Thursday September 26, 2019QUEENSLANDCOUNTRYLIFE - SOUTHERNEDITION24 queenslandcountrylife.com.au

13 25 23 futurebeef.com.au

Taking stock of your future

Toxic botulism in focusBOTULISM is a

paralysing diseasecaused by botuli-num toxin which is

produced by the bacteriumClostridium botulinum.

Clostridium botulinumspores are common in thesoil, and also in the gut ofhealthy cattle and otheranimals in tropical environ-ments (which includes mostof Queensland), where theyare not a problem.

Spores are the dormantform of the organism.

Only actively growingClostridium botulinumbacteria produces botuli-num toxin, which causes thedisease. Clostridium botuli-num spores only germinateand grow where oxygen istotally excluded, for examplewithin rotting animal andvegetable matter.

The toxin binds stronglyto nerve endings, preventingnerve impulses to musclesand causing paralysis.

Seven types of toxin havebeen identified, designatedA to G. In Australia mostbotulism outbreaks in cattleand sheep are due to type Cor D toxin. The toxin is quitestable and may remain incontaminated feed or waterfor some time. Vaccinationis the only effective way toprevent outbreaks.

Botulism is commonlyseen in Queensland, espe-cially in phosphorus-de-ficient areas and duringdroughts where it is oftenassociated with cattle eatingbones and carrion to satisfya craving for phosphorusand/or protein.

Outbreaks are also seenin intensively fed beef anddairy cattle mostly due tofeedstuffs contaminatedwith dead animals suchas snakes, birds, possums

and mice. Large outbreakshave occurred in dairy cowsbeing fed total mixed rationsbased on silage. In somecases, producers have losttwo-thirds of their dairy herdover a two-week period.

Other outbreaks haveinvolved dairy herds wherepoultry litter has been usedto fertilise pastures. Cattlehave eaten litter piled readyto be spread on pastures orlitter that has been spreadon pasture but not incorpo-rated into the soil.

Legislation now pro-hibits feeding animalmatter, including chickenfaeces and chicken litter tolivestock, and livestock mustbe denied access to thismaterial.

Animals are only allowedto graze pasture fertilisedwith chicken faeces or litterif it is ploughed into the soilor given time to be incorpo-rated into the soil first.

Symptoms vary dramati-cally depending on the doseof toxin and any pre-existingimmunity that may bepresent. Symptoms varyfrom sudden death (animalscollapse and die in severalhours) to a slowly progres-sive paralysis where deathmay take days. In the lattercase, the first signs are cattleoff their feed and water.

Then they develop awobbly gait (staggers) andeventually go down. Duringthe staggers stage, somecattle become aggressivebecause they feel helpless.

Not all cattle that developbotulism symptoms willdie. Some mildly affectedcattle will recover. Generallyspeaking, once cattle godown, their likelihood ofrecovery is poor.

Cattle affected by botu-lism do not develop a fever.

Cattle may progress to thestage where they have diffi-culty breathing and typicallylie on their brisket with theirhind legs stretched out

behind them.Tongue paralysis may or

may not develop (cattle can-not pull their tongue back inwhen it is pulled out of their

mouth). At post-mortem,there are no obvious signsother than those associatedwith being down.

The only effective long-term prevention strategy forbotulism is vaccination withbivalent botulinum vaccines.

In phosphorus-deficientareas where botulism riskis very high, vaccinationagainst types C and Dbotulism has been widelyadopted as standard indus-try practice.

Beef and dairy producerswho feed their cattle aprepared ration, especiallythose based on silage orby-products such as brew-er's grains, should vaccinate

their cattle against botulism.A range of different botu-

lism vaccines on the marketare highly effective. Somenewer vaccines only requirea single shot where thetraditional vaccine requirestwo shots a month apart.

The one-shot and two-shot vaccines get a similarresult, and the decision onwhich type to use dependslargely on cost and conven-ience.

All vaccines require boost-ers to be given to maintainimmunity. Consult packageinformation or the vaccinemanufacturer for adviceon the timing of boostervaccinations.

Other prevention strate-gies include:■ Phosphorus and/or proteinsupplementation to assistin reducing bone chewing.

■ If possible prevent stockhaving access to rottinganimal and vegetablematter, including in water.

■ Ensuring feedstuffs arenot contaminated withbotulinum toxin.

■ Vermin control duringharvest, preparationand storage of animalfeedstuffs.

■ Prevent stock from havingaccess to piles of chickenlitter (there is a chickenlitter feeding ban inQueensland).

