The biggest issue facing agriculture and the beef industry today is climate change policy.
Cattle Council is working hard, along side the National Farmers’ Federation, to ensure the best possible outcome for beef producers in a future affected by Government policy.
Carbon tax
The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) legislation was put on hold until 2011.
Julia Gillard has since made a joint announcement with the Greens that they intend to introduce a carbon price in Australia on July 1, 2012. A fixed carbon price would start on July 1, 2012, before moving to a cap-and-trade emissions trading scheme within three to five years. One year before the end of the fixed price period, a review would consider if there were any reasons to delay moving to a cap and trade scheme. Eleven principles will govern the carbon price.
Cattle Council is against the introduction of the carbon tax. We believe that a carbon price will drive up input costs associated with electricity, fuel and transport harming our competitiveness in international markets. Business groups for similar reasons have heavily criticized the policy and consumer groups are concerned of the impact it will have on the cost of living.
Independent research conducted by Australian Farm Institute shows that under the Government’s proposed tax we will suffer a substantial fall in farm income where a carbon tax will slug cattle producers with an extra $7,000 in costs every year.
The cost to beef producers is anywhere from $4,200 for those in Victoria to $9,200 for graziers in Queensland. This reduction in income that we’re facing is serious – especially when you consider that the average Australian beef producer has a farm cash income of around $42,000 a year.
Australian beef producers are essential to food production in this country and around the globe and the industry is vital to our society and our economy. We contribute over $7 billion a year to the Australian economy and employ over 120,000 people.
Read the whole report
Read media release
Cattle Council continues to work with the National Farmers’ Federation to position the beef cattle sector as part of the solution to managing GHG emissions and is doing what it can to reach the best possible outcome for beef producers.
Cattle Council will continue to lobby for changes to the International Accounting rules that govern Australia's actions. Currently, the International Accounting rules do not recognise producers' positive contribution on-farm, including the full carbon cycle and agriculture’s ability to sequester carbon.
The scheme is about farmers selling carbon credits generated through abatement of greenhouse gases achieved by reducing or avoiding emissions or removing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in soil or trees.
Our analysis of the CFI, as it currently stands, suggest that there will be very little opportunity for engagement by most Australian beef producers.
CPRS and exclusion of agricultural direct emissions
The Government has made a policy commitment to exclude agricultural direct emissions indefinitely from any CPRS.
Details to this commitment follow:
• The Government will amend the CPRS bill to explicitly exclude agriculture emissions from the scheme:
– this means that a future act of Parliament would be required to reverse this decision, providing additional certainty to the sector.
• The Government will work with industry to:
– monitor world’s best practice in reducing agricultural emissions and consider a range of ways in which the agriculture sector can contribute to the transition to a low-pollution economy; and
– introduce voluntary emissions reporting trials in 2011 to allow the sector to better understand and manage its emissions.
• The Government commits to conducting a Productivity Commission review in 2015 of whether the sector is at world’s best practice mitigation and an examination of the potential measures to achieve this.
The amendments are encouraging and have resulted, in part, from a collective lobbying effort, from the Cattle Council, its State Farmer Organisation members and the National Farmers’ Federation. Cattle Council and its members demonstrated through individual case studies the devastating impact the CPRS would have on business profitability.
CCA activities
Cattle Council is lobbying for changes to the International Accounting rules, and lobbied strongly leading up to a global agreement on emissions targets in Copenhagen in December 2009.
Read about Cattle Council's visit to environmentalist and farmer, Michael O'Brien's Walgett property
Learn about producers' positive contribution to the environment
Representing beef producers' views internationally
Copenhagen (COP 15) - read the CCA/NFF delegations report
The NFF lead a delegation to the Council of Parties (COP) meeting in Copenhagen (7-18 Dec 2009). The meeting represented an important negotiating round for the new Kyoto Protocol.
Specifically, the conference included the fifteenth Conference of the Parties (COP 15) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the fifth Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COP/MOP 5).
Cattle Council's Deputy Director Jed Matz, and Queensland beef producer and Cattle Councillor, Justin MacDonnell, were part of the delegation representing the specific interests of the beef cattle industry.
Learn more about the purpose of this delegation.
What was the NFF pushing for in Copenhagen?
International Federation of Agricultural Production (IFAP)
In May 2009, the Cattle Council represented Australian beef producers at the International Federation of Agricultural Production (IFAP) summit on climate change in Copenhagen. By exposing the current flaws in the international accounting rues for carbon to the international farming community, Cattle Council aimed to deliver a positive outcome once the rules were reviewed in Copenhagen later that year (2009).
In July 2009, Cattle Councillor and beef producer, Howard Smith and Cattle Council Deputy Director, Jed Matz, travelled to New Zealand to participate in a Climate Change Policy - Trans-Tasman Roundtable discussion. The discussions aimed to facilitate information sharing between Australia and New Zealand on their respective climate change policies. Discussion topics included International and Domestic Climate Change Policy (Australia, New Zealand, European Union and United States of America) and non-regulatory climate change issues.
Read about Cattle Council's findings from its meeting with IFAP
Download National Farmers' Federation speech delivered at the IFAP summit
View a video of presentations delivered at IFAP
Identifying and pursuing research that supports positive outcomes for beef producers in a future affected by Government policy.
Cattle Council liaises with industry and research specialists frequently. It's paramount that research into beef emissions delivers a policy outcome that ensures the continued productivity and profitability of the nation's beef producers.
Cattle Council provides ongoing policy advice and direction to individual Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) programs as they progress through their life cycle, including research, development and extension programs.
Cattle Council is promoting research through MLA to assist beef producers in accessing the best options for maintaining productivity and profitability in a future impacted by Government policies.
MLA is currently undertaking joint-funded research programs, some of which cover soil carbon, adaption to variable climates and options for reducing emissions from livestock.
Read further about MLA's RD&E climate change projects
Learn about Australian livestock and the environment
Cattle Council convened a meeting with stakeholders and research specialists in 2009 to determine the key areas for further research in considering alternative policies for the beef industry.
Read further about CCA's findings from this meeting
How can I help to ensure beef producers remain competitive and profitable?
Remember that lobbying strength comes from a united voice. It is imperative industry works together in any lobbying efforts to ensure we remain competitive, productive and profitable in markets both here and overseas. As a beef producer you can add to this lobbying strength by joining your State Farmer Organisation.
Find your State Farming Organisation who is a member of the Cattle Council of Australia.
Reports:
Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2009 titled ‘Net carbon position of the Queensland beef industry’
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