Fitzroy beef production systems : Preparing for, responding to, and recovering from drought

Abstract

The work reported here represents a comprehensive analysis of the economic implications of management decisions that can be applied to prepare for, respond to, or recover from drought in the Fitzroy Natural Resource Management (NRM) region of central Queensland. We have applied scenario analysis to examine a range of management strategies and technologies that may contribute to building both more profitable and more drought resilient grazing businesses in the Fitzroy region. In doing this, we developed property-level, regionally-specific herd and business models for a representative, case-study beef cattle enterprise which was based on the median herd data from relevant industry surveys and research. The Breedcow and Dynama herd budgeting software was used to develop integrated herd models and discounted cash flow budgets for each alternative scenario. Production systems that can be applied to improve profitability and hence resilience of a beef business to drought are generally of a strategic nature. The economic and financial effect of implementing each strategy was assessed by comparison to the baseline production system for the case-study property. Whole-of-business productivity and profitability was assessed over a 30-year investment period. Management decisions which are considered in response to, or recovery from, drought tend to need consideration of both short term and long term implications and were examined using herd models in conjunction with spreadsheets designed to assess tactical decisions