OUR PEOPLE
Objective for 2030: People see being part of the Australian red meat and livestock industry as attractive now and into the future.
Throughout the supply chain, from farm to market, good people are essential to Australia's red meat industry. We will strive for a safe and healthy workplace for all our people across the supply chain, from those on our farms to those working in our processing plants and in international markets. It is imperative to attract future workers, retain those currently in the industry, and make being a part of our industry a source of pride and belonging.
We will invest in our people so that they can grow their skills through a range of education and training opportunities. We will create career pathways to enable them to advance themselves and the industry, including areas where new technologies will change the nature of the work we do. In doing so, we will position the red meat industry as an employer of choice.
INITIATIVES
ATTRACTING AND RETAINING GOOD PEOPLE
We will attract and retain a diverse range of people that are proud to be part of the Australian red meat and livestock industry. We will support vibrant, thriving rural communities, empowering our people to develop their skills and help design the jobs of the future. We will be sought out by the next generation as an innovative, purpose-driven industry, seen as a place where they can develop a rewarding career.
DEVELOPING SKILLED AND CAPABLE PEOPLE
We will work across the supply chain to ensure we have appropriately skilled and capable people to harness opportunities. Across the industry we will have the skills and capability needed to support our businesses and industry to deliver on our vision.
ENABLING PRACTICE CHANGE
We will enable a user-led approach to the adoption of best practice and the extension programs that enhance industry practice, productivity and resilience.
OUR CUSTOMERS, CONSUMERS & COMMUNITIES
Objective for 2030: People feel good about eating Australian red meat. Our customers, consumers and communities recognise the vital role our industry plays in food production and food security, and trust us to deliver high value, high quality products.
Only through a deep understanding of the supply chain, can we respond to the changing needs and wants of customers and consumers. This understanding will enable us to gain a competitive advantage by ensuring consistent high value, high-quality products.
We will engage with our communities, increasing transparency along the supply chain in our boxed meat and live export markets. We will build recognition of our ethical and purpose-driven practices, innovative product development and delivery, and a strong connection to Australia as the trusted source of the highest quality protein.
INITIATIVES
EDUCATING AND ADVOCATING FOR AUSTRALIAN RED MEAT
We will be leaders in educating the Australian community and advocating to decision makers on the vital role the Australian red meat and livestock industry plays in the Australian way of life.
RESPONDING TO OUR AUDIENCE
We will build a clear picture of the preferences of our customers and consumers across our key markets to ensure we are positioned to respond to opportunities to grow demand and maximise returns for red meat and livestock in Australia and worldwide.
POSITIONING RED MEAT AS A PROTIEN OF CHOICE
We will use production and consumption data to better inform policy and community discussion around the role of red meat in healthy diets and as part of a sustainable food system. Because we know that health, nutrition and wellbeing remain key drivers of food consumption domestically and internationally.
OUR LIVESTOCK
Objective for 2030: We set the standard for world class animal health, welfare biosecurity and production practices
Care for our animals throughout the supply chain is core to what we do. Ensuring the health, welfare and productive performance of our animals is vital to the sustainability of our red meat businesses and the quality of our products.
Over generations, Australia has developed world-leading systems and standards across these areas and we will continue to deliver on this strong track record. Driven by our industry values we will initiate a two-way conversation with consumers and communities, striving to go beyond agreed standards
INITIATIVES
ENSURING WHOLE-OF-INDUSTRY ANIMAL HEALTH AND WELFARE STANDARDS AND SYSTEMS
Building on our strong foundation, we will ensure consistent and enforceable standards and systems for animal health and welfare are maintained for the trust of customers, consumers and the community, and to minimise our compliance burden.
ADOPTING ANIMAL HEALTH, WELFARE, BIOSECURITY AND PRODUCTION BEST PRACTICES
Building on our strong foundation, we will ensure consistent and enforceable standards and systems for animal health and welfare are maintained for the trust of customers, consumers and the community, and to minimise our compliance burden.
OPTIMISING ANIMAL PRODUCTION FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND MARKET
We will breed our animals to match our environmental conditions and meet market demands by region, through adhering to ethical practices, collaborating, data sharing and taking a whole-of-supply chain approach to decision making.
OUR ENVIRONMENT
Objective for 2030: We demonstrate leadership in sustainability, delivering on community expectations in the areas of land, water, biodiversity, climate variability and biosecurity.
The Australian red meat production industry operates mostly on landscapes which are unable to support other forms of food production. ruminant livestock grazing converts pastures which are inedible to humans, into high quality and nutrient dense food products, delivering the dual benefits of food production and ecosystems services.
Safegaurding the health of our environment makes good business sense, and is critical to productivity and profitability. It creates a domestic and international competitive advantage for our industry, building community trust and confidence at a time when customers and consumers increasingly align their purchases with their values.
INITIATIVES
ADVANCING OUR SUSTAINABILITY FRAMEWORKS AND SUPPORTING THEIR ADOPTION
We will ensure the whole supply chain works within agreed and coordinated sustainability frameworks, using the Australian Beef Sustainability Framework as an exemplar. We will continue to develop transparent standards, systems and verified adoption of recognised best practices across the supply chain, that deliver positive environmental outcomes and resilient businesses. These will consider natural capital like land, soils, water, climate and biodiversity and enhance the productivity, biosecurity and sustainability of our land and businesses into the future
MOVING TO A CARBON NEUTRAL INDUSTRY BY 2030
We will play our role in reducing Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions by extending our existing commitment to carbon neutrality by 2030 (CN30) across the supply chain. A proactive and accountable approach will help the industry retain the trust of customers, consumers and communities, and stay in front of unnecessary and burdensome regulation.
