P.PSH.1396 - Greenham Beef Sustainability Standard On-Farm Pilot
The Greenham NEVER EVER program was developed to meet customer demands for robust and transparent sustainability credentials.
| Project start date: | 10 May 2022 |
| Project end date: | 03 May 2023 |
| Publication date: | 29 April 2024 |
| Project status: | Completed |
| Livestock species: | Grass-fed Cattle |
| Relevant regions: | Southern Australia |
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Summary
The Greenham Beef Sustainability Standard (GBSS) pilot project explored how an audited standard could be implemented on-farm to drive continuous improvement and offer price incentives, based on sustainability performance. The pilot also explored key questions around operational suitability and whether the standard was fit for purpose and practical for producers to use. The project was intended to collect feedback on any amendments required to the draft standard, as well as identify potential areas where producers may need support to achieve accreditation under the GBSS.
Objectives
The objectives of the on-farm pilot were to:
• Trial the roll out of the draft standard with ~20 pilot farms across Greenham’s key sourcing regions in southern Australian to ensure it is fit for purpose (practical, user-friendly, straightforward), provides value to farmers in different regions, is not too costly or too onerous to implement, and is not setting the bar too high (acting as a barrier to participation) or too low (not meaningful/robust enough).
• Develop and trial auditing templates and processes.
• Determine the potential uptake of each tier; if the standard were to be rolled out now, what proportion of Greenham cattle suppliers would fall into each tier.
• Understand demand/need for educational/supporting resources.
Key findings
• Encouraging supply chain buy-in to the standard will improve uptake. The pilot process created a pool of livestock producers to champion the GBSS amongst their networks.
• Despite the fact that the GBSS was developed with producer and technical expert input, trialling on-farm highlighted challenges with implementation of some indicators in different businesses and geographies. These issues, detailed below, will be addressed before the GBSS is launched, ensuring the resulting standards are practical and rigorous, and more likely to be accepted by beef producers.
• Identifying areas where there are key gaps in producers’ knowledge, or adoption of best practice. Key gaps included carbon, WH&S, nutrient budgeting, language and key concepts around grazing management, and soil microbiology. Strategies, such as e-learning modules and producer workshops, to help address these will be developed, leveraging existing programs and resources as much as possible.
• Highlighting the opportunity for market pull-through to drive adoption. This incentivisation didn’t relate only to price (although this was a strong incentive), but also included opportunities for self-improvement/accountability, recognition for industry best practice, being industry leaders/at the forefront, more informed decision making/benchmarking performance, meeting market demands/supporting the industry, improved efficiencies, and business resilience.
• The project also identified potential barriers to adoption. These include lack of time, misconceptions about sustainability, lack of technical ability/experience with record keeping and process or computer literacy, not understanding production benefits associated with sustainable practices.
• Producer learning opportunities such as e-learning modules and support ahead of the audit process through provision of templates and a self-assessment to identify any gaps have been identified as opportunities for improved knowledge on aspects of sustainability.
Benefits to industry
The project has provided insights into the development and adoption of sustainability requirements for beef producers that supply Greenham. The process used could be adopted by other supply chains. This project has been beneficial for the industry as a whole, supporting industry goals to demonstrate 'green credentials'. Not only is the GBSS technically rigorous in the indicators being applied, but the support and encouragement provided to producers will drive adoption of best practice. The GBSS moves beyond a 'tick box' compliance approach, to proactively driving uptake of best practice amongst the supply chain.
MLA action
No further MLA action recommended.
Future research
Further MLA investment is not recommended. The Greenham Beef Sustainability Standard pilot provided a template for how integrated processors could drive sustainable improvement in their supply chain through financial incentives. It is hoped that proliferation of the GBSS model will be driven in the red meat supply chain by market drivers to encourage similar benchmarking exercises by other industry players.
More information
| Project manager: | Julia Waite |
| Contact email: | reports@mla.com.au |
| Primary researcher: | GREENHAM AUSTRALIA PTY LTD |