■ Incorporating chicken litterinto the soil immediatelyafter being spread.For more information

visit www.business.qld.gov.au/industries/farms-fish-ing-forestry/agriculture/livestock/animal-welfare/pests-diseases-disorders/botulism

Contact beef extensionofficer Megan Gurnett,Toowoomba at Megan.Gurnett@daf.qld.gov.au

In Australia most botulism outbreaks in cattle and sheep are due to type C or D toxin.The toxin is quite stable and may remain in contaminated feed or water for some time.

‘‘Botulism is commonly seenin Queensland, especially inphosphorus-deficient areas andduring droughts where it is oftenassociated with cattle eating bonesand carrion to satisfy a craving forphosphorus and/or protein.

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Thursday September 26, 2019 QUEENSLANDCOUNTRYLIFE - SOUTHERNEDITION 25queenslandcountrylife.com.au

13 25 23 futurebeef.com.au

Taking stock of your future

Start with a list ahead of your next purchase

Buying a top bull made easyTHERE'S no doubt that ahigh-performing bull mustbe structurally sound andreproductively fit, but whatyou can't see about that bullis just as important.

Looking 'under his hood'helps you build up a fullerpicture of all the traits that abull can pass on to his proge-ny; traits like fertility, carcaseweight and eating quality.

When it's time to pick yournext high-performing bull,use this handy list.

BEFORE THE SALE1. Identify or reassess yourbreeding objective.

2. Identify the relevantindexes and breedingvalues that align withyour breeding objective.

3. Search sale cataloguesand online BREEDPLANdatabases to find siresthat match your desiredindexes and breedingvalues.

4. Contact the stud to gainmore information abouttheir bulls and breedingprogram.

5. Develop a primary andsecondary list of potentialbulls to purchase.

6. Decide on your budget.

DURING THE SALE7. Visually appraise yourshortlisted sires.

8. Evaluate the remainingbulls on your list andmake a purchasing plan.

9. Bid on bulls on your

shortlist that meet yourphysical assessments andyour budget.

AFTER THE SALE10.Treat your bull accordingto your own biosecurity

management plan.11.Record the bull's tagnumber and appropriateanimal movementrecords.

12.Allow six to eight weeksfor your new bull to

de-stress before joining.Check him frequently.

13.Feed a high-protein dietprior to joining to ensurehe is in body conditionscore 3.5 at time ofjoining.

14.Once joiningcommences, confirmyour sire is working byobserving him service inthe paddock.

15.Conduct annual animalhealth treatments anda BULLCHECK on yourentire bull herd prior tojoining annually.MLA's new genetics hub

contains resources, includ-ing a step-by-step video onshopping for a high-per-forming bull.

Visit genetics.mla.com.au/tropical/bull-shopping.

MLA's new genetics hub contains resources, including a step-by-step video, on shopping for a high-performing bull.

‘‘There’s nodoubt that ahigh-performingbull must bestructurallysound andreproductivelyfit. But what youcan’t see aboutthat bull is justas important.

Get the correct lick troughs for your herdLICK troughs do not need tobe elaborate.

Drums cut with slits, oldtractor tyres with the sidewall cut out or hollow logsthat let the water drain awayare options that might be onhand for feeding loose licks.

Molasses troughs shouldhave grip even if it's just weldmesh on the bottom in case

an animal falls in.You may wonder what the

optimal stock-to-trough ra-tios for supplements is. Thesize needs to be a combina-tion of providing enough ac-cess, having enough supple-ment on offer and avoidinghaving to refill up too often.

When feeding weanersprotein meal or pellets, aim

for about 20cm of space perhead.

Dry lick and phosphorussupplements don't requirethe same space allowancebecause the low intakesmean animals don't need tospend as much time at thetrough.

Molasses mixes requireenough trough space to

avoid bullying. To reducebullying several troughsspread apart are better thanone long trough.

A rough guide is a maxi-mum of 50 head to a 350-450litre trough or a maximumof 80 head to a 500-750 litretrough.

Ideally troughs should beplaced at least 100-150 me-

tres from watering points,as placing lick troughs closeto waters only increases thegrazing pressure in theseareas.

Once animals are suc-cessfully on the lick, you canencourage better paddockutilisation by moving licktroughs to ungrazed areas ofyour paddocks.

Maintain records of sup-plement fed out as well asnumbers and descriptionsof cattle fed to ensure mosteffective use of supple-ment dollars.

For more informationcontact Byrony Daniels fromthe Department of Agricul-ture and Fisheries on 0427746 434.

