North Queensland couple Jamie Gordon and Garlone Moulin are known for thinking outside the square when it comes to sustainable beef production, and it has paid off.
Last week, they won the Rural Award at the Premier’s Sustainability Awards for their achievements at their Mt Pleasant Station, which lies between Bowen and Collinsville.
"We have demonstrated that you can not only stop the decline in pasture and land condition, but you can actually improve it as you run a profitable, commercial enterprise - we will continue to build on that," Garlone Moulin said.
The 13,825 hectare property has been in the Gordon family for almost 100 years, and by the 1970s the native pasture of bluegrass, kangaroo, golden beard, native legumes had been overtaken by Indian couch due to patch grazing and the over-use of fire as a management tool.
The husband-and-wife team implemented Grazing BMP and since the early 2000s moved from continuous grazing to a mix of rotational and cell grazing.
The country has not looked back. Flexibility is key, and there is constant re-evaluation.
"The changes we have made to our grazing management have and will continue to provide the best level of drought tolerance possible,” Ms Moulin said.
“We believe that continual monitoring of all aspects of the operation ensures our farm business is purpose-driven, not profit-driven."
Mr Gordon said in 2010 they introduced Nguni cattle with the belief that the cattle needed to match their environment, rather than forcing the environment to support cattle that were not suited to it.
"The health of our natural resource base must be managed for maximum performance." Mr Gordon said.
"It's a cyclical effect - the health of our landscape determines the health of our animals. Our goal is quality food from healthy animals, grown in a healthy environment to feed our community." They are now marketing some of their Nguni meat products direct to the consumer and have improved their on-farm outcomes by doubling their gross margin per animal and increasing their carrying capacity by 35 per cent.
The award recognises the achievements of Queensland producers who have developed a sustainable and profitable agricultural business while improving environmental and on-farm performance.