Smarter grazing, healthier land
Smarter grazing, healthier land
Wes and Lucy Pepper are improving the condition of their country by adopting a more strategic grazing approach, beginning with wet season spelling.
With new infrastructure in place, Wes and Lucy now have the flexibility to give these areas a proper rest during the wet season.
The herd is moved into a bush paddock, where scattered waterholes encourage cattle to spread out naturally across the hills. This reduces grazing pressure around main watering points and allows the lower paddocks to recover during the critical growing season.
As the dry season sets in and those natural water sources disappear, the cattle gradually return to areas with reliable troughs. The Peppers manage this shift by controlling which troughs are active, using pasture condition as their guide. This allows them to influence where the cattle graze and adjust pressure as the season progresses.
As land condition improves, Wes and Lucy will start rotating cattle through the lower paddocks more frequently, while giving the bush paddock a break during the following wet season. It’ s all about balance, and it’ s backed by regular forage assessments to guide grazing decisions and keep pasture use sustainable.
This infrastructure is key to establishing a thoughtful grazing rotation that gives Wes and Lucy more control over where and when their cattle graze. It supports better recruitment of 3P( palatable, perennial and productive) pasture species, improves ground cover at the end of the dry season, improves rainfall absorption, and reduces sediment run-off into nearby creeks, ultimately helping protect the Great Barrier Reef Lagoon.
Terry Creek graziers Lucy and Wes Pepper with grazing consultant Dick Richardson( left).
“ Having someone in your corner who listens, challenges your thinking, and helps turn your vision for the property into a working plan means we’ re on track to reach our business goals. Getting advice from someone like Dick Richardson has made a big difference,” Wes Pepper.
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