Farm Weekly recently caught up with Metricup beef farmers, Paul and Amanda Payne, to have a chat about their return to farming and working 120 ha where they run 86 Angus breeders, and the GeoCatch programs that they have been involved in.
Mr Payne said “When it comes to pasture management and rotational grazing, two programs have played a vital role in the pasture improvement at Paynedale”.
“GeoCatch (and the Sustainable Agriculture Program) is a local, government-funded program that is aimed to reduce runoff into estuaries… it helps us understand nutritional requirements, which means only applying fertiliser where its needed to efficiently assist in better production. We are now soil sampling each year and fertilising accordingly, based on those results.”
In addition to that program, the Paynes are also involved in Grazing Matcher. “This program has been so helpful. It has assisted us to get a good understanding of pasture management, pasture growth, pasture selection and rotational grazing, as well as animal husbandry systems like fat scoring and how to deal with the summer-autumn feed gaps,” said Ms Payne.
For more information about getting involved in the Geographe Soil Testing Program visit geocatch.asn.au/soil-testing/ or to register for the 2024 Grazing Matcher Program visit geocatch.asn.au/farm-management/grazing-matcher/
Original article from https://www.farmweekly.com.au/story/8506541/former-beef-farmers-return-to-the-industry/
