Cattle Council of Australia issued a statement this afternoon confirm that it is currently undertaking preliminary investigations into ongoing funding options – one of those being an investigation into accessing a portion of the producer levy.

The possibility of accessing the levy was raised in feedback from producers during a number of consultation processes the CCA has undertaken, the statement said.

A letter that circulated this week within the media was written to CCA’s State Farming Organisation members and other key stakeholders as part of on-going restructure process, CCA said.

“While Cattle Council is disappointed that a letter intended to be confidential has been made public, it is committed to ensuring that this is an open and transparent process, and feedback from producers is welcomed,” it said.

An expert committee comprising of members from across the industry had been established to provide recommendations to CCA’s board.

That group had canvassed a number of options, including moving to a structure that allows direct membership by independent members of the industry; corporate membership; and the provision of some extension services that will be used to inform strategic policy development, the statement said.

“CCA will be working with government over the coming months to see what is possible. Industry will have to agree to these changes prior to implementation by way of an open ballot,” it said.

“Cattle Council will not be making any further statements regarding restructure until it has had the opportunity to discuss with members and stakeholders.”