Jeremy Rockliff, Minister for Primary Industries and Water
Jonathon Duniam, Senator for Tasmania
A three-year, $690,000 project to improve the quality and quantity of pastures, and ultimately increase livestock production, was launched today.
The Pastures and Livestock Productivity Project aims to better utilise farmer knowledge to develop a program to improve pasture management, including through the use of technology.
The Hodgman Liberal Government with the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture has contributed $490,000 to the project, while the Federal Government has provided $200,000.
Minister for Primary Industries and Water Jeremy Rockliff said that red meat production is an important contributor to the Tasmanian economy, accounting for about 20 per cent of total agricultural production.
``Working closely with the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association, the pastures project will consist of three phases – social research, development of an extension model and delivery of the extension model over at least the following three years,’’ Minister Rockliff said.
``It will complement the Crop and Pasture Seed Industry Plan and the industry-led Red Meat Plan which both recognise the importance of pastures in red meat production.
``Increasing on farm production of beef cattle and sheep also helps the post farm gate processing sector and the hundreds of associated jobs.’’
Senator Jonathon Duniam welcomed the announcement of additional investments in pasture management.
``From my travels around the state to farms and dairies I have seen first-hand the importance of good pasture management and the key role this plays in extracting the best value from livestock,’’ Senator Duniam said.
“Developments in technology offer farmers new and smarter ways to manage pasture and livestock and we want to see this technology harnessed in Tasmania to increase the productivity of the sector.”
Providing practical support to graziers through this pastures and livestock productivity project is a key part of the Government’s comprehensive AgriFood Plan which is delivering on our target to grow the value of agriculture to $10 billion by 2050.