Australia-The best grass in many decades.
AUSTRALIA-NEW GRASS IN DROUGHT STRICKEN REGIONS.
AFTER several long years of drought the western Queensland landscape north and west of Longreach is again brimming with the welcome sight of green grass.
A month of good rain in January has transformed the country and the mood, but caution remains as producers wait to see if the good start translates into a genuine season. A similarly promising start in 2008 rapidly deteriorated into yet another disappointingly dry year, and many were caught out by restocking early on what proved to be another false start. The physical obstacles of wet roads and lingering floodwaters are also delaying restocking plans as well, with large cattle movements still not feasible throughout much of the region. While the season is patchy to the south and east of Longreach, country to the west and north is looking spectacular and full of feed following a month of big falls interspersed by short dry periods in January. Rabobank Longreach manager Craig Swalling said the rain had done wonders for local spirits. "If you don’t have a season, you don’t have production and you don’t have cash flow," he said. "Rain is the best motivator there is." Producers are being encouraged to conduct diet quality analyses to test the protein and energy value of available feed, particularly in areas where big falls arrived in short periods. When more than 250mm fell in two days, as occurred in some areas, a looming protein drought could be likely, according to Desiree Jackson, DPI&F, Longreach. Diet quality tests, which involved sending dung samples from 10 to 20 cattle away for testing, would confirm whether feed was likely to hold up and whether supplementation would help to maximise the opportunities delivered by the improved season. Further north at Rondel Droughtmaster Stud near Corfield, the Carrington family are rejoicing in a long-awaited break in the season. An initial fall of 75mm at the start of the year set the scene for a wet January which has positioned them well for a solid year. "We couldn’t have ordered it better," Peter said. "It is just what the country needed, a good soaking." Deleece Carrington described the season of the past five years as "dreadful", deteriorating to the point where the family had been forced to cart in 20t of molasses every 10 days in the final months of last year to keep their stock going. The ideal conditions they received in January - regular falls of steady, non-destructive rain interspersed with short bursts of dry weather - proved a timely saviour. "Because of our genetics we couldn’t afford to sell and let our numbers drop," she said. "We can now go away (to show cattle at Beef 09 in Rockhampton in early May) feeling a lot more at ease knowing there is plenty of grass and water and home."
