Maddy Pursehouse shares how education and data gave her the confidence to make the tough decisions
During her speech Maddy recounts her initiation into the world of grazing, leading into one of Australia’s most severe droughts and how she came to the realization that making tough decisions based on sound data and planning is the only sustainable way forward. Maddy purchased her first farm 2 years ago at the age of 25, but unfortunately witnessed the onset of a severe 2-year drought. Her initial enthusiasm and lack of planning brought with it excessive purchases of cattle resulting in her paddocks being over stocked. As the drought persisted it was clear her paddocks could not support her current stocking rate.
Maddy purshouse searched for answers attending various regenerative agriculture training courses and gaining advice from mentors such as Stuart Austin. She also discovered the MaiaGrazing software tool which enabled her to capture data, implement planned grazing, understand her ideal stocking rate and forecast different scenarios. After analyzing her data in MaiaGrazing it was clear that she should have destocked 3 months earlier than she had. It was a difficult decision as Maddy was forced to sell stock at a lower price than originally purchased. The cost of not taking action would have been far greater though, being forced to sell stock at an even lower sale price, incurring larger feed costs and overgrazing her land to the point where recovery time could have taken years. Today Maddy is in the perfect position to take advantage of the rains when they arrive. Maddy’s story is inspirational and she continues to aim high with her new goal set at making a profit during the drought.
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