Lack of livestock consultants holding back beef's climate efforts

The skilled consultants so critical in connecting emerging science with the farmgate are too few and far between, industry leaders and scientists have warned.

The decades-long cutback of publicly-funded extension officers has left a chasm that is becoming glaringly obvious as the red meat industry forges its way along the path to climate and carbon neutrality, they say.

Speaking at the 2023 Northern Beef Research Update Conference in Darwin, Meat & Livestock Australia's manager for producer adoption Sally Leigo said the limited number of public and private sector advisors operating was a big constraint on MLA's ability to implement programs.

"If there was one lever I could pull, it would be to have more of those individuals operating," she said.

"MLA is trying to address it through our livestock advisor program but there is only so much we can do."

Ms Leigo said of the 11 agriculture universities across the country, only four offered an extension unit in their undergraduate degree.

"It's alarming that our graduates aren't even learning good extension methodology," she said.

"There is increasing demand for adoption services but we don't have the people who can connect in with the producers."

Agriculture education and research consultant Dr Alan Bell, former chief of CSIRO Livestock Industries, told the conference this was a general issue across all ag sectors in Australia.

Dr Bell, also a non-executive director of Dairy Australia, said the issue had to be addressed: private consultancy would be a major part of the way forward in taking livestock industries to a new level in the environmental, sustainability and governance best practice space.

"In Victoria, Dairy Australia has taken on direct funding of what used to be the Victorian Department of Agriculture's extension program. This is helping but it is still not adequate or totally fit for purpose," he said.

Private specialists, including many former department advisors, have set up consultancy practices across the country in the years since government services have been scaled back and commercial businesses like rural network stores have also put on consultants as an add-on service. Often touted, however, is the lack of willingness of the producer to shift to a user-pays model.

"If there was a way to demonstrate the benefit of consulting advice to the average producer, that would be a great benefit. We are not going to be able to bring back public-supported extension programs," Dr Bell said.

Trevor Price, the manager of the Northern Beef Development Program at Western Australia's Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, said there was historical evidence of market failure with consultant-based service providers in regions like the Pilbara and Kimberley.

However, over time that was diminishing and the breadth and depth of skills of those coming in had increased, he said.

"It has to be a one team approach of public and private investment," he said.

"In regards to accelerating adoption of technology - just because someone hasn't invested in a technology doesn't mean they are not sold on it and that is one of the hardest things to deal with.

"It comes down to finding levers and ways to encourage."

Ms Leigo agreed.

"Something scientists struggle with is that we work with humans and humans don't always make logical decisions," she said.

"The scientists put forward the logical argument: this will reduce your costs or increase your production, but are not always aware of what is happening on-farm for that producer.

"That may be what infrastructure they have, what their business goals are, how much capital budget they have, what stage of life they are in and more.

"The behavioural science piece will become a greater area for extension going forward."

Mr Price said emerging supply chains would also play a role in shifting the dial.

"They will stimulate opportunities and act as a catalyst for change," he said.