Project Update

Median calf wastage between confirmed pregnancy and weaning in northern Australia is 10-15%, depending on region. The overall loss is estimated in the vicinity of 1 million calves in Australia annually. A similar situation exists through all tropical beef systems globally. Diseases and animal issues cause some of the loss, but the majority of wastage is associated with poor pregnant cow nutrition and high environmental stress. A very high proportion of calf mortality occurs within the first few days after birth. Preliminary research has identified about 30% of cows may be susceptible to a 3-day delay in starting full milk production after calving, putting calves at considerable risk.

Cattle tend to avoid grazing dense stands of odorous, green Pimelea plants. However, cattle cannot distinguish dry Pimelea stalks amongst Buffel and other pasture tussocks. Producers have reported  cattle losses from ingesting dry Pimelea stalks. Please be aware these dry stalks often contain a fluffy tuft of very toxic, immature seeds! Flowers and seeds contain the highest levels of simplexin.

This project brings together existing partners the UQ QAAFI, Kindred Spirits Enterprises – Traditional Homeland Enterprises (T.H.E.) and Charles Darwin University to review the existing value chains within the established Kakadu Plum (KP)/ Gubinge  (Terminalia ferdinandiana) industry to address the issue of supplying consistently high quality KP/ Gubinge products to ensure a more reliable supply of products which can better capture market access and grow customer loyalty.