The Australian Beef Association in conjunction with the Concerned Cattle Producers and Australian Meat Producer Group has launched a social media campaign designed to deliver ‘positive action’ on the Senate’s grassfed levy inquiry findings.

“The campaign is intended to maintain momentum for a proposed grassfed cattle corporation to replace the current Cattle Council of Australia,” the group said in a prepared statement issued this morning.

The proposed new organisation would control all producer levies, making MLA the service provider for R&D and marketing, as recommended by the recent Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport committee inquiry into grassfed beef industry structures.

Through a new website, which includes a polling facility, the ABA, AMPG and CCP groups, as well as supportive producers, say they will voice industry calls for the Minister to implement the recommendations of the Senate inquiry.

“Mr Joyce is to be congratulated for his leadership in calling for the Senate Inquiry which went on to identify the failures of the current system, and suggested wide sweeping changes such as producers getting their own independent organisation and managing their own levies,” this morning’s statement said.

“ABA, AMPG and CCP have continuously expressed their desire for the Minister to actually act on these findings, and not just make a small change such as giving the current CCA a small percentage of the levy.”

“The grassfed cattlemens’ corporation does represent a huge diverse industry and must have the financial and intellectual wherewithal to effectively manage that business. Other sectors of the red meat industry already have that ability,” the group said.

The action groups have set up a website where producers can submit their ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ vote on the question of whether they support producers gaining control of their own levies and industry. The website can be accessed by going to www.cattlelevysenateinquiryinformation.com

The website was launched yesterday, with the intention of attracting a large producer participation, so that Minister Joyce “has an opportunity to judge the mood for change,” the group said.

• The ABA has this week placed paid advertising on Beef Central’s daily news alert to subscribers, drawing grassfed beef producers’ attention to the launch of the website, and the poll facility.