Cropping Enabled Cattle is a $6 million 3-year initiative focused on expanding beef production options in northern Western Australia (WA) by creating a circular economy through the use of irrigated crop by-products in cattle feed.
This a co-investment between the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), the WA Agricultural Research Collaboration (WAARC) and key partners, including the Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia (CRCNA) and the Cotton Research and Development Corporation (CRDC).
Project overview
The project aims to develop an integrated cropping and cattle production system that enables northern WA pastoralists to produce cattle suited to a wider range of markets, in time reducing the reliance on live export.
DPIRD is the lead partner, operating from the Frank Wise Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Kununurra. The team brings extensive local knowledge and research infrastructure to ensure project outcomes are relevant and practical for the Kimberley region.
Research will explore how high-protein cotton seed and meal, maize, and other irrigated crop supplements can be used in feed rations to support cattle growth and provide alternative turn-off options. Key production indicators include:
- cattle growth
- carcass characteristics
- health and welfare
- time to market.
Innovative sensor technologies will be used to monitor cattle physiology and behaviour in this tropical environment. These include oral (rumen), subcutaneous, and external (collar) sensors. Cattle welfare will be closely monitored to ensure their wellbeing.
The project will also utilise bio-economic modelling (computer models) to evaluate a range of options for the sustainable intensification of the northern cattle supply chain.
Collaborators
This project also forms part of the WAARC's Northern Agriculture program, bringing together networks from DPIRD, CSIRO, Murdoch University and the University of Western Australia to strengthen synergies between cropping and cattle systems in the state's tropical north.
More information
For more information on the Cropping Enabled Cattle project, visit the WA Agricultural Research Collaboration website.