The perfect EDGEnetwork package for northern producers
30 April 2025
Trudi Oxley (middle) delivering new insights to producers at Katherine’s Breeding EDGE workshop.
Across Queensland, the NT and WA, MLA’s EDGEnetwork has four courses designed to provide producers with the latest knowledge and skill-building education to enhance their business and livestock management.
There are three northern-based workshops – Grazing Land Management EDGE, Nutrition EDGE and Breeding EDGE – designed to provide everything a northern producer needs to know to ensure good herd or flock productivity. Business EDGE is the final course which helps to wrap up the whole package.
NT beef cattle producer and consultant, Trudi Oxley, has been involved in the development and delivery of EDGEnetwork courses since 2000.
Now, hitting two and a half decades of helping EDGE workshop participants identify areas to enhance their on-farm profitability and productivity, Trudi shares some key insights on how producers can make the most out of these workshops.
Focused on delivering a thorough understanding of the land and environment in which the workshop attendees operate, Trudi said Grazing Land Management (GLM) EDGE is a great way to kick off your knowledge and skill building for improving productivity on farm.
“The workshop first looks at short-term carrying capacity, which is largely focused on feed budgeting and being able to assess how much feed your current pastures are able to supply in the upcoming months,” she said.
“Later, it looks at how you determine long-term carrying capacity, which is what aids in informing decision-making as you plan those big investments you want to occur in the next 5–10 years, and how you can improve and maintain land condition.
“This workshop is designed to put producers in a position of confidence through building a grazing management plan for their property – including strategies for spelling, weed management and incorporating new pastures – to achieve the outcomes they’re looking for.”
Upcoming events:
When it comes to Nutrition EDGE, Trudi said the workshop compliments the materials and tools covered in GLM EDGE nicely.
“Setting yourself up with effective management tools that ensure you have a year-round supply of feed for your stock is the basis of a nutritional plan,” she said.
“Understanding the seasonal and reproductive nutritional needs of cattle is what will help you make the most of that nutritional plan.
“Nutrition EDGE is designed to focus on all aspects of ruminant nutrition from assessing feedbase value and seasonal impacts to understanding feed labels and knowing when to supplement.
“At the conclusion of the workshop, producers will have a good understanding of how the nutritional needs of their stock can be met to improve breeder fertility, increase weight gains and reduced mortality,” Trudi said.
Upcoming events:
According to Trudi, aligning grazing land management and nutrition planning with your reproductive cycle will guarantee that you will have the feed supply for your cattle to succeed – optimising your business and ensuring long-term productivity and profitability.
“This workshop is the final addition to the northern EDGE packages that give our producers the tools and knowledge they need to ensure a comprehensive production plan,” she said.
“It covers off on heifer and bull management, mating strategies, maximising the reproductive success of breeders, and looking at regional performance benchmarks.”
In addition to assisting producers in improving and refining their breeder herd management, the workshop has a strong focus on genetic improvement plans and how to select cattle based on desired production targets.
“Breeding EDGE has a combination of theory and practical tasks throughout the workshop,” Trudi said.
“It explores not only how producers can make the most of data recording, but also aims to refine attendees’ skills and confidence in how they can use this information to ensure they are moving towards their own breeding objectives.”
Upcoming events:
When attended consecutively, Trudi said the three workshops outlined above give northern beef producers the edge they need to boost their business from a production viewpoint. Then, there’s the opportunity to supplement with Business EDGE to enhance their financial management to improve business efficiency and profitability.
Upcoming events:
- 26 May – Bundaberg, Queensland
- 21 July – Longreach, Queensland
- 24 July – Julia Creek, Queensland
- 18 November – Toowoomba, Queensland
No set recipe
“Every producer has different resources, constraints, opportunities and goals,” Trudi said.
“It’s been important in the development and delivery of EDGEnetwork courses that it’s not about following a set recipe, but about providing a sound base in science and principles.
“It’s also about providing insight into some tools than can assist producers in transforming their planning at the workshop into action at home.
“EDGE courses are for building producer knowledge, but they’re also about boosting producer skill and confidence with practical tasks and the time to discuss concepts in relation to their property.”
However, beyond the learning outcomes the workshop material provides, Trudi said there’s an added benefit to heading off-farm and getting in the same room as other producers.
“Attending provides an opportunity to be stimulated not only by what the presenter is saying, but by the ideas and solutions the other participants are raising,” she said.
“More importantly, attending gives producers time and space to develop their longer-term business strategy, rather than being caught up in day-to-day operations.”
“There can be a wonderful melting pot of people at these events and it’s incredibly rewarding as a deliverer to see attendees experience that ‘lightbulb moment’ when they pinpoint the strategy that’ll help them reach their goals, or when they realise they’re now able to put the data together to justify making investments that will increase the profitability of their business.”
