Efficiency through infrastructure
Host: Goldsborough Station
Written by Emma Taylor – Manager, Goldsborough Station.
One advantage of staying on long term as a property manager is that you get to see your vision for the development of the property come to fruition. Over the past 14 years, Goldsborough has been transformed from five individual properties to an integrated backgrounding property that can handle large numbers of cattle efficiently.
One of the yards on Goldsborough with a lane way that connects all paddocks to all yards.
New yards, water infrastructure, and lane ways have been built to improve the productivity and efficiency of Goldsborough. New yards designed with the animals instincts in mind create an efficient, safe, and low stress environment for cattle and people. On Goldsborough a lot of time is spent drafting and handling cattle in the yards so this is a key part of the infrastructure in a backgrounding operation.
The water infrastructure usually consists of tanks and polypipe to run water through to troughs where the cattle drink. Increasing the number of waters in a paddock reduces the distance cattle have to walk to drink and also allows for better utilisation of pastures as cattle will only walk so far from a watering point.
New 100 000 litre tank connected to 10km of poly pipe gravity feeding to seven troughs.
There has also been on-going development of the country through stick raking, blade ploughing, and establishment of improved pastures. Stick raking is the cleaning up of sticks and logs on the ground in a paddock to make it possible for a bulldozer with a deep ripping plough to open up the soil and allow for more rainfall to penetrate. Pasture seed is often spread behind the deep ripping and will grow when it rains. This work is often called renovation of country and increases the overall carrying capacity
