Unlock Profit: Mastering Grass Management for Grazing Success (with RCS)

David: G’Day. It’s David McLean and Matt Barton here from RCS. Well, we’re down in Dubbo, NSW at the moment, down in Matt’s home ground.

Matt: Yeah, my territory.

David: And one of the conversations we’ve been having this last week, while we’ve been at the ExecutiveLink® meeting, a great few days. One of the powerful conversations that keep coming up is around feed inventory.

The Profit Linkage:

Matt: You must have grass to obviously make money, but where it becomes really key is when other people start not having grass. And if you have grass, that’s when you can become super profitable, highly profitable because you can start to see opportunities. To be able to manage, if you’ve got a grazing business, you have to manage grass to be able to manage your profitability.

David: It’s a simple, yet profoundly impactful concept. When others are struggling, those with well-managed grass reserves can capitalise, leading to significant financial gains.

The Principle of Matching Stocking Rate to Carrying Capacity:

Matt: How do we go about having grass when other people may not have as much as they wish they had? Well, doesn’t it come down to the RCS principle: match stocking rate to carrying capacity and you’ll never have a drought. Easy to say and it’s easy to do once you know how.

David: Matt highlights the fundamental principle that can transform your grazing operation. Properly aligning your livestock numbers with the land’s capacity is the cornerstone of sustainable and profitable grazing.

The Power of Measurement:

Matt: And not only with that, it’s measuring the grass that you have in front of you and I see that as so key. Because you can really start to measure with accuracy, with so much accuracy because you’re measuring, the animals are telling you how much you’re taking out and you can see how much is in front of you. Especially where we’ve got this more seasonal climate down here going from winter to summer. Once you start a new season you’ve got to be able to judge what’s in front of you and then once you can judge what’s in front of you then you can start to measure what your needs are and then match those two against each other.

David: Accurate measurement is critical. Knowing precisely how much grass you have and how much your livestock are consuming allows for informed decision-making, reducing guesswork and stress.

The Impact of Feed Budgeting:

David: It’s such a powerful thing and the I look back on my own journey learning how to feed budget, the impact that had on decreasing stress because you’re in control.

Matt: Didn’t guess. Didn’t guess and I think when I look back pre RCS days, and so much guesswork, and I remember the focus was on the animal, and God forbid I remember Dad saying all those animals are starting to go back a bit, we’ll have to start feeding, and in hindsight, oh man, not only were we two or three months too late about to go into a disastrous economic situation, plus everything else, that this simple tool and skill would have stopped that. And it frustrates me that it hasn’t been more widespread in our industry. Because I see the pain when things go dry and poor decisions are made. And it starts to spiral.

David: Matt’s personal experience underscores the transformative power of feed budgeting. It’s about moving from reactive to proactive management, preventing costly mistakes and unnecessary stress.

The Upward Feedback Loop:

David: We were talking about it in the hot seat presentation at ExecutiveLink® this morning that RCS Alumni Andrew Dowd found that as he started to manage his grass more effectively and use the animals as that tool, he got more ground cover. So it started to get better. Water infiltration was growing more grass from the same amount of rain as what other people in the area there and complete change in species over time. And so all these more productive species were coming through that didn’t need to have as much money spent on them. Which means that you get that complete picture, better water efficiency, more grass, more control, more timely decisions. It’s an exciting spot to be. It’s what I call an upward feedback loop. Maybe an upward feedback spiral and it’s a wonderful thing to ride.

Matt: Effective grazing management creates a positive cycle: better ground cover, improved water infiltration, increased grass production, and ultimately, greater control.

Next Steps…

David: If you’re interested in honing those grazing management skills we’d love to see you at a grazing clinic coming up soon.

There’s a number of them coming up from right as far north as Charters Towers to down at Wagga and then Matt’s delivering our online grazing clinic as well which runs over a 12 week period and that kicks off later this month, and again in July 2025 as well, with a one hour a week and then a little bit of reflection homework in between.

So if you want to take that next step, we’ve got a number of different options for you around the place. If there isn’t a course right next to you, we’ll jump in the car, jump in the plane and get to one there. Or jump online.

Matt:  Jump online, absolutely. And tell you that if you come through that you will get the value for money for being there and get excited about the amount of control that it will give you.

David: Thanks mate.

Matt: Thank you.