![Speaking at Beef Australia in Rockhampton on a deforestation definition for Australian livestock farms were Agforce's Ange Hutchinson, Teys Australia's John Langbridge and producers Josie Angus and Adam Coffey. Picture Shan Goodwin. Speaking at Beef Australia in Rockhampton on a deforestation definition for Australian livestock farms were Agforce's Ange Hutchinson, Teys Australia's John Langbridge and producers Josie Angus and Adam Coffey. Picture Shan Goodwin.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/38U3JBx5nNussShT8aZyYjc/13d70bef-a06e-4058-9f93-b4ea78283a37.JPG/r0_307_5480_3934_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Grassfed cattle producers have started the ball rolling on setting in stone a definition for deforestation that aligns to Australia's unique needs in land management and the biodiversity it boasts on livestock operations.
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Driving the work is the pertinent need to provide a clear pathway to deliver beef products with deforestation-free credentials into global markets.
At the forefront of that is European Union moves to wipe out the importation of any product that it believes contributes to deforestation but basing its judgement of those products on definitions that do not take into account Australia's unique environment.
Left unaddressed, the EU trade directives due to come into force at the start of next year would be devastating to Australian beef exports.
Cattle Australia will draft the definition via what it is calling a Land Management Commitment, due to be put to producers at the end of May.
At Beef Australia in Rockhampton, it launched some draft principals, which included that it be voluntary, promote producer economic outcomes, be simple to implement and lean on existing measurement and monitoring systems.
A make-good mechanism to provide direction regarding compliance and any remediation of historic land management practices should also be factored in to ensure producers are not excluded on the basis of past management activities.
![Cattle Australia chief executive officer Chris Parker. Cattle Australia chief executive officer Chris Parker.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/38U3JBx5nNussShT8aZyYjc/82b26efc-01e7-4e1e-8892-e2c080ed039c.JPG/r0_427_5320_3814_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
CA's chief executive officer Chris Parker said there was clearly an urgency to deliver on deforestation, not just on the back of the EU moves but the supply chain, and other stakeholders like financial institutions, were sending the message loud and clear.
He said there was a lot of data sitting with third parties at the moment, and a lot it was variable. That needed to be addressed.
"The encouraging thing is people are measuring and thinking about this," he said in a seminar where the draft principles were announced.
"We must have the ability to challenge misinformation on this issue driven by people who may well have no interest in a sustainable Australian beef industry."
He said it was critical that the industry developed its own standard, based on a single source of truth informed by national mapping that would allow for lifetime traceability of livestock.
Beef producer and CA director Adam Coffey said the need for a deforestation definition was one of the key reasons he put his hand up for an industry advocacy role.
"Producers have seen the risk around this space for a long time," he said.
"Every year when the latest forest cover data is released in Queensland it's cherry picked and interpreted by the friendly NGOs (non-government organisations) and allegations are thrown at producers.
"Are we big bad deforesters? No we are not. We have world-leading vegetation management laws.
"But there is no single source of data, no reference system to prove our case and that means we don't have an argument to put forward."
Fellow Queensland producer Josie Angus, Signature Beef, said Australian cattle grazed woodlands, not forests.
The United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organisation defined forests as excluding agricultural land but that was something missing from the debate, she said.
"Land management is vital to every one of our businesses, and if we don't get the definition on deforestation right, towns like Rockhampton shrink."
Agforce cattle board director Ange Hutchinson and Teys Australia's John Langbridge said the definition would bolster existing industry systems, particularly around traceability, and give Australian beef a competitive advantage over suppliers with poor practices.
That would open new, attractive markets for beef, they said.