THE national organisation for beef producers, Cattle Council of Australia, has re-elected, unopposed, Greg Brown as its President at the Council’s Annual General Meeting held in Launceston, Tasmania.
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Mr Andrew Ogilvie from Kingston, South Australia, was elected as the Council’s new Vice-President, replacing outgoing Vice President of two years, Bob Barwell.
Mr Paul Saward from Redpa, Tasmania, was re-elected as the Council’s Honorary Treasurer.
Greg Brown, beef producer from Mt Garnet, Queensland, said he was pleased to continue to represent grass roots producers on national policy issues and stand up for what is in the best interests of the nation’s beef producers.
“We’ve come a long way in the past 12 months, progressing a number of policies and stamping out several bush fires,” Mr Brown said.
“We’ve been very active in policy debates associated with domestic beef retail labelling, trade and market access issues, trade import protocols, and the Productivity Commission’s review of Agricultural Research & Development Corporations.
“Work is complete on an industry Pasture-fed Cattle Assurance System and we will soon be accrediting producers so that they can market their beef as eligible to be sold as grass finished in both the domestic and international market,” Mr Brown said.
Cattle Council has played a key leadership role in progressing Australia-Korean Free Trade Agreement negotiations, which could see the current 40% tariff on Australian beef scaled down to zero over 15 years in Australia’s third largest beef export market.
“Securing at least import parity to the US, if not better, for Australian beef in the Korean market has been a long-term focus for Cattle Council and we are close to securing this milestone to deliver substantial benefits back to our industry,” Mr Brown said.
Cattle Council plays an on-going role in evaluating the expenditure of levy monies by Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) to ensure relevant marketing programs are executed to drive results for beef producers.
The recent launch of MLA’s ‘Nothing Beats Beef’ marketing campaign was directly related to strong feedback from Cattle Council that a new approach was needed to lift overall domestic demand for Australian beef.
Mr Brown said Cattle Council’s influence over MLA comes directly from beef producers getting involved and influencing their State Farming Organisations at the grass roots level.
“Beef producers can further strengthen their voice to influence policy at the national level by actively participating in their State Farming Organistions,” Mr Brown said.
“The upcoming MLA Annual General Meeting represents the ideal forum for beef producers to ask constructive questions about the current and future marketing and research benefits derived from the investment of their levy money. Remember, MLA belongs to all beef producers. I urge all beef producers to get involved and get more out of MLA so that it delivers for you,’ Mr Brown concluded.
