Don't rely on a premium for lowering methane: Simon Quilty's Churchill research

This has been one of the findings of a three-month tour of beef-producing nations looking at methane reduction schemes by industry analyst Simon Quilty as part of his Churchill fellowship.

Another fascinating finding to come from Mr Quilty's work was that Australian retail beef and lamb is actually among the lowest priced.

A comparison of average retail prices for ribeye, ground beef 80CL, lamb leg, lamb racks frenched and trimmed, in Australian dollars per kilogram, yielded the following:

Mr Quilty said the deep concern about expensive meat globally was well justified. In Europe, the single biggest-selling item now is ground beef - a common trend when prices get too high and consumers need to 'dumb down' their purchases.

Expecting consumers to pay a premium for carbon-neutral beef seems highly unlikely from here, he said.

Mr Quilty noted in Australia Coles had released a carbon-neutral product priced in line with its high-quality grassfed program.

"Both products exist at a premium to other lines, so credit must be given to Coles for achieving a premium where other countries have failed," he said.

"One of the reasons for this is that Australia's retail cost of beef seems to be less expensive than many other countries - niche marketing tends to succeed in a less expensive environment."

Mr Quilty visited almost 20 supermarkets and retail outlets across 15 cities in eight counties across North America, Europe and the United Kingdom.

"So far, nowhere has marketed carbon-neutral beef, with one exception a small exclusive butcher in San Francisco at Fisherman's Wharf who received three carcasses per week from a small farmer cooperative in Oregon," he said.

"The main selling point was provenance though and with dry-aged ribeye selling for $130 a kilogram, that approach is understandable."

Farmers and meat processors everywhere were adamant that premiums for carbon-neutral beef were impossible, Mr Quilty reported.

Europe's largest beef processor, Bigard, referred to 'the fad' of organic beef that existed 10 years ago in Europe but today was almost non-existent, he said.

"Consumers will not pay an organic premium above today's expensive regular meat, so a great deal of skepticism exists on carbon-neutral beef. Bigard has moved away from organic as a result," Mr Quilty said.

"The same trend has occurred in the UK, and those who were once organic farmers are now switching to grassfed 'never-ever' programs as they are cheaper to run and more affordable for the consumer.

"Australia's desire to seek a premium for carbon neutral beef should continue globally but it is important that we recognise the challenges around the world due to the high cost of beef and the difficulty in getting consumers to pay a premium in countries where meat is so expensive.

"It tells me that to rely on receiving market premiums for lowering methane should not be the only way in which to reward farmers but that other mechanisms need to be investigated. We should never give up on seeking premiums in global markets but we need to be additionally seeking other means to ensure farmers get rewarded for lowering methane."

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