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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 31(1)

Critical success factors of a whole of business extension approach for increased capacity of beef producers and improved enterprise profit and sustainability

B. S. Nelson A C and E. Robinson B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Charters Towers, Qld 4820, Australia.

B Caerphilly Station, Charters Towers, Qld 4820, Australia.

C Corresponding author. Email: brigid.nelson@dpi.qld.gov.au

The Rangeland Journal 31(1) 61-68 https://doi.org/10.1071/RJ08059
Submitted: 4 November 2008  Accepted: 13 February 2009   Published: 26 March 2009

Abstract

The ‘Research to Reality Project’ assisted beef producers in the Burdekin catchment of north Queensland to develop practical responses to a range of production and grazing land management challenges. The project involved three groups of beef producers encompassing 19 enterprises, 680 000 ha of land and the management of 162 000 cattle. The project was founded on a continuous improvement and innovation approach, and included an employed industry champion and multi-disciplinary project team who used a range of extension methods to identify, develop and implement on-property projects. Extension methods included one-on-one property planning activities, economic benchmarking, land condition assessments, on-property demonstrations, structured learning workshops and information products. The value of project evaluation to producers and the project staff is discussed. Further, the link between increased profitability and better land management was established for many producers. This learning is reflected in the uptake of recommended grazing practices and the decisions producer participants are now making about their grazing business.

Additional keywords: continuous improvement and innovation, evaluation, pastoral industry, practice change, producer teams.


Acknowledgements

Principal funding was sourced from the Burdekin Dry Topics Natural Resource Management, the Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI&F), and the Beef Cooperative Research Centre’s Beef Profit Partnerships Program. We gratefully acknowledge the funding provided by the Australian Government’s National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality through the Burdekin Dry Tropics Natural Resource Management. Pastoralists from 19 properties contributed considerable resources to the development, implementation and evaluation of this project. We thank them for their time, insights and friendship during this pilot project. We also thank the DPI&F multi-disciplinary project team, in particular, David Smith, Karl McKellar, Marnie McCullough, Bill Holmes, Rebecca Gowen, Mark Best, Janice Timms and Richard Clarke for their dedicated support.


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