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Thursday September 26, 2019QUEENSLANDCOUNTRYLIFE - SOUTHERNEDITION26 queenslandcountrylife.com.au

13 25 23 futurebeef.com.au

Taking stock of your future

It pays to be vigilant with anyweedy grass

Put a stop to Coolatai grassCOOLATAI grass (Hyparrhe-nia hirta) is a grass generallylimited to the south-eastcorner of Queensland andnorthern NSW.

Highly invasive of grass-land, woodland and pasture,Coolatai grass is a drought,fire and herbicide toleranttussock grass native to Africa.

Coolati grass is one of thefew perennial grasses capa-ble of invading undisturbednatural ecosystems and is amajor threat to natural biodi-versity in stock routes, naturereserves and national parks.

It is also a major threat tograzing productivity due toits low levels of protein anddigestibility.

Coolatai grass is namedafter Coolatai Station innorthern NSW where it wasextensively planted in thelate 1800s and from there hasspread mainly along road-sides to other areas.

Like many introducedtussock grasses it is palatableonly when green and short.

Coolati grass rapidly goesto seed losing much of itsnutrient value to stock.

In a paddock of native orsown pasture it is often thelast plant to be selected bystock and therefore has a

competitive advantage tomore palatable grass species.

It can easily be disguisedamongst other native andweedy grasses, often not be-ing noticed until it has cov-ered a significant area.

Coolatai is a perennialgrass growing to 1 m high ina distinct tussock.

It is wiry with most leavesgrowing from the bottomthird of the plant. The leavesare 2-30cm long and 1-2mm

wide. The leaves have arough surface.

Seed-head branches are4-6cm long with prominentlight-coloured awns.

This grass species produc-es large quantities of small

seed that spread easily andare viable for a number ofyears.

It can go to seed at almostany time of the year, but itsmain seeding period is aftergood summer rainfall.

Generally, this grass isspread along roadsides byslashing, and seed attachedto vehicles.

It will generally be seenfirst at gateways and alongtracks before moving intograzing paddocks.

As with most weedy grass-es, prevention is better thantrying to eradicate at a laterdate.

It pays to be vigilant withany of the weedy grasses andbecome familiar with yourmost common preferablegrass species so new incur-sions of weedy grasses can beidentified and treated early.

For more informationcontact Damien O'Sullivanon (07) 4182 1817.

Coolati grass is one of the few perennial grasses capable of invading undisturbed natural ecosystems and is a majorthreat to natural biodiversity in stock routes, nature reserves and national parks.

‘‘As withmostweedy grasses,prevention isbetter thantrying toeradicate at alater date.

Fit-to-load guide contains vital informationMEAT & Livestock Australia's'Is the animal fit to load?'guide has recently been re-vised (May 2019).

When transporting live-stock, it is essential they aremanaged in a way that limitsstress and minimises risksto animal welfare. Livestockoperators must understandtheir roles and responsibili-

ties when it comes to trans-porting livestock.

The updated guide to helpsproducers, agents, buyersand transporters decide ifan animal is fit to be loadedfor transport by road or rail.It includes new content toensure best practice animalwelfare when preparing,loading and delivering cattle,

sheep and goats. The 2019edition contains additionalinformation on:■ Roles and responsibilitiesfor consignors andtransporters

■ Checklists to assesswhether an animal is fit toload

■ Managing effluent■ Loading densities

■ Transporting bobby calves■ Using a firearm or captivebolt for euthanasiaThe new guide has been

endorsed by all red meatpeak industry councils, An-imal Health Australia, DairyAustralia, and other peakindustry bodies throughoutthe value chain.

This includes the

Australian Livestock and Ru-ral Transporters Association,the Australian Livestock &Property Agents Association,and the Australian LivestockMarkets' Association.

MLA adoption managernorthern beef, Ted Parish,recorded a webinar withQueensland cattle producerRussell Lethbridge where

they talked through the newguide and in particular whathad changed, and what itmeant for producers, con-signors and transporters.

To access the webinar visityoutube.com/FutureBeefAuand search for fit to load.

To download the guideor to order a hard copy, visitmla.com.au/isitfittoload.

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Thursday September 26, 2019 QUEENSLAND COUNTRY LIFE - SOUTHERN EDITION 27queenslandcountrylife.com.au

13 25 23 leadingsheep.com.au

Stocking rates in review

HAVING anaccurate under-standing of youroptimum stocking

rate and nutrition levels isthe key driver of Merinoflock longevity and produc-tivity.

