Mr. Mick Sullivan

CQ BEEF is being led by former Mt Isa-based DPI&F senior beef extension officer Mick Sullivan, with a support team of established extension officers including a regional agricultural economist.

The three-year project that will run through to June 2010 was founded on a partnership between the Fitzroy Basin Association, Cooperative Research Centre for Beef Genetic Technologies and DPI&F with regional FBA field officer support.

Mr Sullivan said the project would assist producers to evaluate the performance of their enterprise and identify opportunities for improvement.

"At the end of the day, our goal is to identify opportunities that can improve profitability and then focus on the most effective way to implement change," Mr Sullivan said.

Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries principal industry development officer Mick Sullivan said FutureBeef 2020 was firmly focused on partnering with Queensland beef producers to deliver technology and best management practices to the state´s progressive cattle industry.

Mr Sullivan said the CQ BEEF project was flourishing with eight groups now established since its mid-2007 launch based on a partnership between Fitzroy Basin Association Inc (FBA), Cooperative Research Centre for Beef Genetic Technologies and QPIF.

The Australian Government´s Caring for Our Country program has provided the funding support through FBA to assist these families to assess the financial implications of changes in business strategies relating to turn-off, marketing, property development and supplementary feeding.

"Our objective is to assist the group members to review their family operated grazing businesses using in-depth economic analysis to identify opportunities to improve profitability and environmental management," Mr Sullivan said.
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Mr Sullivan said that FutureBeef groups like this are providing meaningful direction to achieve long-term management and productivity outcomes for Queensland´s cattle industry.

"We have successfully brought group members together to openly share and entrust their business objectives and financial records to help identify and address the strengths and weaknesses of individual family operations," Mr Sullivan said.
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Mr Sullivan said the scope for improved business profitability was unlimited and the ground-breaking leadership of FutureBeef´s CQ BEEF pilot project was also delivering natural resource management benefits welcomed by an increasingly environmentally aware broader community.

Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries principal industry development officer Mick Sullivan leads the ground-breaking CQ BEEF (Better Economic and Environmental Futures) project team.

The CQ BEEF initiative, launched in mid-2007, was founded on a partnership between the Fitzroy Basin Association (FBA), Cooperative Research Centre for Beef Genetic Technologies and DPI&F.

"In addition to our established CQ BEEF groups at Biloela, Moura, Bajool and Mackenzie River, we now have a new CQ BEEF Broadsound group that has brought together six family grazing enterprises from the Marlborough and St Lawrence districts," Mr Sullivan said.
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Mr Sullivan said the DPI&F CQ BEEF extension team and FBA regional officers were working with producers to identify areas to improve profitability and sustainability of their operations using Profit Probe business analysis.

"Our goal is to assist the 101 group members to identify opportunities that can improve profitability and then focus of the most effective way to implement change."

DPI&F´s CQ BEEF team which includes an agricultural economist have the resources to help producers assess the financial implications of changes in business in relation to turnoff, marketing, property development and supplementary feeding.

"Thanks to Caring for Our Country, the CQ BEEF pilot project has grown to the extent that our groups representing close to 400,000ha and 100,000 cattle will be able to provide meaningful direction to achieve long-term land management and productivity outcomes for Central Queensland´s cattle industry," Mr Sullivan said.

Mr Sullivan said group members were keen to investigate the use of new technologies.

Mount Isa-based Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries senior extension officer Mick Sullivan said the Beef Cooperative Research Centre's (Beef CRC) herd at DPI&F's Toorak Research Station provided a unique opportunity to investigate reproductive losses in an extensive grazing environment.

"Knowing the time at which calf losses occur is paramount to the understanding and identification of the possible causes and mechanisms linked to poor reproductive performances," he said.

Mr Sullivan said the first CRC calving at Toorak in late 2003 had an unexplained perinatal (period from just prior to birth to 48 hours after birth) calf mortality rate of nine per cent. During the 2004 calving, the unexplained perinatal calf mortality at Toorak had risen to 37 per cent.

Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries senior beef extension officer Mick Sullivan said CQ BEEF (Better Economic and Environmental Futures) has welcomed the appointment of development extension officer Byrony Daniels at Emerald.

Mr Sullivan said the appointment of Ms Daniels to the CQ BEEF team was in keeping with the Department´s commitment of expanding beef industry extension services through the Futurebeef initiative.
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"It will also ensure we are meeting the needs of local producers through the provision of appropriate staff and services as a part of the "fresh approach" initiative recently adopted by DPI&F (Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries)," Mr Sullivan said.