Cattle producers in north-east Victoria, the Riverina and the Upper Murray are being encouraged to consider the Greenham liveweight agistment program as a solution to excess pasture.
The program, which has been running in Tasmania for 10 years and just over 12 months on the mainland, sees Greenham purchase cattle and pay producers to run them with returns worked out on liveweight gains.
Greenham Livestock Agistment Coordinator, Caroline Ronald said the ability for producers to stock properties and make the most of their pastures without the initial cash outlay benefited both the landholder and Greenham.
“We all know that land values have gone up dramatically and once you buy land, there is the cost of stocking it,” she said.
“This allows those people, especially younger farmers getting into the industry, to generate cash flow and get a leg up.
“As the cattle are all owned by Greenham, it takes the risk out of finishing cattle as we cover all freight and animal health expenses.
“We know there is seasonality in terms of when cattle can be turned off from various areas and that actually works in our favour as it shores up a steady supply of cattle all year-round.”
Interested producers and their properties are assessed for suitability against the program’s objectives.
“We’re currently growing the program on the mainland and targeting areas this year with good rainfall and big pastures to offer,” Caroline said.
“The program has run very successfully in Tasmania for 10 years and we want to continue growing it given we now have a Moe facility and are expanding our operations in Tongala.
“There is flexibility built into the system so that if country where cattle are being run becomes too wet or dry, those producers could exit the program as long as it’s communicated early.”
Caroline said two factors could see an increase in uptake this spring – the cost of buying in cattle, which is historically high, as well as the season, which saw an abundance of feed.
“It is possible for producers to be able to know exactly what they will get when they achieve that weight gain based on the amount we agree to pay,” she said.
“Some clients solely run agistment cattle as it allows them to focus on growing grass and fattening cattle.”
Depending on the target market, cattle are turned off between 450-650kg liveweight.
Producers must be accredited with Livestock Production Assurance (LPA), Meat Standards Australia (MSA) and the NEVER EVER (NE) Beef Program.
For more information contact Caroline Ronald at cronald@greenham.com.au | 0428 238 157.
