‘Step changes in meat production systems from dual-purpose crops in the feedbase’ was a multi-institutional research program funded by Meat & Livestock Australia. This special issue of Animal Production Science includes key papers from that research program. This synopsis paper integrates research findings across the three nodes of the project and draws out 11 principles for the effective utilisation of dual-purpose crops in meat production systems to increase profit and manage risk.

Growing of dual-purpose crops for grazing by livestock in the high-rainfall zone may allow increased production from a given area of land. Low pasture availability in winter due to cold temperatures may restrict livestock production; however, grazing dual-purpose crops allows pastures to be rested from late-autumn to early spring. The main livestock feed deficit when dual-purpose crops are part of these farming systems is during late summer and autumn when crops are being established, but pastures accumulate biomass while crops are grazed during winter.

Dual-purpose crops provide a high-quality forage for grazing by livestock in late autumn and winter. The improved nutrition of Merino ewes during late pregnancy and lambing and of carry-over weaners during winter increases wool production but may not necessarily reduce annual supplementary feeding requirements when one-third of a farm is sown to dual-purpose crops. For a system selling yearling Merino lambs, prioritising grazing of crops for weaners may increase meat production while still allowing grazing of crops by other livestock classes.

Dorper sheep may provide an option for farmers to increase lamb production and reduce labour costs associated with livestock production. Weaning rates were similar for White Dorper ewes and Merino ewes joined to terminal sires grazing a feedbase that included dual-purpose wheat and canola in two experiments, whereas lambs produced by White Dorper ewes joined to White Suffolk rams were heavier at weaning than those produced by joining to a White Dorper ram, or a Merino maternal system.

Filling the summer–autumn feed gap is a key priority for sheep producers in southern Australia’s high-rainfall zone, with summer and autumn traditionally being a time of feed shortage for livestock production. Winter-type canola can produce up to 3.5 t/ha of high-quality feed for grazing livestock during this key summer–autumn period. This provides livestock producers with the opportunity to increase production during this time of year, which could involve finishing livestock to higher slaughter weights or increasing the reproductive performance of ewes, utilising forage rather than purchasing supplementary feeds.

Mating of ewe lambs for lambing at 1 year of age has the potential to increase the profitability of sheep-production systems; however, successful mating of ewe lambs requires that they have reached a bodyweight of 35–40 kg, have a condition score of at least 3.0, and be gaining weight before and during mating. Grazing dual-purpose canola crops during summer and autumn enables ewe lambs to meet these targets and improves liveweight gains and reproductive performance relative to traditional perennial ryegrass pastures. The implications are a more productive ewe flock, and a flock that produces more lambs over the duration of a ewe’s lifetime.

In southern Australia, summer–autumn is a period of feed shortage for livestock producers, with lack of green feed limiting livestock production or increasing farm expenditure on supplementary sources of feed. Winter-type canola can be sown in spring and grazed during its vegetative phase in summer and autumn, thus providing a source of green feed at a time when feed is limiting. If correct grazing management is applied, the canola can then produce a grain yield without penalty in its second spring, thus benefiting livestock producers by filling the summer–autumn feed gap and providing a second income stream in a mixed-farming system.

Mating ewe lambs at ~7 months of age is an option for increasing the profit of a sheep-farm business. However, there is limited information on the economic gains and risks of using different feeding strategies to provide the nutrition that ewe lambs need before and during mating. The results of this modelling study indicate that some feed systems can increase farm profit and reduce business risk.

Utilising pastures that maintain high quality later in the season can allow higher finished weights for lambs grazing pasture. Biserrula forage maintained higher digestibility and crude protein levels later in the season than subterranean clover; however, growth rates were lower for lambs grazing biserrula than other pastures during late spring. Provision of a companion species or mixture of species when lambs graze biserrula during late spring to summer appears to offer benefits for lamb growth rate over this period.

Pastures that allow high lamb growth rates and maintain quality later in the season will improve the efficiency of production and producer returns. This study compared lamb production when grazing traditional and novel pastures, and showed that lambs grazing a mixture of arrowleaf clover and chicory had higher final liveweights and produced heavier carcasses than those grazing alternatives such as lucerne, bladder clover and French serradella. Producers can select a specialist pasture for increasing lamb production in late spring.

Lucerne is a high-quality forage for finishing lambs. A survey of pastures in southern Australia identified that dryland lucerne may be low in sodium; however, lucerne pastures growing under spray irrigation are less likely to be deficient. Supplementation of lambs grazing high-quality lucerne with salt can increase lamb growth rates, whereas supplementation with barley grain does not.

Different forage species often have unbalanced proportions of metabolisable energy (ME) and crude protein (CP), leading to below-optimum performance of lambs. We investigated the effects on lamb performance of two summer forages, lucerne and brassica, differing in ME and CP concentrations, during summer–early autumn in southern Australia and found that ME of lucerne was more limiting to lamb growth than its CP concentration under the warm and dry conditions. The results suggest that a small increase in ME supply could improve the performance of lambs grazing a maturing lucerne sward during dry summer conditions, a major challenge faced by grazing industries in these Mediterranean environments.

Beef cattle grazing dual-purpose crops on mixed farms can achieve high liveweight gains during periods of pasture deficit. Use of dual-purpose crops for beef production offers significant opportunity for the southern Australian beef industry. Growth rates of young cattle can be improved by appropriate mineral supplementation and livestock management.