HAVING come through a dry summer, which followed a tough couple of years affected due to the live cattle export trade fiasco, Central Queensland steer grower Andy Abell is cautious about big on-farm investments.
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Still, he says, there is a need to invest to keep producing.
Mr Abell (pictured, right, with Mark Iseppi, Roma, Queensland, at last year's FarmFest) uses field day events such as CRT FarmFest to investigate new concepts, compare products and prices and meet up with colleagues and stay up to date with his industry.
He is slowly rebuilding numbers at his crossbred operation "Greenacres", Biloela, after scaling back to 80 per cent to get through the drought.
He said 130 millimetres in April had set up pastures well for winter and replenished what were very low stock water supplies.
"Following the slowing of the market on the back of the live trade affair, the drought was very hard," he said.
"We were somewhat protected from the fallout because we are more coastal and had the option of other markets.
"Like everybody, we took a hit.
"It's good to see things in Queensland's beef industry turning around a bit."
Shan Goodwin
Journalist for The Land on the North Coast.
Journalist for The Land on the North Coast.
