Beef
The beef industry in Queensland
The Queensland beef cattle herd had more than 10.7 million head in 2022, representing around half of the total national herd of 23.5 million head.
The efficiencies below represent an amalgamation of processors that process mainly beef cattle as well as pigs, sheep, goats and deer.
Top energy efficiencies for the beef industry.
Power factor correction (PFC) equipment: installing a 100 kVAr PFC unit at the Plainland site to reduce reactive power use. Install another unit at the Esk site as well.
Evaporator fan speed control: at the Maclagan, Warwick and Chinchilla sites to regulate the speed to the optimal level.
Lifting the compressor suction pressure: at the Maclagan site to increase the evaporator temperature from -20°C to -10°C, which is optimal. This solution will also involve replacing the current evaporator with a larger unit and insulate the suction line.
CO2 heat pump: install a 150 kW heat pump at the Biggenden site to generate hot water efficiently at 60°C for washdown requirements and pre-heat sterilisation water to replace the existing LPG burners. A 30kW CO2 heat pump has been recommended for the Esk site and a 4.5kW system for the Chinchilla site for hot water generation.
Solar PV systems: installing an 80 kW Solar PV at the Warwick site and a 10 kW PV system at the Chinchilla site to offset part of the energy consumption from the grid.
Refrigeration system and refrigerant replacement.
Heat recovery solutions.
Explore beef case studies
Border Rivers
Queensland Beef Processors
Energy Savings 17% Cost Savings $107,161
Queensland
Queensland Beef and Cattle Farms
Energy Savings 67% Cost Savings $48,191
Explore beef related resources
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Queensland Renewable Energy Landholder Toolkit
The Queensland Renewable Energy Landholder Toolkit to assist and inform landholders as they respond to and negotiate with energy industry representatives about accessing land and developing renewable energy projects.
Financing your energy projects
Once you’ve identified energy savings or renewable energy opportunities for your farm, the next challenge is to find the funds or finance to make it happen.
There are a number of options to either reduce up-front costs or reduce the borrowing costs for the project. These can include new efficient pumps, motors, compressors, vehicles, lights, renewable energy systems and many other products.
Savings on fuel costs
There are many ways you can reduce farm fuel costs, and many are quick wins, which mean they won’t cost anything to start with, and will save fuel immediately.