ACIAR Timor Leste Beef : Beefing Up July 2015

From the project leaders ACIAR’s review of our projects in Jan-Feb was very favourable. Some recommendations were made, including extension of “036” to Dec 15, and advice on structure and function of a new project. A preliminary proposal for a new beef research project involving Australian, Indonesian and Timor Leste has beenapproved by ACIAR. We hope to be submitting a full proposal in September to start in January. Eric Thorne-George will join the team in July as project coordinator. Eric is very experienced in the type of work we conduct. We warmly welcome his participation.

Elske has some exciting training modules planned for Jul-Dec, some with filming. This will be valued by farmers and advisory staff well into the future. Our projects are providing many people with new skills and experience toboost their prospects in finding future employment or establishing new businesses.The new project will contract staff who will primarily have livestock marketing and production skills. It is hoped these positions will be advertised later this year with several positions filled by staff from the current project.

Congratulations Latino

Latino has received an awardfrom the US Forest Serviceto attend a 2 week course on rangeland management in Idaho, USA in Jul-Aug 2015. Our only concern is he may return with a broken bum as Day 6 includes a horse riding adventure. This reward reflectsLatino’shard work, dedication to his job and the respect he earns as a result.

How do you make cattle?

Well first you need some feed! With great support from Yuliaty (UNTL), Neal Dalgliesh (Australia) and the team, Antonio Daos has produced a forage evaluation trial at Naimeco inOecusse. Recently he and the farmers bagged and weighed harvest samples for final scientific comparisons in Dili. Each of the field researchers has been involved with forage evaluations and working with farmers to plant and utilise forages at all project sites.

Is this a good cattle yard?

A good yard is one where it is EASY and SAFE to:

ü  Bring cattle in

ü  Give them extra feed and water

ü  Weigh them

ü  Conduct weaning

ü  Tag cattle

ü  Vaccinate them

ü  Load them for market

Our current facilities could be much better.

Latino is working with farmers to develop a new Timor Leste design that will make cattle work easier. If we are successful, we will know because the farmers’ wives will love it.

Will the forage grow?

Forages grow better and produce more dry matter of higher quality if conditions are ideal. Factors that can affect forage growth include variety of plant, soil type and fertility, rainfall or irrigation, drainage in wet areas, sunlight, temperature, fertilizers, and pests such as ants or leaf miners. All forage evaluations measure or control these factors. Meteorology stations at research sites are used to measure rainfall, radiation, and temperature.

At Loesmost grasses have achieved annual yields of >20 tonnes of dry matter per ha. Several legumes produced 4-11 tonnes ofdry matter per ha. Yields at Oecussi where it is much drier can be less than a quarter of that at Loes.

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Sr. Manuel Maupelo (Aldeai : Sanirin) have a "brialiant way" for keep his cattle (full story in next special edition)