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The paper will broadly outline five generic principles which can be applied to most grazing enterprises in northern Australia. These principles have been applied on the author's property near Charters Towers during the past 14 years and they have been largely responsible for successfully negotiating a combination of extremely dry years in the late 80's and early 90's and poor cattle prices. The principles can be summarised as:
1. Personal goals and aspirations
2. Stock management
3. Financial management
4. Grazing management
5. Implementation and monitoring
Grazing management is the key to a successful, sustainable beef enterprise. Paddock spelling, the use of fire, conservative stocking and selective pasture development are the cornerstones for increasing animal and pasture productivity, reducing environmental and financial risk and controlling woody weeds. When combined with more intensive herd and financial management, the enterprise manager is allowed more marketing options which strengthens cash flow and investment opportunities.