Northern Territory cattle producers attending the Alice Springs cattle sale on July 28 are being encouraged to get involved in Meat & Livestock Australia’s (MLA) BeefUp Day, being held on the same day in Alice Springs.

Following the recent rains across the region, the sale was postponed for several weeks and now coincides with MLA’s BeefUp Day event in Alice Springs.

MLA’s Grassfed Productivity Program Manager Dr Nick Sangster said the timing of the two events presented a fantastic opportunity for the Territory’s cattle producers around Alice Springs to attend both.

MLA BeefUp Days are held throughout northern Australia and are designed to update producers and provide practical information.

“We have ensured the BeefUp program works in with the sale, allowing cattle producers to attend the morning and afternoon sessions as well as attending the sale,” Dr Sangster said.

“The aim of BeefUp is to deliver information and ideas to producers with clear, practical information and tools which have been developed from sound research and development outcomes. Other topics include practical advice on enterprise management and opportunities for upskilling.

“This ensures that producers can take these ideas back to their properties and put them into practice immediately.”

The MLA Alice Springs BeefUp Day starts at 9am at the Double Tree (Hilton) Hotel and includes a consultation session where producers can have their say on where levy-payer funded research, development and adoption (RD&A) programs should be directed.

MLA Managing Director Richard Norton will be at the event to provide a market update, while other MLA representatives will discuss current levy-funded RD&A projects, including Program Manager, Animal Health, Welfare and Biosecurity, Jim Rothwell and Program Manager, Grassfed Productivity, Nick Sangster.

The morning session runs until 12.45pm, then breaks long enough for lunch and to accommodate producers who also wish to attend the sale. The afternoon session starts at 3pm and runs to 6pm. Morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and a barbecue dinner will be provided.

To register for the Alice Springs event, click here http://www.mla.com.au/news-andevents/events-and-workshops/beefup-forums-2016/

Opportunity for producers to help set RD&A priorities

The Alice Springs event is one of two BeefUp events being held in the NT this month, with another at Tennant Creek on 26 July which will also include an opportunity for producer input into RD&A priorities.

The forums are a key part of MLA’s regional consultation model for RD&A investment from grassfed beef and sheepmeat levies.

The North Australia Beef Research Council (NABRC) is helping to facilitate the forums in its role of providing leadership and advice to organisations who either invest in, or undertake, beef cattle RD&A in the NT, Queensland, and the Pilbara and Kimberley regions of Western Australia.

NABRC chair Dr Lee Fitzpatrick said the forums would give producers the opportunity to discuss RD&A priorities for 2017/18 that will help build the future of the northern beef industry.

“The BeefUp Days are a great opportunity for producers to have a voice in determining RD&A priorities that are relevant for their region,” Dr Fitzpatrick said.

“Producer input from each of the regions will be consolidated by their Regional Beef Research Committee and then fed into the national RD&A priorities.”

The producer forums will expand upon six key areas including reproduction and breeding; grazing land management; nutrition and growth; human capital; animal health and welfare; and information technology.

The forum on 26 July takes place at the Eldorado Motor Inn, Tennant Creek 9.30am to 5.30pm with a barbecue dinner to follow.

Source: Meat & Livestock Australia. To register for the Tennant Creek or Alice Springs events, click here http://www.mla.com.au/news-and-events/events-and-workshops/beefup-forums-2016/.

Details about the regional consultation framework are available at www.mla.com.au/AboutMLA/RD-Consultation

For more information about NABRC visit http://jackiekyte.com.au/nabrc/Annual cattle sale and BeefUp Day to share centre stage in Alice Springs