Queensland Agriculture Minister John McVeigh

April 11, 2014

The State Government is seeking feedback on its draft Beef Industry Action Plan which aims to encourage the doubling of Queensland’s beef production by 2040.

Agriculture Minister John McVeigh said the draft plan for Queensland’s leading farm industry was ambitious and wide feedback from across industry was invited.

“Under the LNP, agriculture is one of our four economic pillars and we’ve set an ambitious beef production target of two million tonnes a year by 2040,” Mr McVeigh said.

“With the Action Plan’s release, we’re inviting feedback on practical ways that we can support the industry to reach the target.”

The draft plan was developed with input from the Minister’s Beef Industry Roundtable.

Mr McVeigh said it painted the current industry picture, the challenges and a pathway for government to support industry reach the production goal through 11 key areas focussed on industry development and opening up new markets.

“The Queensland Government is committed to ensuring our beef industry is supported and well-positioned to take advantage of all market opportunities,” he said.

Mr McVeigh said global demand for beef was forecast to grow strongly over coming decades, even though much of Queensland was currently doing it tough from the drought.

“To boost production we need better management and genetics. We need to attract new investment and we need higher nutrition through improved pastures, forage crops and feed-lotting,” he said.

“We need to continue to invest in new research, promote best practice to producers and work along the supply chain to support expansion of processors and focus on market access.

“We need to look for opportunities for cost-cutting in all industry sectors, by reducing red tape and improving transport efficiency. We need to build an industry that can withstand and recover quickly from difficult conditions to yield financial rewards for producers and for Queensland’s economy.”

Submissions must be received by 5:00pm on May 21.