That's according to Peterand Elizabeth Clark, whotogether operate the 12,000hectare property, Leander,north of Longreach, wherethey typically run a flock ofbetween 2800-3000 self-re-placing Merino ewes andsome wethers.

Over the past 40 years,the Clarks have discoveredthe benefits of fine-tuningtheir stocking rate and bettermanaging the nutritionlevels of their sheep byspelling country when theycan and managing totalgrazing pressure (TGP) withexclusion fencing.

"For us, it was a lot of trialand error to work out thebest stocking rate for differ-ent paddocks in differentseasons," Mr Clark said.

"In the 80s, we ran toomany sheep and were onlyachieving low marking rates.

"When we started totweak the stocking rate,and bring it down in thoseunderperforming paddocks,we started to increase ourmarking rates.

"We also itemised woolclip records across thedifferent paddocks andadjusted our stocking ratesaccordingly.

"Sure enough, over timewe were able to increase thewool cut on an individual

sheep basis and drive ourmarking rates up by about 10per cent."

Pest control is anotherkey element to boosting thenutritional performanceof your paddocks, and theClarks found a move toexclusion fencing in 2015was an effective method tomanage TGP.

"The quality and mix ofpastures have improveddramatically, and we're see-ing grasses we've never hadbefore. Essentially, until westarted managing for TGPon our property, we wereinadvertently overstocking,"Mr Clark said.

"When TGP is managed,we can effectively spellpaddocks, run more sheepand mark more lambs."

Before the exclusionfence, the Clarks were onlyrunning very low numberson desert country andreaching a lambing rate ofonly 80 per cent.

"With the fence, we're nowachieving a lambing rate of100 per cent and above, andwe can adjust our stockingrates according to the land'sneeds - letting it rest whenit needs to and boostingthe long-term nutritionalbenefits of our pastures," MrClark said.

Nutrition and land con-dition are factors the Clarkskeep a close eye on, optingto destock in the tough yearsto avoid degradation of theirsoils.

"Dry ewes are the first togo, followed by older ewes,"Mr Clark said.

Sorting ewes on a wet/dry basis is something thathas also allowed the Clarksto dramatically boost theproductivity of their flock.

"Each year, by wet/drysorting our ewes at marking,we are able to eliminateall sheep that have anyproblems with producing a

lamb," Mr Clark said."Over the years, we have

managed to build up aproductive flock that we cansort efficiently at marking."

MANAGINGMITCHELL GRASSAND STOCKINGRATES AFTERDROUGHT

Rain was sporadic acrossQueensland in March andApril, and while many areashave recovered, there are asmany still drought affected.

Strategically managingMitchell grass and stockingrates when rain arrives isa key part of recoveringfrom drought.

Department of Agricul-ture and Fisheries (DAF)principal scientist Dr DavidPhelps, who is based at Lon-greach, says grass recoveryis one of the most commonconcerns producers raisewith him.

"For producers who havehad good rain and are look-ing to restock, it's importantto try to spell Mitchell grassfor a minimum of six weeksbefore restocking," DrPhelps said.

"Agistment is expensiveand the temptation isto move stock straightback onto Mitchell grass,but long-term pasturelevels will greatly benefitfrom spelling."

For those producerswho have unfortunatelymissed relief rain, accuratelyestimating stocking ratesand available feed is criticalto protecting your pasturesover the longer term.

"Ideally, Mitchell grass isnever grazed to a tussocklength of below 15 centime-tres, as it is most responsiveto rain when it has thatlength to it," Dr Phelps said.

While the need to restpaddocks after rain can leadto tough decisions aroundagistment and destocking,spelling allows grasses torecover faster and withless moisture.

For more information onnutrition, stocking rates andpasture management, visitleadingsheep.com.au.

KEEP IN TOUCH!Subscribe to our Around

the Camp e-newsletter@leadingsheep.com.au

or follow us on Facebook; @LeadingSheep.

Enquiries can be extendedto leadingsheep@daf.qld.gov.au.

Peter and Elizabeth Clark operate the 12,000 hectare property, Leander, north ofLongreach, where they typically run a flock of between 2800-3000 sheep.

‘‘The quality andmix of pastureshave improved dramatically, andwe're seeing grasses we've neverhad before. Essentially, until westartedmanaging total grazingpressure, we were inadvertentlyoverstocking.Peter Clark

Fine-tuning their stocking rates andbetter managing nutrition levels of theirMerino flock have proven invaluable toPeter and Elizabeth Clark.