Track 2-14: Successful Rehabilitation in Degraded Grass and Forage Lands

Description

Keith and Karen Anderson and family run a breeder operation on Jubilee Downs and Quanbun Downs in the Fitzroy Valley of Western Australia (18°21' S, 125°18' E). These adjacent pastoral leases are in the shire of Derby/West Kimberley. The Andersons have been managing Jubilee Downs station since 1985. Quanbun Downs station was purchased in 2002, and a farm in the northern agricultural region of WA has been recently added for use as a finishing block. The current combined herd for Jubilee Downs and Quanbun Downs is around 8,000 head. Keith believes in selling close to his branding percentage and that the secret to improving production is selling females.

A declining trend in range condition on the high potential black soil country (WA Department of Agriculture 1981) was the catalyst for a producer demonstration trial on Jubilee Downs station that commenced in 1988. The main aspects of the demonstration were using DAFWA recommended stocking rates according to land type and range condition, introduction of Brahman bulls from a predominantly shorthorn herd, pregnancy diagnosis, early weaning and botulism vaccinations (Beurle 1992). The demonstration also included an exclosure on the degraded Gogo land system which yielded positive results.

Reducing cattle numbers and improving grazing distribution has maximised the recovery of the country during the run of above average rainfall years from the mid-1990s to 2010. Range Condition Survey data and satellite imagery clearly demonstrate an improvement in range condition and the productive potential. Herd production data show that the benefits of improved productivity to the business outweigh the costs.

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Case Study: Conservative Stocking on the Fitzroy River Floodplain; Jubilee Downs and Quanbun Downs, Central Kimberley Western Australia

Keith and Karen Anderson and family run a breeder operation on Jubilee Downs and Quanbun Downs in the Fitzroy Valley of Western Australia (18°21' S, 125°18' E). These adjacent pastoral leases are in the shire of Derby/West Kimberley. The Andersons have been managing Jubilee Downs station since 1985. Quanbun Downs station was purchased in 2002, and a farm in the northern agricultural region of WA has been recently added for use as a finishing block. The current combined herd for Jubilee Downs and Quanbun Downs is around 8,000 head. Keith believes in selling close to his branding percentage and that the secret to improving production is selling females.

A declining trend in range condition on the high potential black soil country (WA Department of Agriculture 1981) was the catalyst for a producer demonstration trial on Jubilee Downs station that commenced in 1988. The main aspects of the demonstration were using DAFWA recommended stocking rates according to land type and range condition, introduction of Brahman bulls from a predominantly shorthorn herd, pregnancy diagnosis, early weaning and botulism vaccinations (Beurle 1992). The demonstration also included an exclosure on the degraded Gogo land system which yielded positive results.

Reducing cattle numbers and improving grazing distribution has maximised the recovery of the country during the run of above average rainfall years from the mid-1990s to 2010. Range Condition Survey data and satellite imagery clearly demonstrate an improvement in range condition and the productive potential. Herd production data show that the benefits of improved productivity to the business outweigh the costs.