BUILDING ON OUR PROACTIVE APPROACH TO CLIMATE CHANGE
We will invest in research to identify regionally relevant systems and practices to adapt to climatic changes and develop tools to facilitate practice change and adoption. Because we know that climate variability is predicted to increase over the coming decade, increasing business risk along the red meat supply chain.
EXPANDING OUR ROLE IN ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP
We will acknowledge our vital role as stewards and managers of 50% of Australia’s land mass by enhancing environmental outcomes to the benefit of our businesses and to Australia.
OUR MARKETS
Objective for 2030: We improve the economic resilience for our industry by increasing access to, and the performance of existing and new markets.
Because we export 60% of our production, we rely on open and predictable access to a diverse range of international markets. Our processors and exporters deliver a wide range of products and specifications, seeking the highest returning market for each. To maximise our returns, we depend heavily on access conditions across our markets. From the highest value animals and cuts to the large range of co-products, our industry's sustainability depends on finding a profitable home for each. Our industry is also confronted by high levels of regulation in many markets, in the form of non-tariff barriers.
We will take a leadership role through fostering, developing and maintaining positive relationships with our customers and government to identify opportunities to diversify our markets.
INITIATIVES
IDENTIFYING HIGH-VALUE OPPORTUNITIES
By understanding our customers’ and consumers’ changing needs we will identify new, high-value opportunities for Australian red meat. We will create new value- added products and new product categories, beyond cuts alone. This includes red meat based snacks and other new and innovative red meat food products.
REDUCING TARIFF AND QUOTA BARRIERS TO TRADE
To ensure our industry can get the best value for our red meat products we will work towards the most open trade access possible across all markets. We will work across the industry and in partnership with the Australian Government on a targeted trade liberalisation agenda.
REDUCING NON-TARIFF BARRIERS TO TRADE
Non-tariff barriers represent a significant cost to our industry; we will identify these barriers and partner with the Australian Government in seeing them eliminated or reduced. This ensures we can realise the full potential of existing markets and pursue new markets which show positive commercial opportunity.
ENSURING AUSTRALIA REMAINS COMPETITIVE WITH INTERNATIONAL RED MEAT MARKETS
Australia is a specialist producer of red meat with some of the world’s highest costs to operate. We will ensure that we improve our competitiveness compared with other global exporters of red meat through increased industry and government efficiency and innovation in key high cost areas including labour, energy and regulatory charges.
OUR SYSTEMS
Objective for 2030: We are a trusted brand because of our integrity system, built on trust and respect that supports strong partnerships and sharing of information.
Our systems are the anchor for our industry. The integrity of our systems underpins our product provenance and the value derived from our animal welfare, food safety, environmental
stewardship and biosecurity credentials. To respond to changing market conditions and stay ahead of our competitors, we need systems that consistently assure our products are produced and processed to meet customer and consumer regulatory requirements, and deliver market signals through the supply chain.
We need the ability to connect, up and down the supply chain, sharing valuable data and insights in a standardised way that improves business-as-usual, as well as our collective response to risks and opportunities as they arise. We seek a collective industry systems approach to managing supply chain integrity and associated standards for maximum efficiency and reduced cost. We will work with governments to ensure adequate resourcing and capacity is available and deployed for monitoring and compliance activities.
INITIATIVES
BUILDING ON OUR APPROACH TO BIOSECURITY AND FOOD SAFETY
We will ensure the provision of robust and real-time systems and technologies to minimise and manage the risk of biosecurity incursions, and enable industry and government to rapidly deploy response capacity. Because we know that trade is a ‘two-way street’, and our market access and product demand are underpinned by our disease-free biosecurity status and high animal welfare, food safety and quality standards. We will work with government to ensure adequate resourcing of Australia’s border, customs and biosecurity capacity, including the inspection, monitoring and testing activities that maintain our disease-free status.
ENSURING END-TO-END INTEGRITY, TRACEABILITY AND PROVENANCE
We will improve traceability and verified standards, as they are increasingly important to gaining and maintaining market access and underpinning trust amongst customers and consumers. The ability to verify the provenance of Australian red meat products and associated attributes helps maintain Australia’s competitive advantage and meet customers’ and consumers’ growing demand for information about their food and how it’s produced.
IMPROVING DIGITAL CONNECTIVITY
We will enable transformation through digital innovation so we have reliable connectivity across the whole supply chain. Innovative tools and services that require online connectivity deliver no value if they cannot be accessed by our businesses. Addressing this will open opportunities in supporting change, supply chain data capture and integration, and the development and application of new tools and technologies such as artificial intelligence.
ENABLING SUPPLY CHAIN DATA INTEGRATION AND EFFICIENCY
We will develop and implement supply chain data standards and data sharing capability to greatly simplify the transfer of market signals, benchmarking capability, and industry-level (non-competitive) data analytics.