Cattle Australia has committed to developing a national framework to international reporting requirements for land management practices in the nation’s beef production systems following a meeting of more than 50 industry leaders from across the supply chain in Rockhampton last November.

On Thursday, January 18, Cattle Australia hosted a Webinar to provide producers the opportunity to ask questions about the land management commitment.

Registration numbers demonstrated large interest in the topic with 230 registrations, including 156 who joined the webinar.

The webinar saw attendance from State Governments, processors, producers, state farming organisations, stud stock and large commercial operations.

Cattle Australia board director Adam Coffey chaired the webinar and provided background on the initiative and its significance for the beef industry.

Cattle Australia CEO Dr Chris Parker said engaging with industry and scoping supply chain considerations was an important step in gathering the information required before Cattle Australia goes to tender.

Questions on the potential duplication of the Australian Beef Sustainability Framework were raised in the webinar and clear alignment was drawn, while a deeper dive into the deforestation commitments was also identified as essential.

When asked about the value proposition of this work for Cattle Australia, Dr Parker said Cattle Australia was taking the lead in this area as the largest landholder of all of the national peak industry bodies that have legislated authority to work with the government on behalf of members and levy payers.

“We need to engage now and we need to engage fully otherwise people are going to start doing things to us without our input and that’s the real challenge for us as an industry,” Dr Parker said.

Dr Parker encouraged the Land Management Commitment Advisory Board members that were present on the webinar to share the significance of this work from the perspective of their businesses and their role in the supply chain.

Beef producer Harvey Gaynor shared his perspective: “At the end of the day it’s producers that have to manage and deliver on the commitment or work within a commitment and as producers we are the ones that understand what is possible and practicable, so it’s important that we are at the table so that any definition that our supply chain gets to use hopefully we then benefit from and is within the realms of what is sensible within our landscapes”.

Cattle Australia was pleased with the large engagement and participation of the webinar and plan to host another webinar in the coming weeks, noting that registrations via the Cattle Australia website will be essential.

Source: Cattle Australia