Grazing for Soil and Landscape Health - Webinar
Description
Due to heavy rainfall we have decided to cancel the Thistlebank field day planned for Monday the 26th of October and adapt to bring the learning to you in the form of a webinar with Ben Simpson and David McLean from RCS.
Ben and Kim Simpson run Thistlebank, a 22,800ha beef cattle operation near Aramac, QLD. Since 2022 they have shifted their grazing practices to more intensive cell grazing management on 6,000ha of the property and manage the remaining 16,800 ha of land in a less intensive rotational grazing approach.
They made the change after looking for ways to increase profitability. They’ve seen early improvements in carrying capacity, drought planning and responsiveness and profitability following the changes they have made to their grazing management. From a period of higher outgoings than income they quickly turned things around to rank in the top 20% for profitability in Farmeye, RCS’s business analysis and benchmarking platform, in 2023 and 2024.
The webinar will cover:
David McLean will introduce the RCS Grazing principles
Ben Simpson will share how he is applying these grazing principles at Thistlebank to improve soil health, build farm resilience and create new opportunities for his business.
Question and answer session to help you discover how to apply grazing principles for soil and landscape health in your own situation.
This webinar is part of a series of events with graziers featured in our recently launched Grazing for Soil and Landscape Regeneration Practice Guide.
Contact
For questions or more information, please contact Soils for Life at (02) 6273 6647 or
Many thanks to Twynam Investments for supporting the production of this guide, to the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal and Hand Heart Pocket for supporting this event, to Judi Earl (Agricultural Information and Monitoring Services), Helen Lewis (Australian Holistic Management Cooperative), David McLean (RCS), Grahame Rees (KLR Marketing) and Brian Wehlburg (Inside Outside Management) for input and guidance, and to Ben Simpson, David and Ruth Read, David Curtis, Nick Austin and Rod and Katrina Butler for generously sharing their stories, knowledge, experience and data.
Lineup
Ben Simpson
Ben Simpson has been running the property Thistlebank near Aramac QLD since 2010. Thistlebank had been set stocked until Ben and Kim began looking for ways to improve profitability. They changed their grazing management practices in 2022 after attending the KLR Marketing and the RCS Grazing for Profit training programs. Ben and Kim have since reduced the number of mobs, subdivided paddocks and improved water systems. They follow the RCS Grazing Principles and use data from their pasture budgets to make grazing and stocking rate decisions. They currently implement more intensive cell grazing management on a 6,000 ha area of the property and manage the remaining 16,800 ha of land in a less intensive rotational grazing approach. Two thirds of their cattle are now trading cattle, which gives them more flexibility to adjust stocking rates to seasonal conditions. Ben and Kim have seen early improvements in carrying capacity, drought planning and responsiveness and profitability following the changes they have made to their grazing management.
David McLean, Managing Director, RCS Australia.
David McLean is one of Australia’s leading educators and facilitators in regenerative grazing, agricultural business management and landscape function. As Managing Director of RCS Australia, David draws on nearly two decades of experience in agricultural consulting, education, facilitation and producer coaching. Coming from a grazing family in western Queensland, he works with producers across Australia to improve profitability, grazing management, ecological health and long-term business resilience through practical, whole-farm strategies.
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