Producers urged to be industry advocates

For the past decade, John and wife Bec have run a large dairy goat enterprise at their Meningie property ‘Idealview’ in SA’s Upper South East. Recently, they’ve embarked upon a plan to transition into a meat goat herd, which is largely lifestyle-based but also designed to provide seasonal flexibility.

John is also the current president of the Goat Industry Council of Australia (GICA), the peak industry council for Australian goat producers.

He encouraged all goat producers to learn as much as they could, not only about the animals and production systems but the industry itself.

“Goats are amazing animals. They’re sadly misunderstood, and they are awesome to work with,” John said.

“For those starting out, talk to as many leading producers as you can find and learn as if you’ll live forever.”

Prior to the transition to meat production, Idealview supplied milk to a number of processors. However, the shift in focus now sees the enterprise run approximately 500 crossbred breeder goats on their 220ha property, as well as crossbred calves for beef production. They will continue to run 100 dairy goats.

John’s involvement in industry advocacy started when he joined a dairy goat society committee as a representative and realised just how important peak industry councils are to the long-term sustainability and growth of the industry.

“Every producer can have input into how their industry is run. It is unfair to sit back and complain if you’re not prepared to put your hand up and get involved,” John said.

“Producers need to get involved and understand how GICA works through its membership and how they can have their voice heard through that process.

“Peak industry councils, especially the likes of GICA, are producer-led and run, with producers volunteering colossal amounts of time for the benefit of their industry.

“It’s not an easy job, but it is worthwhile to do it for the benefit of the industry,” John said.

GICA represents all Australian goat producers

GICA’s remit is to represent and promote the interests of goat producers Australia-wide. Membership of GICA is based on two levels:

• Full members:
• State farmer organisations (Livestock SA, Victorian Farmers’ Federation, AgForce, NSW Farmers).
• Four commodity-based members: dairy, meat, fibre and rangeland (Dairy Goat Society of Australia, Fibre Mohair Australia Ltd, Rangeland PAWD and a representative from the meat industry, this position is currently vacant).
• Associate member – Australian Meat Industry Council.

GICA oversees projects and policies to secure the long-term sustainability and profitability of the industry, across five key areas:

• animal health and welfare
• research and development
• trade and marketing
• biosecurity
• exports.

As part of this, GICA liaises with relevant government departments and authorities at local, state and federal levels and with other relevant industry organisations, such as the Red Meat Advisory Council, SafeMeat, Integrity Systems Company, National Farmers’ Federation and the industry taskforce on lumpy skin disease (LSD) and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), to name just a few.

“Each producer has two ways to reach and influence GICA – through their commodity group or their state farming organisation (SFO),” John said.

“All members put forward their group’s views and perspectives on those key issues and then GICA develops a policy position based on that information.

“We are lucky at GICA that we get to represent all sectors of the goat industry – meat, dairy, fibre and rangeland.”

Furthering the industry through R&D

Goat is one of the most widely consumed meats in the world and as the world’s largest exporter of goatmeat, the outlook is bright for Australian goat producers. About 90% of goatmeat production in Australia is currently produced by rangeland goat enterprises.

In 2018, the industry’s research, development and marketing body, Meat & Livestock Australia, established the Goat Industry Research, Development and Adoption Committee (GIRDAC). The committee is an independent body which reviews existing projects and provides recommendations on research, development, extension and adoption initiatives and investments for the Australian goatmeat and livestock industry.

“As an advisory group separate to GICA, GIRDAC members are responsible for reviewing the nitty gritty of levy investment,” John said.

“The committee is selected through an annual open call for producers, and they review research and development funding proposals as well as check in on ongoing projects. Their feedback and recommendations are then passed up to GICA and MLA for approval.

“The two-tier process ensures everything is above board and we have checks and balances in place for proper investment of the levy,” John said.

Goat transaction levy vital for growth

John reinforced the importance of the levy, which in the goat industry is a transaction levy, payable every time the ownership of an animal is transferred.

“As producers, we want the industry to grow and we want to see investment for the future. We want market access, biosecurity and traceability but it all costs money,” John said.

“If you’re transacting a goat – whether it is moving from your property to someone else’s property, or to a saleyard, a processor, or a registered goat depot – it’s your responsibility as a member of the goat industry to pay the levy. There is a really simple process to register with the Levy Revenue Service (LRS) online.

“The best thing is that it’s not a ‘pay and forget’ levy, with producers having the ability to shape their industry by getting involved,” John said.

The goat transaction levy supports research, development and extension to help secure a future as innovative, profitable and resilient world leaders in goat production.

“Currently, the levy goes to MLA for marketing and R&D, Animal Health Australia, and the National Residue Survey,” John said.

Separately, a goat fibre levy of 1.5% of the sale value of the fibre sold is also collected through LRS, but funds are distributed to AgriFutures, which undertakes research and development.

The recent LSD and FMD biosecurity scares have reinforced the importance of ensuring ongoing market access.

“About 90% of goatmeat production in Australia is exported, which is huge,” John said.

“If we ever had something terrible happen in Australia, we need traceability for biosecurity purposes. Traceability underpins market access — it’s as simple as that.

“The current levy investment is irrespective of types of goat and is focused on production benefits and industry growth as there are commonalities across all goats. As much as we could complain about them, levies are important for the benefit of the industry,”John said.

Your opportunity to have a say

John encouraged producers who were unsure about getting involved in industry advocacy to start at a local level.

“The best place to start is by becoming a member of your local SFO or commodity group and joining the board or committee,” John said.

“You can have your voice heard there and put your toe in the water. Ultimately, those people are the future councillors for GICA or GIRDAC.”

For those producers who want to get involved, the GICA council meets fortnightly and with the increased use of video conferencing, remote participation is also possible.

“We encourage everyone to be involved. How involved you become really depends on how involved you want to be,” John said.

“It is so important that producers are involved and learn how GICA works through its membership and how they can have their voice heard through that process.”