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more to beef than meats the eye
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Cattle graze in paddocks between shelter
belts and forestry lanes.
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Pasture Management:
At Kooragang City Farm we use cattle to help manage 90 of the 780
hectares of our Ash Island wetland rehabilitation site. We currently
run only Poll Hereford steers, with numbers ranging from 100 to
150, depending on the season. These are grazed on just over half
of Kooragang City Farm and are vital for our pasture management.
Our flexible Grazing Plan involves:
- Cattle being fenced out of all wetland, revegetation and other
sensitive areas. In dry conditions cattle can be allowed to graze
the freshwater wetland areas to reduce the mass of plant material
(biomass), making the wetland more suitable for some species of
bird. Thus wetlands can act as a drought refuge for cattle, which
in turn, can help increase the biodiversity of the area.
- Some 40 paddocks of varying size (0.3 hectares to 4 hectares,
depending on the topography of the land). Both lightweight solar-powered
and permanent fencing keep grazing to pasture areas.
- Flexible, frequent cattle movements. The time our herd spends
in the one paddock varies from as little as ½ day in summer
to up to 4 days in winter. The grazing periods depend on the
size
of the paddock and the visually assessed quality of its pasture
which varies from season to season. This means our paddocks have
up to 90 days recovery between grazing events. These frequent
movements prevent overgrazing and allow recovery of desirable
pasture species, resulting in healthier pastures.
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Cattle egrets befriend cattle in hope
of catching disturbed insects.
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Use of livestock to improve the soil
Sometimes our cattle are kept in a small area for a short time.
This breaks up the soil surface promoting aeration and water flow.
It also helps bury organic matter (plant litter and manure) which
fertilizes the soil.
Reintroduction of native pasture grasses
Whilst the dominant pasture grass is Kikuyu, we are trialling reintroduction
of improved native grasses to some areas by flexible grazing and
planting.
Low stress handling
On City Farm we train our cattle to move efficiently
from one paddock to another at the sound of a whistle. Our stress-free
handling results
in contented cattle and more tender beef. City Farm has Cattlecare and Meat
Standards Australia accreditation. Both these accreditations
give assurance of healthier, happier cattle in safer conditions.
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Cattle move from paddock to paddock
at the sound of a whistle.
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Meaty facts:
Fast grass growth = fast cattle moves, slow growth = slow
cattle moves.
It takes just 30 days for a paddock to recover from grazing
in summer, this same process may take up to three times as
long in winter.
On City Farm we buy cattle as steers at 8 months, grow them
for 18 months and on sell them when they are 95% ready for
market.
No steer has to walk more than 500 metres to the nearest
water trough. Thoughtful design of paddock layout has enabled
15 water troughs to service just over 40 paddocks.
Why are cattle often accompanied by cattle egrets?
The egrets wait to catch insects disturbed by the cattle as
they move through the pasture |
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