An MLA-funded Producer Demonstration Site (PDS) has proved the three crucial management decisions impacting the productivity of replacement heifers are joining weight, bull selection and disease prevention.
A new vaccine offering season-long protection could play an important role in the battle against cattle ticks by reducing reliance on acaricides – pesticides which target ticks and mites – and allowing producers to move cattle from tick free to tick endemic areas. Researchers are also trialling a new single-dose tick vaccine delivery system.
In the International Year of Pulses, scientists are aiming to double the area in Queensland’s tropics and subtropics sown to these healthy, and often very profitable, legume crops.
The sorghum story is a strong example of what is possible when there is significant targeted investment in breeding and agronomic research, and a long-term commitment.