Feeding forages in the Fitzroy : A guide to profitable beef production in the Fitzroy River catchment

Abstract

This guide brings together information on:
• selection, agronomy and management of suitable forages
• example forage yields across the Fitzroy River catchment
• expected nutrient content of forages and their relationship to cattle performance
• indicative cattle growth rates from a range of high quality forages
• approaches to incorporating high quality forages into feed plans to give the best opportunity to achieve the target growth rates and liveweights required to meet market specifications
• non-nutritional factors that can affect liveweight gain
• example gross margin analysis at key sites across the catchment to provide objective comparisons of various forage options
• spreadsheets to allow calculation of forage gross margins with the user’s own input variables
• the effect of sown forages on the whole farm profitability
• data collected from 24 producer co-operator forage sites across the Fitzroy River catchment during 2011–2014.