Month: December 2023

At the Bush AgriBusiness Combined Group meeting in Toowoomba recently, we introduced the Grazing Business Management Framework which we have been working on to extend our services and support to family businesses.Working with family grazing businesses is a large and rewarding part of what we do at Bush AgriBusiness. Over the years we have developed a deep understanding of the complex production systems and unique challenges faced by family businesses due to the overlapping dynamics of relationships, ownership, and management. These complexities and challenges are heightened through price, market, and weather cycles. In short, there is a lot to manage and stay on top of which can feel like juggling and keeping lots of balls in the air all at once.Some of the questions raised by family businesses include: How do we…

We live in an information age where a quick Google search, request to Siri, or chat on an AI platform can get us almost immediate “bites” or snippets of information. There is certainly no lack of information available, but as farm business management and succession specialist, Mike Stephens highlighted in his review of the 2023 Australian Beef Report, “Farm Business managers don’t need information, they need knowledge which gives confidence to make timely management decisions.”What is the difference?Information is organised data obtained from various sources put together in a meaningful way. Knowledge is an understanding of the subject that comes from experience or education. Information combined with experience and intuition, results in knowledge.The Australian Beef Report is prepared by Bush AgriBusiness as an independent, triennial publication for profit-focused beef producers and industry stakeholders. At first glance, it…

Efficiency is a critical factor in modern agriculture. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the livestock industry, where optimising resource use is essential for economic and environmental sustainability. Feed efficiency is gaining more and more traction and for some cattle producers, it is now a central concern. The term refers to the amount of feed required to produce a given amount of beef. In other words, how effectively can cattle convert grass into beef? Thus, it can also be referred to as productivity which is maximising beef production from a given feed resource.We think the critical question with regard to feed efficiency is; should the focus be on selecting for productive herds or feed efficient animals? There has been a lot of research done in this area and we will draw on that research…