31 August 2026. Lloyd Hick, AgForce Cattle President.
The cattle industry is very similar to agriculture in general. If you only read the headlines you would think the world is ending with everyone turning vegan.
The truth is Australian beef is still a highly sought-after product around the world. There has been endless talk around tariffs - are they on, are they being lifted, have we filled our quota to China?
While some of the noise is true and a concern, the facts are Australia is exporting our product to a record 83 countries around the world.
Industry, along with MLA, have done a terrific job of marketing our beef and there always seems to be a new market opening when we get pressure from any direction.
This is why the Cattle Board has been very involved in the levy review, not only providing feedback but also making sure as many members as possible have their say.
MLA will have a more than $300 million budget next year, which is an extraordinary amount of money, but it will do very little if it is not spent in the right areas.
We need to continue to find new markets and also to make sure R&D dollars are being spent on projects that lead to a more profitable industry.
And are there things we are missing with our levies? Do we need to put levy dollars in biosecurity to help protect our industry? These are the questions being asked and discussed.
The Live Export Cattle Growth Plan was launched in Canberra last week by ALEC and LiveCorp at the NFF Leaders' Summit.
The plan will help build stronger community support and greater regulatory certainty and stronger trade partnerships.
And it was extremely encouraging to see it supported by the Federal Agriculture Minister.
