Badgingarra
Wednesday, 2 November, 2.30 to 5.30pm, Bendigo Bank Complex, Gingin
Wednesday, 9 November, 9am to 12.15pm, Esperance Civic Centre, Esperance
For more information, contact the West Midlands Group or phone 9651 4008 to register.
The department’s Northern Beef Futures project is made possible by $15 million State Government Royalties for Regions investment.
The Grower Group Research and Development Grants program aims to stimulate research and innovation along supply and value chains so agricultural exports remain competitive and can grow their share and value in international markets.
Media contacts: Jodie Thomson, Lisa Bertram media liaison +61 (0)8 8368 3937