Case study: Data drives gains in grass and tree cover

Australian Beef Sustainabilty Framework Steering Group member and Central Queensland beef producer, Melinee Leather.

Evidence of the relationship between environmental health and the prosperity of grazing enterprises drives Rob and Melinee Leather to prioritise and invest in sustainability across their beef business.

BURGEONING evidence of the clear relationship between environmental health and the prosperity of grazing enterprises continues to drive Rob and Melinee Leather to prioritise and invest in sustainability across their beef business.

Investment in on-farm measures yields data-proven results

Key initiatives introduced to operations across Leather Cattle Company’s portfolio of properties to grow sustainability, including the balance of grass and tree cover, encompass the introduction of legumes and Leucaena, wet season paddock spelling, tree planting, water infrastructure development and the implementation of rotational grazing. Greater focus has also been placed on managing native forests for sustainable timber production, while significant investment has been made in transitioning to solar energy to power watering networks.

A portion of the Leathers’ operation is certified organic and they are Global Animal Partnership, European Union, Grasslands (Teys) and Australian Certified Humane accredited producers. The business is also involved in a suite of other projects aimed at enhancing biodiversity, improving unique natural assets, and unlocking ecosystem service opportunities.

“Being part of these programs means we can’t just say we’re doing things to be more sustainable, we have to measure them,” Melinee said.

For example, by examining annual changes of the five-year period from 2017 using measurement platform Downforce Technologies, a growing overall resilience to the loss of soil organic carbon was detected on Leather Cattle Company properties, including during the 2019 drought period, particularly where land was planted to Leucaena and desmanthus.

Mapping through Cibolabs is also used as a valuable tool to determine estimates for biomass and feed on offer within each paddock.

“By clicking on a paddock, I can see how many kilograms of dry matter per hectare are available every five days, as well as fractional cover to see when plants are actively growing, and this data supports our improvements in groundcover,” Melinee said.

ABSF a valuable tool

The Leathers are also strong proponents of the ABSF and the industry-wide indicators it delivers, against which they can gauge the performance of the family business.

“The ABSF report is also an important tool we use when planning our sustainability credentials for our business. We align with the themes and priorities the Framework is made up of, as we believe this is what our customers and consumers are thinking about,” Melinee said.

“We believe it is a good way of understanding what our global markets are after and it gives us credibility with our lenders, because they can see we are in line with a national beef industry report.”