Cattle Australia

Some of our Cattle Australia Board Directors and staff were in Darwin this week, where it was great to catch up with our northern members and industry leaders at the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association conference. The three-day event was a great learning opportunity for all who attended, with lots of interesting discussions in the conference hall, on the field trip and around the exhibition displays. A major highlight of the event was the Coalition’s biosecurity pledge, which we’re urging the Labor party to match. CA Chair, Garry Edwards, presented to the conference on CA and industry priorities, including ongoing interactions with Meat & Livestock Australia. 

🦠🚫 Cattle Australia (CA) has welcomed today’s pledge by the Coalition to enact in full its plans for a smarter biosecurity system to protect Northern Australia and the industry across the country, and is calling on Labor to follow suit. Shadow Agriculture Minister and Leader of the Nationals, David Littleproud, has promised to implement CA’s calls for a sustainable model for a fully-funded national biosecurity system, including user-pays charges on importers, as well as $2 million for a pilot trial of real-time early-warning surveillance technology for lumpy skin disease (LSD). CA Chief Executive, Dr Chris Parker, said the announcement was welcome news for Australia’s grass-fed beef industry, which could be decimated if diseases such as foot and mouth entered the country. 👉 Read the full media release: https://bit.ly/41FmYRT

📢 Cattle and climate: Shaping markets and mitigating methane 📢 Save the date for our upcoming one-day event, to be held at Marcus Oldham College, Geelong, which will feature a deep-dive into the beef industry’s climate impact, the importance of accurate accounting methodologies and why industry needs to be a strong voice in the climate debate. Featuring ‘Methane musings’ from keynote speaker, Dr Frank Mitloehner, a panel discussion hosted by CA Deputy Chair, Adam Coffey, and key insights from industry stakeholders, this event is a must-attend. More details coming soon.  

⚠️ Farmers are half as likely to have a seen a GP or mental health professional in the last 12 months compared to other rural people - it’s time for urgent action on farmer mental health! CA is joining the National Farmers' Federation led coalition calling on the Federal government to invest $50 million over the next five years to address this crisis in rural communities. Here’s why 👉https://lnkd.in/gxuSc2UF

Meet CA’s Regional Consultative Committee: Caitlin McConnel represents Sub-region 15 in Queensland. Caitlin is an agribusiness professional and a sixth generation farmer (beef cattle, eggs & agrivoltaics). She previously worked as a Senior Associate in the Agribusiness & Food and Environment & Sustainable Development teams at Clayton Utz, was a finalist in the 2024 Zanda McDonald award and in 2020 was chosen as one of 50 Australasian Lawyer Rising Stars. 

The work that CA performs in advocating for Australia’s grass-fed beef producers would not be possible without the generous support of our corporate sponsors, NAB and Rabobank. CA creates value for Australia’s beef producers in areas where they cannot succeed by working alone, and alongside our members, our corporate sponsors are integral to this purpose. We are committed to helping secure a stronger, more sustainable future for our sector and the producers who make it a world leader, and we are extremely grateful to the businesses who share this ambition and walk beside us in pursuing this goal. Thank you NAB and Rabobank Australia

Here’s why both parties must throw their support behind Australia’s grass-fed beef industry this Federal election 👉 https://lnkd.in/e_7HMe9S

Introducing Melissa Wales, our new Policy Officer - Environment and Sustainability. Melissa’s passion is working collaboratively with producers and industry stakeholders for the sustainability of the environment and of rural livelihoods.  Melissa studied a Bachelor of Science (Resource and Environmental Management) at the The Australian National University, followed by Honours in groundwater science with a focus on irrigators in Coleambally, NSW. From there she went immediately into a PhD at Charles Sturt University, researching soil science with farmers from across Southern NSW. Her doctorate will be conferred in 2025.  In her role at CA, Melissa will be advocating for the recognition of farmers’ crucial role as the stewards of Australia’s environment. 

The latest figures from ABARES show a strong year ahead for Australian agriculture, “beefed up by livestock”. CA Policy Officer – Environment and Sustainability, Melissa Wales, was on hand at the ABARES Outlook 2025 conference in Canberra this week, where it was forecast that the value of agriculture in 2025-26 is expected to be the third highest on record at $91 billion. While this is slightly down on 2024-25, particularly strong results are forecast for livestock and livestock products, which ABARES expects to reach a new record value of $40 billion. For beef and veal, key highlights from the ABARES report include: 📈Value of beef, veal and live cattle production to rise by 1% to $18.4 billion in 2025–26. 📉Value of beef, veal and live cattle exports to fall slightly to $15.8 billion in 2025–26. 💲Cattle saleyard prices and beef export prices to rise in 2025–26, reflecting strong demand. 🐮Real value of beef, veal and live cattle production and exports to be lower over the medium term.

Central Queensland was the place to be last week, with our CEO, Dr Chris Parker, Director, George King, and Regional Consultative Committee representative, Trent Radel, travelling to Wandoan, Bauhinia and Lochington for CA’s Industry Updates. More than 200 beef producers from the region joined us for the events, where Dr Parker provided an update on CA’s four big priorities – biosecurity and animal welfare, environment and sustainability, trade and market access, and MLA and Government accountability. Producers also shared great insights with our representatives about the opportunities and challenges in their region at the moment, and it wouldn’t be an industry catch-up without some discussion of how paddocks are looking heading into winter. Thank you to our hosts Trent and Anna Radel, Cameron and Jahna McIntyre, and Andy and Kathy Hawkins for your generous hospitality. We’re also grateful to our event sponsors Australian Brahman Breeders’ Association, Droughtmaster Australia, Santa Gertrudis Research Herds, and Teys Australia, and our corporate sponsors NAB and Rabobank for their support.