June 4, 2018
A panel of scientists appointed by the beef industry will meet in Brisbane for the first time later this month as part of its review of vegetation management across Australia.
The panel has been appointed by the Australian Beef Sustainability Framework, an industry-wide group established in 2016 after consultations with agri-groups and companies in the beef industry, as well as external stakeholders including retailers.
Queensland beef producer and Sustainability Steering Group chairman Bryce Camm said the expert third-party panel of scientists would help the industry define and report on the balance of grass and tree cover.
“We’ve appointed a team of world-leading remote sensing experts, biologists and conservationists to our expert panel because there is no agreement on what is or how to accurately measure the tree growth and tree / pasture changes in vegetation managed by the Australian cattle industry – and, indeed, the related expectations of our customers,” Mr Camm said.
“We have agreement from industry, retailers, banks and environment groups to review the advice of key technical experts in order to develop a longer-term solution to managing vegetation for the mutual benefit of industry productivity and environmental outcomes.”
AgForce has welcomed the establishment of the expert panel.
AgForce General President Grant Maudsley said Queensland’s new vegetation management restrictions had been imposed on farmers on the basis of incomplete information, and this new scientific panel could help fill in the blanks.
“The Queensland Government has been using satellite imagery for years to measure vegetation clearing rates for the Statewide Landcover and Trees Study (SLATS), but they haven’t been measuring how much vegetation in Queensland has grown at the same time,” he said.
“You can’t and won’t get the best environmental and agricultural production outcomes making decisions on flawed and incomplete data.”
Mr Maudsley said the work being done by technical experts would help to develop a long-term solution to managing vegetation for the mutual benefit of industry productivity and environmental outcomes.
“It’s fantastic to see the industry taking ownership of this issue through the Sustainability Steering Group and injecting some much needed leadership into the vegetation management debate,” he said.
The Australian Beef Sustainability Framework is an initiative of the Red Meat Advisory Council with support from Meat and Livestock Australia.
