Tennant Creek meet and greet

On Thursday 30 September, staff from the Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade Livestock Industries and Biosecurity sections held a networking event at the annual Barkly Gold Rush Campdraft. Robyn Cowley and Chris Materne from the Rangelands team, Gretel Bailey-Preston from the Livestock team, Thomas Haines and Greg Maguire from the Biosecurity team based in Tennant Creek, and Angus Duguid, Regional Director for Agriculture (Southern), were present to cover a range of areas of expertise.

This event was held in conjunction with the evening awards ceremony for the day’s competitions. In fact, some of the staff present actually took leave to compete and help run the Gold Rush Campdraft (a shout‑out to Thomas who was outstanding as Master of Ceremonies).

The attendance of department staff and department sponsorship of the evening aimed to increase accessibility to department staff and foster new and existing relationships within the industry. There was a trade display at the bar, with information on current research projects in the Barkly and other brochures.

Leveraging off the high attendance at the Barkly Gold Rush Campdraft, the meet and greet event was well attended with a good turnout of producers from the Victoria River district, Barkly, Katherine and Central Australian regions. It was a great opportunity to engage with so many producers. The informal social setting allowed for many conversations about current issues, particularly in the Barkly.

Two of the department’s most experienced rangelands scientists were able to record valuable information about the effects of the drought and about recent pasture recovery in those areas where the last wet season did produce reasonable growth. Chris Materne arrived armed with maps and was even able to encourage some managers to sketch areas of concern on them. There is no doubt that the driest run of years in a long time has resulted in serious regional decline in Mitchell Grass pastures, with an associated reduction in cattle numbers. Station visits are planned to collect more data on pasture condition and recovery, and started with Rockhampton Downs on Friday 1 October 2021.

We would like to thank the Barkly Campdraft Association for hosting us and allowing us to be part of their event. We hope to hold more events like this to encourage engagement and networking between departmental staff and the industry.