Outgoing MLA chair Alan Beckett addressing the 2024 MLA AGM in Tamworth on Wednesday.

Communicating the red meat industry’s strong credentials is a key ongoing challenge outgoing Meat & Livestock Australia chair Alan Beckett sees for the livestock sector as he steps down from the role after five years.

Mr Beckett had an extensive background in professional services and corporate Australia before buying and developing his own cattle property at Yea, about 100 km north of Melbourne, in the early 2000s.

He joined the MLA board as a director in 2014 and became chair of MLA at the 2019 AGM in Tamworth, the same location where he presided over his final MLA AGM as board chair before retiring from the position yesterday. MLA director John Lloyd was elected as teh chair to replace Mr Beckett at a recent MLA board meeting.

Addressing public perceptions about the industry’s environmental impact and the health of meat consumption in diets, Mr Beckett said  he believes finding new ways to communicate the strength of the industry’s credentials is key.

“I think our credentials are so strong,” he said.

“We have got to get out there a bit more and communicate how strong our credentials are, whether it be nutrition or whether it be our animal welfare.

“To me that has been one of the big learnings for me, how committed this industry really is to welfare.

“A lot of people around the cities, Melbourne and Sydney, think we don’t really care much, but most of the people I know love their animals, it is their bread and butter.”

Mr Beckett’s five-year tenure coincided with a transformative period for the Australian red meat industry, running straight into the hugely disruptive COVID pandemic in early 2020.

Looking back on his 10 year tenure as an MLA director and five years as chair he highlighted the Carbon Neutral 2030 (CN30) target as having been pivotal in steering the industry toward a more sustainable future.

While the goal was initially met with scepticism, Mr Beckett believes it galvanised progress towards sustainability.

“If that hadn’t been introduced, we might still be sitting on our hands,” he said.

“(Former MLA MD) Richard Norton introduced that in 2017, it was a shock to all of us, but the changes that have come in the industry, the money that has been spent on genomics and on soil and on pasture, it has gone a long way towards getting us down the track.

‘We’re not there yet but if he hadn’t thrown us under the bus at that stage and said this is going to happen, I reckon people would be still be sitting on their hands.”

Mr Beckett said MLA’s extensive consumers insights from international and domestic markets had highlighted how important the CN30 target had been towards  demonstrating the industry’s commitment to sustainability.

“I was in the EU last year, they told us if you want to be trading with us in Europe you have got to be doing more than what you’re doing.

“But the noises we were making about CN30 here, they weren’t fussed that we weren’t necessarily going to make it, they knew it was aspirational, but they knew we were committed to doing these things.”

Reflecting on his tenure, Mr Beckett said working with the MLA staff had been one of the most rewarding aspects of his role.

“I love this business and the people in it,” he said. “The commitment of the MLA team is exceptional. They are dedicated to doing the right thing by levy payers and driving profitability and sustainability across the sector.”

As he steps away from MLA he plans to refocus on his Angus herd which has been developed over 20 years with Te Mania, Rennylea and Landfall bloodlines, and spend more time traveling with his wife.