Heterogeneity in extensive pasture systems: the effect on beef cattle behaviour, selection, paddock utilisation and production

Abstract

Future expansion of the beef industry is likely, as the increasing demand for animal-based protein is driven by a combination of the growing world population, and increasing middle-class wealth in developing countries. However, animal welfare concerns have been expressed over the low frequency of livestock monitoring in extensive / rangeland management systems. There is a need therefore to improve on the traditional methods of managing and monitoring extensively produced livestock, and on how management strategies are implemented. In this global market, the livestock sector needs to increase productivity and production efficiency, for example through better utilisation of available pasture resources whilst also meeting consumer animal welfare concerns. The use of technology offers one solution, supplying producers with new techniques to manage livestock and implement strategies on farm. In this thesis, remote sensing technologies (pasture sensors and livestock tracking technology) were implemented to investigate the underlying pasture factors (quality and quantity) affecting cattle site selection, animal – pasture interactions, paddock utilisation, and the applicability of GNSS collars for livestock studies. The adoption of remote-sensing technologies to autonomously measure pasture and livestock variables also has the potential to improve animal welfare standards via more frequent livestock monitoring. Simultaneously, the acquisition of near real-time data should enable producers to improve management practices, for example by modifying livestock access to underperforming or sensitive regions of the paddock, and facilitating producers to make closer to real-time strategic decisions. Finally, a range of bio- or lead indicators/tools were proposed in this thesis that could be developed for use by producers to assist management decisions at a paddock (pasture) and animal level.