Northern Territory Cattlemen's Association – Innovation, Adoption and Extension Officer

Summary

This project was instigated to develop the position of Innovation, Adoption and Extension in the NTCA. It was felt that improved connectivity between the North Australian Beef Research Council (NABRC) and the northern Cattleman’s Association could be greatly enhanced if the NTCA delegate to NABRC could directly engage with NT beef producers and the members of the three regional advisory committees. The inability for remote businesses to continually participate in the innovation space means that the voice of many of the NTCA members is not able to be captured accurately or truly reflect the aspirational goals of the northern beef industry for research and adoption.

The creation of a staff member who could visit stations, attend all formal meetings and develop policies was seen as an essential step in ensuring the NTCA presents a representative and well-articulated voice at the political level and at all major national forums. The project also examined future R&D opportunities emergent from producer consultation and recommendations on the direction of any further capability and adoption work in the NT beef industry for the next five years.

The objectives of the project were as follows:

• Contribute as an active member of the North Australia Beef Research Council regional committees, providing a clear link for NTCA members to influence industry priority focus areas for research and development and facilitate the flow of information between the committees and MLA.
• Coordinate, in consultation with NT DPIR and DENR, the provision of best practice management information in line with current legislation to property owners of newly acquired stations within the Northern Territory.
• Develop an understanding of research, development and adoption priorities across the whole of the NT. Work closely with ASPIAC, BRAC and KPIAC to facilitate flow of information between committees and identify commonalities across the industry that need a whole of NT coordinated effort.
• Capture R&D priorities in the form of an NT Pastoral Industry Innovation and Adoption strategy.
• Identify areas of producer demand for information and locate the subject matter expert within NT DPIR, MLA, NT DENR and other organisations or private sector companies. Arrange for extension of information in alignment with producer demands, via property visits, field days, NTCA branch meetings, or similar forums.
• Maintain a strong presence in MLA to ensure information of current Research and Development is transferred to the Northern Territory.

To overcome distance challenges and the associated infrastructure and production timings with visiting members across the NT, the NTCA Annual Conference, branch meetings and one-on-one station visits were utilised to meet with as many members as possible to discuss best practice, technological interaction, research and development supply and demand, and the attitude towards adoption and extension especially in relation to remote water monitoring devices and NLIS-based herd management systems.