Carbon credit bang for buck
The best bang for the carbon buck for beef producers is leaving it in the farming system.
Meat & Livestock Australia's program manager for sustainability innovation, Doug McNicholl, says the best place for a carbon credit is in soil, or vegetation, for animal production.
"There is not enough carbon in our system as it stands. Anything we can do to leave it in a fixed form in the system will help productivity," he said.
"If you do choose to sell it, our insights are that a low or carbon neutral branded product might be a significantly more rewarding way to market the credit than to sell it in the carbon market in Australia. At this point in time, carbon credits are trading at a relatively low value."
Mr McNicholl was speaking at an MLA webinar, one of a series being held in the run-up to the organisation's annual general meeting at the end of the month.
ALSO SEE: Connecting the dots on carcase value
Conversation starter
BIG agricultural asset management company AAM Investment Group is taking some handy strides towards making mental health a part of everyday conversations.
In partnering with mental health foundation This is a Conversation Starter, also known as TIACS, AAM will roll out 600 TradeMutt shirts to the company's workforce across more than 30 sites in five states and territories.
The shirts have TIACS branding on the back, and a QR code that can be scanned in-field that takes users straight to the website with contact details for free counselling support.
TIACS was established by co-founders of the social workwear brand TradeMutt.
AAM executive director Tim Gallagher said given the heavy toll mental health often takes on rural communities, initiatives like TIACS were imperative to not only providing much-needed support but to starting a conversation about personal wellbeing.
TIACS mental health professionals can be contacted via text or phone on 0488 846 988.
A taste for beef
AUSTRALIAN consumers continue to outlay more for beef, even as the actual volume they are buying shrinks.
Meat & Livestock Australia's group industry insights manager Scott Cameron, speaking on the organisation's latest On the Ground podcast, reported the latest domestic market insights.
The largest household group buying fresh beef have increased their spend over the 12 weeks to late October to $230, he said.
That compares to $180 two years ago.
"Due to price increases at the retail level, fresh beef has maintained its value share over the past couple of years and actually grown share this year," he said.
It was now very important for retailers to have a large spectrum of beef products at different price points on offer, he said.
Angus on the menu
CELEBRITY chef 'Fast Ed' Halmagyi will be heading to Wodonga in Victoria to join next year's Angus Youth National Roundup festivities.
From January 13 to 16, Fast Ed will be treating participants to some culinary delights, providing dinner and cooking demonstrations.
"Ed will talk us through and demonstrate an easy to prepare and cook recipe using Angus Reserve, a verified Black Angus Beef brand, produced by NH Foods Australia, that can be enjoyed by everyone at home," said Roundup event manager Toni Nugent.
Ed will also contribute to the educational program of the event where he will discuss meat cuts, where they come from on the beef carcase and reduced carcase wastage.
Breakthrough
CQUniversity's researchers can now automatically track and record critical production data for calving dates.
Traits that have the potential to play a large role in genetic improvement, like birth date, are often the most difficult and most labour intensive to obtain accurate records.
Many producers who operate more extensive production systems have a wide calving window, and it takes a lot of time to manually capture dates of birth, but this information is critical for participating in genetic performance recording programs like Beedplan.
This is why researchers at CQUniversity developed the DataMuster research tool, a software system which connects to paddock-based sensors to automatically capture and analyse phenotype information, saving producers time and money, and reducing stress on their herd.
"We have now developed an algorithm that can automatically identify a calving event," CQU's Prof Dave Swain said.
"The algorithm uses weight change to automatically identify a calving event and thereby provide more accurate life-time performance records for progeny growth rates as well as maternal calving intervals."
The new date of calving algorithm was developed by CQUniversity's Precision Livestock Management team as part of a five-year automated phenotyping research project funded by CQU and the Meat & Livestock Australia Donor Company.
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