Productivity with Compassion - Not an impossible dream

Hugo Spooner who believes that achieving a balance between protecting sensitive natural landscapes and maintaining a profitable grazing enterprise is not an impossible dream, and he is producing a booklet to detail his experiences and methods as a guide for other graziers.

The drought of 1986 degraded much of the fragile country of 'Avocet', a 4500 hectare property in the Central Highlands of Queensland, but made Hugo determined to seek a new approach in order to achieve sustainable beef production. 'We decreased our herd by 30% and were amazed to discover that after several years our income had not decreased' he said.

Since then Hugo and family have voluntarily declared part of the property a Nature Refuge, fenced off a major waterway and established a downstream water monitoring site, and achieved Quality Assurance accreditation under the Cattlecare program.