November eNews | Leading the industry's voice for continuous improvement

Almost six months since the release of the Australian Beef Sustainability 2020 Annual Update, the Framework continues to be the leading voice for the beef industry’s continuous improvement of the wellbeing of its people, animals, and environment. We have seen the Framework used by Australian Minister for Agriculture, David Littleproud in successfully defending the Australian meat industry against defamatory tweets from the United Nations, and by the industry to set the record straight on land clearing and environmental sustainability which was misrepresented in the Fight for Planet ‘A’: Our Climate Challenge series on the ABC.

The Framework has been integral to maintaining access to global trade and international markets during these disruptive times. Europeans are expected to request sustainability credentials during current free trade negotiations. Our management of sustainability compares favourably to other countries resulting in delaying their international agreements, further testifying that Australia is in a strong position to demonstrate its leadership in this space.

The Framework does have some challenges – often from not understanding or a misrepresentation of the work we do and what we are achieving. We are passionate about ensuring our customers and consumers understand the full picture of our wonderful industry, and appreciate our right to farm.

To ensure that our customers and consumers understand our achievements, we have undertaken a materiality review - reviewing what sustainability priorities and topics are most important to the Australian beef industry in 2020. This has involved extensive consultation through a literature review, 55 stakeholder interviews, three producer forums, and an online survey with over 250 responses. We thank those who have contributed their time and thoughts to the process, and will have the outcomes available early next year.

Yours truly,

Tess Herbert

Chair, Sustainability Steering Group (SSG) of the Australian Beef Sustainability Framework

Mark Davie joins Sustainability Steering Group

The Sustainability Steering Group is happy to announce their newest member, Queensland beef producer and food manufacturer, Mark Davie. Mark lives and works on a family cattle breeding property, and also runs a food manufacturing business.

Biannual Consultative Committee

The next Biannual Consultative Committee will be held on Wednesday 24 February, 2021. The Sustainability Steering Group is beginning preparations to hold this meeting in person, with a virtual option for those unable to travel. A final decision on the location will be made in January.

Webinars online

In August, the Sustainability Steering Group hosted a series of webinars for the Consultative Committee, to maintain engagement with key stakeholders while travel restrictions were still in place. Three of the webinars are now available online:

Post-COVID Sustainability of Beef

International Markets and Trade

Health & Wellbeing of our People

Cattle Council pain relief guide

Producers’ access to registered pain-relief compounds has recently improved, so it is important for all to understand the most appropriate procedure for the products. The Cattle Council of Australia have released a guide to the use of pain relief in the grass-fed beef cattle sector. Animal husbandry techniques is one of the six key priorities for the Framework.

DOWNLOAD THE GUIDE

Melinee Leather on Landline

Sustainability Steering Group member, Melinee Leather recently appeared on ABC’s Landline, an advocate for embracing the ASBF to prove to the world the industry is doing a good job, backed up by strong data and evidence. Melinee’s view is that red meat producers must be transparent and that we need best management practices and systems in place that show the public ‘what we do, how we do it and prove what we are saying, backed up by facts’.

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