16 April 2025

It’s time for the big political parties to insert some common sense into their policy platforms by recognising that the Australian cattle industry is part of climate and environmental solutions.

Cattle Australia (CA) is calling for the reinstatement of the Beef Herd Method for measuring carbon sequestration and trading carbon credits, and to guarantee that the biogenic methane cycle will be appropriately accounted for in national carbon accounting systems.

Chief Executive, Dr Chris Parker, also called for CA’s Land Management Commitment strategy to be implemented in full to ensure the beef supply chain has the tools it needs to measure and manage biodiversity and demonstrate to markets around the world the benefits of the co-existence of beef production and biodiversity outcomes.

“Politicians and activists need to stop blaming burping cattle and instead realise that the beef industry is part of the solution for our environment and our changing climate,” Dr Parker said.

“Australian cattle producers manage 50% of Australia’s land mass and as a result, the beef industry offers a massive opportunity to sequester Australia’s carbon emissions and improve our natural capital, but policy settings need to change to provide producers with both the tools and economic incentives to achieve this.”

“Cattle producers take their responsibility to care for the environment incredibly seriously – unfortunately, not everyone understands that their hard work in managing soils, pastures and trees, also contributes to sequestering carbon from the atmosphere and improving biodiversity,” Dr Parker said.

“Current policy settings overlook the entirely natural process in which methane emitted by cattle is reabsorbed as CO2 by pastures and soils as part of the photosynthesis process. The scientific term is the biogenic methane cycle, and it’s absolutely essential that this be appropriately accounted for in national carbon accounting systems.

“If cattle weren’t grazing, that same pasture would die off and emit methane and carbon dioxide as it decomposes – by including cattle in the ecosystem, we’re converting that grass into beef protein while managing our natural environment for pests and weeds, improving soil fertility and all while keeping hundreds of thousands of Australians employed and providing food security to millions of people around the world.”

Dr Parker said the Federal Government urgently needed to invest in an accurate and up-to-date national dataset, based on satellite mapping of agricultural land use, to demonstrate to governments and consumers around the world the positive impacts of graziers in increasing forestry cover across Australia.

“Each year since 2008 there has been a net increase in total forest area on agricultural land in Australia and our farmers are spending $5.3 billion a year managing invasive plants, pests are diseases,” he said.

“While this high-level data is useful, accurately measuring biodiversity across a landscape is notoriously difficult, and there is currently no agreed, consistent way to do this. Developing such a tool would assist producers in their environmental management decisions, as well as demonstrate sustainability and social license within the greater supply chain.”

Dr Parker said whichever party formed government in May must also ensure that Australian and international markets recognised Australia’s unique and environmentally responsible production systems and the stringent land management regulations the cattle industry operates under.

Key Statistics

• Cattle producers manage 50% of Australia’s land mass
• There are 136 different State, Territory, and Commonwealth laws relating to vegetation management
• There has been a net positive change in forest area on agricultural land each year since 2008.
• 36% of Australia’s forest is on land managed for conservation purposes – this places Australia in the top 10 countries globally for total protected forest area.
• Farmers spend $5.3 billion a year managing invasive plants, pests are diseases.

About CA

CA is the national peak body for the grass-fed beef industry, providing a visible, unified, and influential voice for Australia’s 52,000 grass-fed cattle levy payers.

CA is responsible for developing and driving contemporary policy; guiding research, development, and adoption (RD&A) and marketing investment for the sector; and advocating on all matters important to the Australian beef industry.

ENDS

MEDIA ENQUIRIES:

Stacey Wordsworth
stacey.wordsworth@bluehillagency.com.au
0438 394 371

Michael Thomson
michael.thomson@bluehillagency.com.au
0408 819 666