RED meat peak industry councils need to be inextricably aligned with their research and development corporations for advocacy to be most effective, the head of the processing sector's lobby group says.
The Australian Meat Industry Council's chief executive officer Patrick Hutchinson spoke at a recent industry conference, saying there was more opportunity to be gained where the business of advocacy was coordinated and collaborative.
In the competitive space of garnering government attention and action on issues, those lobbying for the interests of the beef and sheep meat industries had to turn up well-informed, with the backing of science and research and with the backing of their people, he said.
The insights into how AMIC is tackling the job of advocacy were delivered at the recent Australian Meat Processor Corporation conference in Melbourne, and come at a salient time for grassfed cattle producers who are in the midst of rearranging the structure of their peak industry group.
"We are a massive industry and we have to move away from partisan approaches, from the thought of PICs competing with each other or the idea a PIC needs to control its RDC," Mr Hutchinson said.
"That thinking is beyond narrow."
The formulae for success: Industry representatives identify an issue, the RDC does the research which allows the PIC to have the evidence to create policy and advocate with success.
"There is nothing adversarial between a PIC and its RDC. The RDC can't advocate but can provide the necessary evidence to underpin advocacy work," Mr Hutchinson said.
"Both must be working towards the same end for the same group.
"This is what governments want too - they want us to come to them with well-researched policies and strategies.
"A good example for AMIC at the moment is workforce issues - we are doing the research to underpin the claims we have, and to support the ideas we have. That alignment ensures a government of whatever stripe can work with us."
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What must be thrown out: Single policies that are inflexible and difficult to update, personality-driven decision making, inflammatory advocacy and outdated positions without due consideration of future threats and public positioning.
AMIC's key advocacy work at the moment centers around these strategies: market access, biosecurity, sustainability, workforce and logistics.
Mr Hutchinson said the relationship between processor and producer had never been stronger.
"How they link is better understood on both sides and, more importantly, more supportive," he said.
"COVID played a role in that - the attention on supply chain disruptions. Also the workforce issues and the recognition of what they will mean for the producer selling bigger numbers of cattle down the track."
Much of the improved relationship had been driven by brands, which had promoted alignments and a more transparent supply chain that wasn't forced, Mr Hutchinson felt.
Shan Goodwin
Shan Goodwin steers ACM’s national coverage of the beef industry. Shan has worked as a journalist for 30 years, the majority of that with agricultural publications. She spent many years as The Land’s North Coast reporter and has visited beef properties and stations throughout the country and overseas. She treats all breeds equally. Contact 0427686187. E: s.goodwin@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Shan Goodwin steers ACM’s national coverage of the beef industry. Shan has worked as a journalist for 30 years, the majority of that with agricultural publications. She spent many years as The Land’s North Coast reporter and has visited beef properties and stations throughout the country and overseas. She treats all breeds equally. Contact 0427686187. E: s.goodwin@austcommunitymedia.com.au
