Jim Wade to host agronomy workshops

THE LDC has enlisted the expertise of agriculture consultant and qualified nutritionist Jim Wade of Wade Agriculture Consultants to visit properties across the BBB in the first week of December to talk about how best to provide cattle with a balanced diet during times of drought.

The field visits will be held 3-7 December.

Dry pastures can leave graziers with low protein, stubble and roughage to get stock through summer, so supplementation could play a vital role.  Jim will guide land managers on how best to minimise the risk of drought and maximise opportunities during good seasons.

It’s about balancing how much grazing occurs and how much time is allowed for recovery of the grazed pastures, and knowing what feed additives to provide livestock, including custom supplement mixes for optimum performance dependent on the season.

Jim will cover a broad range of topics including how to balance breeder numbers to increase production, and the benefits of creep feeding, which allows calves unrestricted access to additional feed while they are still suckling.

Other topics include balancing protein, trace elements and energy, improving feed quality, the benefits of soil, plant tissue and water analysis, and supplementation for pasture management.

Jim Wade is a Rural Science graduate from the University of New England in Armidale, NSW, and is currently the primary consulting nutritionist with Wade Agriculture Consultants.

He was formerly the Technical Manager of Rabar Pty Ltd for nearly eight years which is a vitamin and mineral premix manufacturing company formulating premixes.  He has detailed knowledge of feed additives for all livestock.

His consultancy has a diverse client base working with dairy farmers, beef producers, feed mills, AGR Industries in Brisbane, several feedlots and individual projects for companies involved in animal nutrition.