05/04/2021 | News release | Distributed by Public on 05/03/2021 19:31
04 May 2021
Animal welfare practices and tracking the industry's sustainability credentials are top of mind for beef producers, according to the Australian Beef Sustainability Framework (ABSF) latest annual update.
The latest Australian Beef Sustainability Framework (ABSF) annual update, the fourth since its inception, was launched at the ABSF's seminar at Beef Australia 2021 in Rockhampton today.
The ABSF defines sustainable beef production and tracks performance over a series of indicators annually.
Chair of the sustainability steering group for the ABSF, Tess Herbert, said despite a year of unprecedented challenges, the report card revealed that the Australian beef industry was heading in the right direction.
'The past year has been like no other - travel restrictions, lockdowns, quarantine and global disruption have disrupted supply chains and important revenue pathways,' Ms Herbert said.
'Despite the many challenges, responses to our producer sustainability survey increased four-fold demonstrating producers are more engaged with the process of promoting industry transparency and progress.
'We've also seen an increase in producer satisfaction, awareness of animal welfare standards and the use of regular pain relief for cattle.
Ms Herbert said by working collaboratively within industry and with our customers and investors, the framework was able to provide a clear and transparent report card on where the industry is up to in the areas they care most about.
'Extensive consultation has been undertaken to optimise indicators and collect the data not only to track performance but identify new opportunities and priority areas for the industry,' Mrs Herbert said.
Independent Chair of the Red Meat Advisory Council, John McKillop said this year marks five years since the Red Meat Advisory Council appointed the first Sustainability Steering Group in 2016 and since then many other industries have followed suit.
'The Australian beef industry is at the forefront of setting global benchmarks for animal health, welfare, environmental management and product integrity,' Mr McKillop said.
'As an industry, we should be proud of the progressive leadership that we collectively demonstrated more than half a decade ago to establish the framework.
'Australia's beef industry supply chain set the agenda well before most other industries had even started to consider similar reporting frameworks.'
Key highlights from the 2021 Annual Update include:
For a full copy of the ABSF Annual Update, visit www.sustainableaustralianbeef.com.au.