Beef sector votes to establish Cattle Australia as new peak national body

The new organisation will replace Cattle Council of Australia, which has been criticised for years as undemocratic and lacking sustainable funding.

The vote, which took place on Tuesday, consisted of two votes; the state farming organisations, 75pc of which voted in favour of the new industry body, and the direct members, 91.75pc of who voted in favour.

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Cattle Council president Lloyd Hick said it was a historic moment for the beef producers, who would finally have a "united voice to represent them".

"This new organisation is a blank canvas for members and everyone has the ability to be involved," Mr Hick said.

"This new constitution will give every grassfed levy-paying producer the ability to put their hand up to be a board member, or have a say about who they want to represent them at the national level."

Previously, board members were only elected from the state farming organisations.

"It was a difficult vote for the SFOs, they are giving away a lot of power, so for them to do that for the betterment of the sector shows how committed our industry is and how important a strong peak industry council is," Mr Hick said.

The Pastoralists and Graziers Association of Western Australia and NSW Farmers voted against establishing Cattle Australia, with several objections including the proposed funding model, lack of a business plan and the scaled voting entitlements.

NSW Farmers even registered two companies, Grassfed Cattle Australia and Premium Cattle Australia, with the Australian Business Register, suggesting it may look to establish an entity in direct competition with the new advocacy body planned.

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NSW Farmers president Xavier Martin said a big concern was the "lack of democracy", with those who own more cattle receiving more votes.

"Our version of democracy, the focus is on the producers voting, not the cows," Mr Martin said.

"To put it in perspective, it would be like Australians with more money getting more votes during government elections."

Mr Hick said Cattle Council would continue discussions with NSW Farmers and PGA to work through their objections and attempt to find a middle ground.

NSW Farmers is considering its options, but Mr Martin said the organisation was "eager to take part in discussion" to resolve their issues in a prompt manner.

"Some of our members don't want to have anything to do with [Cattle Australia], some want to take legal action, some want to set up a different national structure and some want to wait to see how this all works out," Mr Martin said.

"Our cattle committee is meeting later this week and we'll have more to say after that."

Victorian Farmers' Federation's Peter Star said despite the objections, the successful vote should be viewed as a "glass-half-full moment".

"A lot of people have been advocating for the ability to bring the whole grassfed industry together for a long time," Mr Star said.

"It's a diverse industry, from the large properties in the north to the smaller farmers down south who may only have a herd of 10 or 20 cattle.

"I would hope this new organisation recognises that diversity and respect is given to all quarters of it."

Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt was glad to hear the majority of industry supported the proposal to create a democratically elected body to represent Australian cattle producers.

"The grass-fed cattle industry is one of the biggest in Australian agriculture and dealing with a single representative body will make it easier for producers' interests to be heard.

"Now the vote has been passed, Cattle Australia must get to work and deliver benefits for the industry.

"Given the Government's investment in this process to date [$500,000], I expect - and taxpayers expect - that all parts of the industry take responsibility to make these reforms work."

The election process for a new board will begin in one month, on November 4, and Mr Hick encouraged producers to think about who they would like to represent them.

The Cattle Australia constitution will be reviewed within two years to ensure it is fit for purpose and the new board will have ability to make changes if necessary.