ON FARM NORTHERN CATTLE Over the fence In this series, Feedback follows a group of producers from across Australia as they manage their operations over the course of a year and respond to the challenges that arise in modern grazing enterprises. This is the second instalment of the 2019–20 series. SNAPSHOT: Nikko and Jade Lord Nikko and Jade Lord, Ardie and Kacie Lord, supplement to assist with Richmond and Tambo, young growing stock and Queensland first‑calf heifers. Water l management has been a big focus lately as well. We’re aiming to increase water access throughout the property, so there’s no more than a 3km walk‑out radius for the cows. We’ve created a little overflow trough for water to go through before the dams to increase Area: cleanliness. 240,000ha across This wet season we will six properties market a lot of feeder cattle. Enterprise: This will give us room to Backgrounding, breeding aerially seed Verano and and fattening Seca stylo and Wynn cassia, before we spell for the Livestock: wet season. Brahman‑cross cattle MY GO‑TO TOOLS Pasture: AND RESOURCES: Spear grass, spinifex, stylos, We use an online calendar Wynn cassia in the north, Nikko and Jade Lord with their children, Jock and Sandy. through Google Sheets Mitchell and Flinders grass which allows everyone in the in the south SEASONAL CHALLENGES: WHAT’S ON OUR PLATE: business to see the short Soil: We have consistently We’ve just finished the first and long‑term plans. We’ve managed to get 50–100% of six months at ‘Woodstock’, taken everything onto the Downs country with our 700mm annual rainfall Richmond, and are still cloud using OneDrive and limestone ridges running over the last five to 10 yearsgetting our head around OneNote folders. In the last to gidgee country and in our northern country. On the new place. We bought a 12 months, we’ve gone to sandy bauhinia paper, we shouldn’t have very overstocked property great lengths to expand our Rainfall: had a drought but there in a light year, so there have Wi‑Fi capacity. ■ 475mm/550mm definitely seems to be a been a lot of challenges. lack of response across Stocking rates have had to ACTIVITIES OVER Nikko and Jade Lord the country. We’re looking come back to something THE NEXT TWO E: nikko@lordpastoral. over the horizon but, the manageable. We tweaked last few years, early storms our supplementation MONTHS: com.au have become less and less program to include lick > marketing young frequent. Because we’re blocks with loose lick to cattle missing out on those earlier give cattle more choice and storms, by the time we that seems to have paid > feeding out get the rain, the country is dividends. We’re also finding > spelling country. quite scalded. value in feeding a molasses 27