Traceability critical to accessing the EU market

Key Points:

• Integrity systems - Australia’s point of difference when selling red meat against overseas competitors.
• Livestock Production Assurance On-Farm Quality Assurance (LPA QA), can boost a producer’s international profile and market opportunities.
• All integrity systems are critical to high-intensity facilities, such as feedlots.

Biosecurity critical to intensive beef production a

Black Angus, Herefords and crossbred cattle are eating their way through a 130-day feeding program in the pens at the Princess Royal Feedlot in South Australia’s Mid North.

A large operation based at Burra on the edge of the Clare Valley, the feedlot is a prized part of the Princess Royal Station Group which has been an iconic Australian land holding in these parts since the 1850s.

The man in charge of the Princess Royal Group is Simon Rowe – a respected veteran of the country’s red meat industry.

The feedlot was established by the Rowe family in 2005, after the purchase of the iconic property Princess Royal Station in 2000. Since then, the facility has gone from strength to strength under the watch of the Rowe family.

Simon says integrity systems are at the very core of the business and its success.

“I believe Australia has the best systems in the world. Essentially, they give our customers a guarantee, that we’re following all the necessary procedures and protocols to keep Australia disease free and provide them with the best red meat product on the global market.”

LPA critical to feedlot business and growth

Simon says while every integrity system program has an important role to play in his breeding and feedlot operations, LPA accreditation is the most important.

As part of the wider LPA system, the LPA On-Farm Quality Assurance (LPA QA) program requires all LPA QA livestock producers to have full accreditation in LPA level 1 (food safety, animal welfare and biosecurity).

Simon says the LPA QA system has opened many doors for his business, including securing an international profile and significant market access opportunities. It also means he can sell his beef as a branded product with the logo for the Cattlecare program.

“Accreditation under both the LPA QA scheme for our breeding operations and the National Feedlot Accreditation Scheme (NFAS) for our feedlot helps us run under the EUCAS (European Union Cattle Accreditation Scheme),” he said.

“This allows us to meet the EU beef market requirements by segregating cattle that have never been treated with hormonal growth promotants,” he said.

As well as the feedlot being NFAS and EU accredited, it has the accreditation to supply European Union Grain-Fed High-Quality Beef (EU GF-HQB) eligible livestock. Essentially this allows the feedlot to produce grainfed beef that is above the Australian minimum standard.

“LPA is so critical to a business like ours. We have all the monitoring you can imagine on the ground. Around 90 per cent of what we produce here on Princess Royal is EU – so our paperwork must be tickety boo,” Simon said.

Compliance with integrity systems a priority for feedlots

Simon and his family don’t leave any stone unturned when it comes to protecting the feedlot and their livelihood from biosecurity threats by complying with integrity systems.

He says a biosecurity breach at a high-intensity facility like theirs would be catastrophic for the business.

“We take biosecurity very seriously. We have measures and protocols in place designed to prevent disease from entering or leaving the facility via contaminated vehicles, clothing, footwear, equipment, and animals,” he said.

He says when some feedlot staff members went on holidays to Bali – which has been plagued by an outbreak of lumpy skin disease and foot and mouth disease – he bought them new boots to wear at work and asked them to throw out the footwear they wore overseas.

“We’ve got a one-pager that all people visiting the site need to read and complete. They need to declare where they’ve come from, whether they’ve been at a farm where there has been or currently is a biosecurity issue.”

To comply with integrity requirements, the Rowes must also guarantee the hay and barley they grow and harvest to feed their cattle as part of their large-scale cropping enterprise, doesn’t have any trace of restricted chemicals.

Simon says if the unthinkable happened, he’s heartened by the protection offered by Australia’s integrity systems.

“If we ever faced that kind of challenge, our integrity systems mean we could quickly isolate the disease, the impacted herd, the affected property, and nip it in the bud fast,” he said.

Integrity systems have positioned Aussie beef as a premium product

Simon says the systems, protocols and guarantees in place in Australia are the point of difference in selling against overseas competitors.

He says this is most attractive to Princess Royal customers.

“The reality is that globally Australia is a small producer of beef but importantly our big point of difference is our clean, green reputation. That sets us apart from the rest. And that’s all thanks to our integrity systems,” he said.

“Australia is a very young trader in the world markets, and our competitors are experienced traders who will use any excuse they can, to drive the market price down for red meat. But we have this advantage when it comes to quality, that they just can’t beat.”

Biosecurity compliance paving the way for a bright future for industry

Back in the pens, Simon inspects his herd. He says it’s a ‘no brainer’ to heed the advice of integrity systems to protect his business and the wider industry.

“For producers, the importance of compliance with integrity systems is serious but it’s very straight forward. Basically, if you don’t follow these systems then you don’t get the rewards, and in the worst-case scenario, you won’t have a business! It’s pretty simple,” he said.

Simon and his family will continue working hard and ticking all the necessary integrity systems boxes to ensure the Princess Royal has a prosperous future, producing premium, grainfed South Australian beef for the world.

“I’ve said it time and time again, Australia’s got the best integrity system protocols in the world. The thing is, they simply don’t tell a lie and that’s what is so reassuring. From my perspective, the more of it the better!”