News and Features
Animals
Useful Links
Beef Cattle
Beef Cattle
Until the mid 1960s the cattle industry was the backbone of the Northern Territory economy. It has since been surpassed by other sectors of the economy like mining and tourism. However, the cattle industry is of fundamental importance to Northern Territory regional economic growth, employment opportunities and export income.
In 2000, the cattle industry production was estimated to be worth $189 million. However, the total contribution of cattlel industry to the Northern Territory economy is much higher when the indirect benefits, that is, forward and backward linkages with the rest of the economy, are taken into consideration. These include benefits accruing from expenditure on cattle transport, stockfeed, wages, port charges, quarantine inspection, veterinary requirements, abattoir sector benefits, and indirect benefits through multiplier effects.
Dehorning and Castration
Dehorning and castration are essential management practices for the Northern Territory's cattle industry. However, it is important to note that there are national animal welfare guidelines prepared by the Standing Committee of Agriculture that monitor these activities. [more]
Best Bet Management System
The Best Bet management package was developed at Victoria River Research Station (Kidman Springs) across the years 1990-4 and was shown to dramatically increase breeder herd productivity. [more]
Bull Testing
Non-producing cows and bulls "passengers" in a herd should be culled annually. The only truly accurate bull fertility tests are those that either mate a bull in a single sire situation with cows of a known breeding history, or DNA test calves from a multiple sired group to identify their fathers. However, this is impractical in most station situations. Nonetheless a few simple tests are available that will give an indication of a bull's potential reproductive worth. [more]
Genetic Effects on the Mature Weight of Cattle
Mature weight is an important trait in beef cattle. Mature weight of breeders is important because larger cows require more feed for maintenance. This means that running large mature size females results in higher grazing pressure than running an equal number of small or medium mature size females. This article concentrates on the genetic effects on mature weight. [more]