Working together to build brighter futures for grazing

Gulf Savannah NRM’s project officers are used to travelling long distances over the vast Northern Gulf region, but our Rangelands Project Officer Keerah Steele recently found herself over a thousand kilometres from home, touching down in Southern Queensland. 

Building profitable, resilient and drought-ready livestock operations throughout Queensland – that’s the focus of FutureBeef‘s GrazingFutures Livestock Business Resilience (GrazingFutures LBR) program. In October, Keerah travelled to Roma to meet other stakeholders from across the state who are involved in GrazingFutures LBR, and take stock of the program’s progress to date. 

Working together over three days, the group discussed plans for building further momentum to support the grazing community through GrazingFutures LBR, exchanging ideas and insights between regional teams to help grow the effectiveness and impact of the program right across the state.  

“We were able to gain a better understanding of regional production systems and issues, and also get an update on the latest research and development findings in grazing technologies,” Keerah said. 

Keerah has also been accepted into FutureBeef’s elite leadership program, Advancing Beef Leaders. 

As part of the leadership program, each participant – including Keerah – will be supported to build their capacity as future leaders in the beef industry by partnering with a mentor, someone who is an established leader in the industry already. Keerah has been lucky enough to be partnered with Richard Cox of Cracow Station (Central Queensland), a Committee Chair with the North Australian Beef Research Council. 

While in Roma, Keerah took the opportunity to jump in the car and drive another 300 kilometres north-east, to meet Richard in person and “get away from Zoom meetings”. 

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Richard and his wife Sarah welcomed Keerah to their beautiful home at Cracow Station, a 10,374 ha grass-fed beef operation which has been home to Sarah’s family for five generations and is one of the oldest properties in the Dawson Callide region. 

“It was great to get that firsthand perspective from a well-established producer, and learn about how Richard and Sarah manage their land to be productive and profitable while maintaining their land condition,” Keerah said, after returning to the Northern Gulf. 

“It’s better to get to know someone face to face and see how they work in person rather than on a computer screen, so I’m extremely thankful I had the opportunity to do this. Meeting Richard and Sarah has taught me more than just beef industry best management practices, but also given me a real insight into how the family works together on their achievements and share their knowledge by getting involved in industry organisations.”  

Keerah looks forward to learning more from Richard (and Sarah) through the ABL mentorship. She’s excited to keep working towards and achieving the goals set by the duo during the program, and applying this new skillset and knowledge long into the future. 

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