Ross Newman spearheads new approach to pasture management for beef producers

Agronomist Ross Newman, a state finalist for Australian Agriculture Awards, is developing a major pasture demonstration site near Rockhampton. See how his work transforms beef operations.

As a broadacre agronomist for 26 years and a private pasture consultant for the past six, Ross Newman understands the importance of healthy pastures to successful beef operations. As a result of this knowledge and work with producers to improve their pastures, Mr Newman is a state finalist in the Queensland Sustainability in Agriculture category of the Australian Agriculture Awards . The awards are a joint initiative between ACM Agri and the National Farmers Federation, and are sponsored by platinum partners Westpac, Toyota and Nutrien Ag Solutions. Based near Rockhampton, the founder of Pastures to Prosperity will be using 1.6 hectares (four acres) of his property as a research and development area to trial 40 different pasture species. "In late spring, I'll be planning what would be Queensland's biggest side-by-side pasture demonstration site using old, current and emerging pasture cultivars," he said. "We haven't seen anything of this scale, probably in the past 30 to 40 years ...