The first producer workshop outlining requirements to join Cattle Council of Australia’s new Pasturefed Cattle Assurance System has attracted a huge audience at Naracoorte in South Australia’s southeast.

More than 200 producers, stock agents and other stakeholders, drawn from across South Australia and as far distant as the Alice Springs region and western parts of Victoria, arrived to learn more about prospects under Pasturefed Cattle Assurance System (PCAS) supply.

Already price premiums of 10-20c/kg liveweight are being discussed by Teys Australia, over and above rates being paid for MSA-eligible cattle and the 5c/kg Angus incentive.

That means that initially, at least, PCAS-eligible cattle might attract price premiums even higher than EU-eligible cattle.

PCAS is a new voluntary certification arrangement that will enable the grassfed beef production supply chain to provide ‘Certified Pasturefed’ cattle and beef to the market place. Click here to see Beef Central’s earlier article on the recent launch of the PCAS program, and what’s involved in becoming accredited.

Teys Australia livestock general manager Geoff Teys rated yesterday’s Naracoorte meeting as the largest producer attendance at any market workshop ever held by the company, with the possible exception of a very large MSA workshop held at Biloela in Central Queensland five or six years ago when the company was first adopting an MSA program.

“It just showed the huge and growing interest in the PCAS process, and the opportunities it holds,” Mr Teys said.

“Producers supplying Naracoorte deliver some of the best grassfed beef in Australia, so it was a natural place to start this series of workshops on PCAS. They’re right behind it.”

Mr Teys said he was amazed at how far producers were prepared to travel to attend.

He told the audience that PCAS represented a ‘win-win’ for local producers. “They already produce some of the best grassfed beef on the market, and PCAS will represent an additional bonus for them.”

Depending on supply and demand, Teys Australia has indicated it is looking at a 10-20c/kg liveweight premium for PCAS-eligible cattle, above the current MSA price (MSA is a pre-requisite for PCAS).

As an early-adopter of the PCAS standard, the company plans to alternate supply between its northern and southern processing operations to deliver year-round consistency, working to a common specification. The certified product on the domestic market will be sold under the company’s existing ‘Grasslands’ grassfed brand, pictured here.

“We will rotate the sourcing of most of the PCAS product from the south for six months of the year, and the north during the remainder of the year when southern finished cattle are much harder to find,” Mr Teys said.

He indicated to the meeting that Teys wanted to start producing beef under a PCAS label from August 1 this year, with the program operating ‘fully’ by October 1.

As a starting point, the aim is to source around 200-250 eligible cattle a week, before growing the program as more producers gain accreditation. Some EU cattle may also find their way into the program, in the early stages at least.

While Teys chose not to be specific about potential customers for a PCAS-endorsed product, it is known there is interest in the program among large domestic retailers, and interest has been expressed in export networks into North America and elsewhere, seeking a USDA certifiable Pasturefed product out of Australia.

Mr Teys said a pleasing aspect yesterday was the strong attendance by livestock agents servicing producers in the Naracoorte plant's stock catchment area.

“A lot of our southern MSA slaughter cattle are currently sold out of the paddock via an agent, which is fantastic. They support us extremely strongly, and we think that will continue under the PCAS option,” he said.

“This PCAS process is probably the biggest new opportunity for livestock premiums since MSA started to gain momentum.”

To promote and inform producers on the new PCAS accreditation system, Teys and MSA will hold a number of ‘Beefing-Up Performance’ workshops, including an update on PCAS, during June and July.

More details on venues and other details on Beef Central as they come to hand. The workshops are scheduled for:

• 11 June – Rolleston, Qld
• 12 June – Taroom, Qld
• 28 June – Emerald, Qld
• 5 July – Biloela, Qld
• 11 July – Walcha, NSW
• 12 July – Guyra, NSW.

• PCAS program coordinator Angela Schuster fielded a wide range of questions over PCAS compliance, the audit process and other issues from the audience during yesterday’s Naracoorte workshop. Beef Central will publish some of that feedback in an article on Monday.