Productivity and Profitability Media Series

Welcome to episode 7 of the MLA Productivity and Profitability media series. This episode features Cam Nicolson from Nicon Rural. Cam talks the carbon space which is rapidly evolving, we should expect the ‘rules’ and assumptions to change in the future.
Your host, Tanisha Shields and Cam discuss why you should care about carbon, where it all began and how to get an understanding of the emissions in your business.
We discuss emissions intensity (amount of emission per unit of product) and why this should be your focus in the next few years, not carbon neutrality.
Cam talks about existing practices and technologies that can help reduce emission intensity tomorrow in any farming business.

To watch our webinar with Cam head to: Productivity & Profitability series | Meat & Livestock Australia (mla.com.au)
To access the MLA carbon calculator head to: MLA Carbon Calculator
To access the Greenhouse Accounting Framework Tools head to: Tools | Primary Industries Climate Challenges Centre (piccc.org.au)
This episode is brought to you by Agrista in partnership with Meat and Livestock Australia.

Welcome to episode 8 of the MLA Productivity and Profitability media series. This episode features Shawn McGrath from Charles Sturt University. Shawn talks about the role of dual-purpose crops in livestock production businesses.
Your host, Tanisha Shields and Shawn discuss the benefits of dual-purpose crops, when to sow a dual-purpose crops and how to manage grazing with different livestock species. We also discuss the complexities associated with dual purpose crops and how they alter the feed production curve for your business.

To watch our webinar with Shawn head to: Productivity & Profitability series | Meat & Livestock Australia (mla.com.au)
To learn more about grazing dual-purpose crops head to: grazing-cropped-land-a-summary-of-the-latest-information-on-grazing-winter-crops-from-the-grain-and-graze-program-2016.pdf.pdf (grdc.com.au)
This episode is brought to you by Agrista in partnership with Meat and Livestock Australia.

Welcome to episode 9 of the MLA Productivity and Profitability media series. This episode features Dr Jason Condon from Charles Sturt University. Jason talks about how implementing improved soil sampling intervals will enable better decisions about liming.

Your host, Tanisha Shields and Jason discuss the movement and effect of liming to address lower soil acidity layers. We also discuss the how the management of acid soils removes one of the manageable constraints of the production system.
Dr Jason Condon is Associate Professor in Soil Science at Charles Sturt University and has taught and researched soils there since 1996. His research portfolio includes projects on fertiliser management, carbon sequestration, nitrogen cycling, salinity management in Vietnam and the formation and management of soil acidity in Australian crop and pasture systems in collaboration with NSW DPI, Holbrook landcare Network, FarmLink and Central West Farming Systems.

To watch our webinar with Jason head to: Productivity & Profitability series | Meat & Livestock Australia (mla.com.au)
The liming charts mentioned by Jason can be found here: NLP Lime Calculator (sfs.org.au), Planning on Liming (nsw.gov.au)
This episode is brought to you by Agrista in partnership with Meat and Livestock Australia.

Welcome to episode 11 of the MLA Productivity and Profitability media series. This special edition episode features Dr Shane Thompson from Holbrook Vet Clinic, Ed Rigall from AgPro Management and Felicity Turner from Turner Agriservices. In this episode we discuss the business, pasture and livestock management considerations when managing a late seasonal break or failed autumn period.
Your host, Tanisha Shields speaks to the specialist panel about the importance of assessing and managing business risk to make informed decisions to manage the failed autumn. We discuss how to conduct a supplementary feeding analysis, including which stock to feed and for how long and prioritisation of reducing numbers. The expert panel talk about what to consider to promote pasture growth during winter and into spring and the fertiliser budgeting implications for this season and looking ahead for next year.

We also cover the animal health and nutritional requirements during the winter period and how to manage lambing and calving with limited feed. Confinement feeding is discussed as a strategy to manage livestock and pastures through to spring.
Some key messages from the panel:
"No plan survives first contact - you've just gotta keep planning" Ed
"The only thing worse than feeding, is feeding and not achieving the outcome" Shane
"Be kind to yourself and look after our mates" Felicity

To find out more about containment feeding, listen to our webinar and podcast here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2197784/13976041 or at Webinars + Podcasts - Agrista
More information about managing livestock nutrition can be found at:

• https://www.mla.com.au/research-and-development/livestock-production/livestock-nutrition/drought-feeding/confinement-feeding/
• https://www.makingmorefromsheep.com.au/
• https://www.mla.com.au/extension-training-and-tools/more-beef-from-pastures/

This episode is brought to you by Agrista in partnership with Meat and Livestock Australia.

Welcome to episode 12 of the MLA Productivity and Profitability media series. This episode features Sally Martin from SheepMetriX. Sally talks about how electronic identification can be used in your business to add value.

Your host, Tanisha Shields and Sally discuss the importance of being clear on what you want to achieve when collecting data. Sally highlights that there are multiple avenues for data collection using eID and it is how you efficiently use this data that will enable you to reap the benefits.
Sally's key steps for getting started with eID technology are:
1. Have a plan and a staged approach before purchasing lots of equipment – build your confidence first.

2. Understand how it will fit into your current farming business and operation.

3. Stick to your key profit drivers when deciding what data to collect and use.

To watch our webinar with Sally head to: Productivity & Profitability series | Meat & Livestock Australia (mla.com.au)
To find out about the eID workshops Sally mentioned head to: Sheep Consultant & Ram Breeding Advice (sheepmetrix.com.au)
To learn about setting a breeding objective head to: BredWell FedWell hub | Meat & Livestock Australia (mla.com.au)
A Benefit: Cost ratio figure for eID investment can be found here: https://www.mla.com.au/research-and-development/reports/2019/return-on-investment-for-implementing-electronic-identification-tags-in-a-commercial-sheep-flock--wa/

This episode is brought to you by Agrista in partnership with Meat and Livestock Australia.