Management systems
There is much variation in management systems over the breadth
of this region, from very efficient operations to those that are
more traditional and less intensive. Even in the more fertile areas
such as the base of the Gulf, the lack of phosphorous in the dry
season is a major limitation. Productivity is greatly improved by
supplementary feeding. Property sizes over the Gulf region tend to
be very large and infrastructure fairly limited, although there are
exceptions.
Cattle work must be undertaken in the dry, as it is too
difficult to travel in the wet and too hot. Late rains will result
in delayed start to the muster, while a poor rainy season will see
producers moving early to sell cattle in good order and conserve
feed. Schedule of management then is largely limited to the drier
months. In general most properties have variable country, and use
the better areas as bullock and weaner paddocks.
Fencing
Adequate fencing continues to be a major management issue in the
Gulf region. Given the low carrying capacity of much of the
country, paddocks must be very large to contain a workable number
of cattle.
The dilemma is how to control cattle distribution in paddocks of
this size, and so protect areas of better pasture such as river
frontages which may be vulnerable to degradation.
High costs of fencing
Improved paddock subdivision is one way to address the issue of
herd distribution, and may also facitilate mustering. Fencing
however is limited as a result of the high cost: around $2000 per
kilometre, but there are other factors too. Generally areas of
better-quality land are fragmented and so the efficacy of fencing
them off is questionable. In addition, there are difficulties with
construction and maintenance, especially during the wet season when
flooding is common across much of the region.
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Gulf pastures are dominated by Aristida-Bothriochloa (light
green), Bluegrass-Browntop (orange), Mitchell grass (yellow) and
Spinifex in the more arid areas (purple)
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Pasture communities
The Gulf region has the most diverse range of pasture land
communities in the tropical savannas. Its vast area supports nine
communities with around 17 local pasture units (LPU) distributed in
a complex mix. These are noted below and are detailed in Tothill,
J. C. & Gillies, C. (1992).
Midgrass pastures
Midgrass pastures of Aristida pruinosa (three awn), in eucalypt
open forest and woodland, are found in large patches along most of
the central inland region and throughout an extensive area in the
east. Small patches of hummock midgrass grasslands, on sands and
skeletal soils, are scattered through the region's inland north and
south-east with vast tracts located across the central zone. Curly
spinifex (Plectrachne pungens), soft spinifex (Triodia
pungens) and hard spinifex (Triodia spp.), with an
acacia and eucalypt component make up the four LPU of the
region.
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Bluegrass-browntop pasture on coastal black soil plains near
Burketown
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Monsoon annual tallgrass
Monsoon annual tallgrass pasture communities are confined to
patchy areas mainly in the region's western sectors of the Northern
Territory. Annual sorghums (Sorghum intrans, S.
stipoideum) are the dominant grass species in the LPU with
golden beardgrass (Chrysopogon) mixed in with the far
western units. In a large area, extending south, from Burketown and
Normanton to the Flinders Highway and north, along the west coast
of the Cape York Peninsula, lies the region's bluegrass pasture
lands. LPU include tropical bluegrass (Dicanthium fecundum),
browntop (Eulalia aurea) and bluegrass - golden beardgrass
(Chrysopogon fallax ) exist on clay soils.
Tussock grasslands
Tussock grasslands, of Mitchell grass (Astrebla spp.),
growing on clay soils are commonly found in fragmented patches
along the southern boundary across most of the region. LPU include
northern rolling downs, plains Mitchell grass, and inferior
Mitchell grass.
North-west sectors
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Wiregrass/firegrass under eucalypts near Boroloola in the
North-west Gulf
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The Gulf region's north-west coastal sectors, along with the
watercourses associated with the Gilbert and Mitchell rivers on
Cape York Peninsula, support communities of monsoon annual
tallgrass pastures dominated by fire grass (Schizachyrium
spp). Tropical/subtropical perennial tallgrass pasture lands of
ribbongrasss (Chrysopogon spp.) are found slightly inland,
along the central Gulf coast and in pockets further in land to the
west. Saltwater couch (Sporobolus spp.) without top feed, of
perennial, shortgrass pasture land communities, is found in an
almost continuous band along the coastline. An isolated community
of Queensland bluegrass (Dicanthium sericeum), growing on
clay soils, is located in the region's north-west.
