Investing in water quality could fatten up livestock

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2021-08-17 04:00

Australia; ACT

Tobias Keller

Water quality plays a role in fattening up livestock and dam renovations could reap financial rewards long term, according to Australian researchers. The researchers used data from three North American studies showing the weight gain of cattle when given access to better quality of water to determine whether this would be financially viable in rural NSW and Victoria. They found if a farmer invested in dam renovations like fencing, revegetation and strategies to limit stock access, there was more than a 70 per cent chance they would see a cost benefit from stock weight gain. The researchers say incentive schemes for these kinds of projects could benefit both farmers and biodiversity.

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Journal/
conference: PLOS One

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: The Australian National University

Funder: This study is part of the Sustainable Farms initiative at The Australian National University. Funding for the work was provided by grants from the Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment, the Ian Potter Foundation, and the William Buckland Foundation

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