Eugowra farmer Tess Herbert has now served a little over a year as chair of the Australian Beef Sustainability Framework's Sustainability Steering Group - and what a year it's been.
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Tasked with providing a fuller picture of how the industry is addressing sustainability issues ranging from the workforce to the climate, the team has worked hard to understand which issues matter and to collect data on those.
"Consumers, customers, investors and other stakeholders, and even members of the public, increasingly want proof that our product is clean, green and sustainable," Mrs Herbert said on her appointment to the committee.
"The Framework helps provide proof we're meeting the promise that our animals are cared for and that our product is safe, nutritious and consistently high quality."
The Framework Steering Group are out there to challenge views on the red meat industry, and working with industry groups to talk about where improvements can be made.
The Framework released its annual report at a dinner at Kitchen By Mike - a restaurant with a focus on sustainable food in Sydney - mid last year, and is preparing the next.
Highlights of the 2019 report include a 56 per cent reduction in carbon emissions since 2005 - towards the industry goal of being carbon neutral by 2030.
"Based on CSIRO research it is possible to do that and we have identified a number of pathways to get to that," Mrs Herbert said.
The group also has a big focus on animal welfare, and note an increase in the use of pain relief for events such as castration and the rise in poll animals reducing the need for de-horning.
People are key to the industry and the Steering group is looking at everything from the number of traineeships and health and safety to life satisfaction based on wellbeing surveys.
They've also put a lot of work into measuring the national balance of tree and grass cover, another of the key priorities the group has identified in view of global biodiversity loss.
"This priority includes how vegetation is managed to benefit both production and environmental outcomes and reviewing these indicators has been the main focus for the Framework team in the past year," Mrs Herbert said in her annual report remarks.
"We are proud that we have received support from a wide range of stakeholder groups on the new indicators and measures for the balance of tree and grass cover, but acknowledge that over time they can and will be strengthened."
Going forward, Mrs Herbert's role includes increasing understanding of the Framework right through the value chain, from producers, processors, transporters through to retailers.
"By setting targets, we can measure the industry's performance against them and show when industry is on track and where there is room to improve," she said in her message to the Framework annual report.
"It will help show ... that the Australian beef industry is committed to the continuous improvement in its care of people, animals and natural resources."
Mrs Herbert and her husband Andrew own and operate the Gundamain feedlot at Eugowra and Ladysmith at Wagga Wagga.
