Managing fat cows . Fat animals with high residue levels are difficult to manage. For fat cows, rearing young is often the only way their residues can be reduced. However, ensuring animals are in condition to rear young during drought years is difficult and they will need to be run on clean land whilst lactating to ensure the OC levels are reduced. Market animals as grain fed beef .
Producers can also consider the possibility of marketing their animals as grain fed beef.
In times of drought there is often enough feed quality grain available at reasonable cost. There are certain guidelines set down by Ausmeat that need to be met but this is a way of turning higher costs of grain feeding during drought into a profitable option. At no time should the animals be lot fed in contaminated paddocks. The area used should be clean and perhaps tested for point source contamination. As with cattle it is possible to produce sheep for slaughter with acceptable residue levels during adverse seasonal conditions.