Translating hype into how-to: Jess Bidgood’s regen guide for beef producers
Climate change. Biodiversity loss. Soil degradation. Food security. Regenerative agriculture is tipped to help tackle them all.
The once fringe movement is going mainstream, as global capital is mobilised into this nature-positive approach to supply chain sustainability. But regen’s ‘hype moment’ might actually be limiting adoption amongst those who stand to benefit most – food producers.
Here, Central Queensland beef producer, and grazing management and business coach, Jess Bidgood, cuts through the noise, sharing valuable insights from her decade-long grazing journey. The key: just start.
Jess and John Bidgood and their three children are cattle producers from Central Queensland. Image | Amy Holcombe Photography.
Regenerative agriculture can help solve some of humanity’s most pressing problems: climate change, biodiversity loss, soil degradation, and food security.
No surprise, then, that this nature-positive approach to supply chain sustainability is attracting giants of agrifood production (General Mills, Cargill, Pepsi, Unilever and more) whose capital has catalysed an early transformation of our global food system.
Scope 3 and ESG commitments aside, the business case for ‘regen ag’ is strong: increased profit, and superior risk-adjusted returns from higher yields, lower operating costs, premium market access, ecosystem payments (like carbon and biodiversity) and more resilient operations.
RELATED: Sky’s the limit for Queensland grazier’s drone mustering technology
These benefits are available to producers, too. But working out where to start, what to do – and what regen actually is – has been a messy job.
Here, Central Queensland beef producer and grazing systems coach, Jess Bidgood, shares what she’s learned about regen; what she wishes she knew earlier; and why the most important thing you can do is start.
Focus on outcomes, not practices
Casey: There is no universal definition for ‘regenerative agriculture.’ Do we need one?
Jess: I try to be really careful with using the phrase ‘regenerative ag.’ The narrative around it encourages producers to think in terms of practices: what fits into the regen category vs. what doesn’t. And that’s created an ‘us and them’ situation that leaves people feeling excluded.
When producers ask for help with their grazing management system, they tend to be thinking in terms of paddock sizes, water points, and pasture species. But development should be the last piece of the puzzle.
RELATED: Digital eyes help Queensland beef producers level up productivity
The first step is to apply an outcomes focus to work out what you’re trying to achieve. For us, it’s improving the ecosystem while putting kilos on cattle.
Once you know what you want, you can look at the different ways to get there.
Image | Amy Holcombe Photography
Work out what fits within your context
Casey: Regen grazing is based on principles of resting the land and varying stocking rates. But there are degrees of intensity within that. How do we work out whether to go high or low?
Jess: It all comes back to the people. When I work with producers, I start by asking, ‘How frequently can your operation shift cattle?’
If you can move cattle every day, or have staff to help, you can run an intensive system with lots of paddocks and short graze periods meaning quick stock movements
RELATED: Five tips for nailing your evokeAG. Groundbreakers Program application
But if you can only move every week or month, then a less intensive system works better. It’s still a shift from set stocking but based on fewer paddocks and less frequent movements.
How do you eat an elephant…?
Casey: You went for high intensity at Baralaba. What’s the first thing you focused on to transition?
Jess: My husband and I love shifting cattle, so when we bought our own properties, we were already aligned on wanting an intensive time-controlled grazing system. But water distribution was a significant challenge.
We had a long walk to waters, which meant pasture wasn’t getting utilised. We had anything from bare patches right through to grass that was lignifying [becoming less digestible] because it wasn’t being grazed.
Improving utilisation meant distributing reliable water points with good flow rates. It allowed us to mob large groups of animals together to shorten the graze period, boost utilisation, and increase the time pastures are left to rest and recover.
RELATED: evokeAG. connections build powerful partnerships for CommBank
Our paddock sizes vary depending on soil type and accessibility, ranging from 16 hectares in flat, productive areas to over 100 hectares in our less productive country. But regardless of size, the principles remain the same: keep the grazing periods short and the pasture rest period long.
Balance production and biodiversity
Casey: Time-controlled grazing changes grass species composition. What have you noticed about yours?
Jess: After a graze, we watch what species come back and consider, ‘What do we want from a production perspective, and from a biodiversity perspective?’ Because we’ve got to be putting kilos on cattle to make a profit.
On our home block, for example, we didn’t have a strong legume base, so we’ve sown desmanthus and butterfly pea into a perennial pasture. Grazing cattle help spread the seed, and then – because we move the cattle off – the plants have a chance to establish.
RELATED: New name, new impact: evokeAG. Groundbreakers program welcomes 2025 applicants
Seed, planting, coating; it all costs money. Time-controlled grazing means you aren’t planting something, grazing it out of the system within one or two years, and then having to plant again.
Embrace community and mentorship
Casey: Like any new venture, community and mentorship must be important for starting a regen journey?
Jess: People in our region pioneered regen 30 or 40 years before we started and they’ve been really generous in sharing their knowledge.
When there’s a ‘hotspot’ like we have in Central Queensland, regenerative practices spread more rapidly.
Strive for progress, not perfection
Casey: Is widespread adoption realistic?
Jess: Yes, but we need to change the narrative to make regen ag less of an ‘us vs. them’ thing. Anyone can do it; it’s just how they apply it in their context.
Image | Amy Holcombe Photography
RELATED: Hylo Ag’s circular economy with Natalie Bell
We need to be careful about the examples we present, because producers look at really intensive systems and think, ‘I could never do that. It doesn’t fit in my system.’
But it doesn’t have to. It’s about introducing rest into country and varying your stocking rate. How intense you choose to go is totally up to you.
Starting small is key. It’s asking, ‘What’s the smallest thing I can do today that sets me on the path to my goal?’ Those little steps build confidence, and momentum – both of which are key to practice change.
Our property is still not ‘done.’ We’re still improving pastures, we’re still learning, and we still stuff up regularly. But we learn from it.
No one is doing everything at 100% all the time. That’s not possible. It’s about progress, not perfection.
Tickets are now on sale for evokeAG. 2025 to be held on 18-19 February 2025 in Brisbane, Queensland. Following a sell-out event in 2024 we are encouraging delegates to secure their tickets, flights and accommodation early.
We look forward to seeing you in Brisbane for evokeAG. 2025. In the meantime, catch up on the other conversations about sustainability, climate resilience and the role of agtech in meeting those challenges from here.