Subscribe to MLA's Quarterly Feed e-newsletters
Stay informed with the latest red meat and livestock industry news, events, research and marketing.
Producer consultation
MLA’s producer consultation process empowers grassfed beef and sheepmeat producers to directly influence the on-farm research, development and adoption (RD&A) activities their levies are invested in.
This process ensures national and regionally relevant RD&A priorities are identified to deliver optimum value to producers.
As a result of the producer consultation process, MLA has funded more than $50 million worth of projects that find solutions to producer priorities. The Producer Investment Call has attracted more than 600 submitted preliminary proposals from 83 different applicant organisations and has resulted in almost 70 contracted projects.
How does the process work?
Here’s a brief overview of the steps involved in the producer consultation process.
The producer consultation process starts with producers communicating with one of 19 regional consultation committees throughout Australia. These independent, producer-driven committees operate under three Research Advisory Councils (RACs):
- North Australia Beef Research Council (NABRC)
- Southern Australia Livestock Research Council (SALRC)
- Western Australia Livestock Research Council (WALRC).
The 19 regional committees operating under each of the RACs listed above get together 1–2 times a year to:
- identify the priorities for research, development and adoption in their regions
- keep updated and have input into research relevant to their regions and priorities.
Check out the map under ‘Find a committee near you’ below for contact details relating to each committee.
The priorities are submitted under the following program categories:
- grassfed beef productivity
- sheep productivity
- animal wellbeing
- sustainable feedbase
- CN30.
Next, the priorities are submitted to the relevant MLA Program Managers who provide feedback on the priorities.
Following the chance to workshop the priorities with the RACs and the regional committees, the priorities are delivered to the Red Meat Panel which is made up of members from each of the RACs, members of the Peak Industry Councils, an independent chair and an MLA representative. MLA works with the Red Meat Panel and the producer chairs to identify the scope, impact and scale of the research needed to address the priorities.
Once the ‘Terms of Reference’ have been developed following the Red Meat Panel workshops, MLA begins the Producer Investment Call. The Producer Investment Call seeks the submission of proposals for RD&A projects that are aligned with the priorities submitted by WALRC, NABRC and SALRC.
Find out more about the Producer Investment Call process and past calls.
Find a committee near you
Want to have your say on where your levies are invested? Find a committee near you by searching the map below.
Secretary:
Christie Pearson
NT Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade
Katherine, NT
0448 541 080
Secretary:
Gretel Bailey-Preston
NT Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade
Katherine, NT
0448 771 449
Secretary:
Chris Materne
NT Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade
Alice Springs, NT
0458 605 883
Secretary:
Bec Clapperton
Department of Agriculture and Fisheries
Townsville, QLD
0477 345 843
Secretary:
Leanne Hardwick
Department of Agriculture and Fisheries
Roma, QLD
0436 912 349
Secretary:
Mick Sullivan
Department of Agriculture and Fisheries
Rockhampton, QLD
0428 104 374
Secretary:
Kate Brown
Department of Agriculture and Fisheries
Brisbane, QLD
0457 520 457
Secretary:
Kerry Goodwin
Department of Agriculture and Fisheries
Gayndah, QLD
0472 825 757
Secretary:
Jane Evans
Department of Agriculture and Fisheries
Cloncurry, QLD
0436 666 290
If you have any questions about which committee to connect with, contact the relevant council for your region:
Members of the Red Meat Panel
Tess Herbert
Dr John Taylor
NABRC Chair
Richard Cox
NABRC Producer Chair
Nina House
NABRC Producer Chair
Dr Bronwyn Clarke
WALRC Chair
John Wallace
WALRC Producer Member
Michael Humphry
WALRC Producer Member
Ian Rogan
SALRC Chair
Julian Carroll
SALRC Regional Producer Chair
Lisa Anderson
SALRC Regional Producer Chair
Bonnie Skinner
CEO Sheep Producers Australia
Bindi Murray
Board Director Sheep Producers Australia
John McGoverne
Interim CEO Cattle Council of Australia
David Stoate
Policy Council Member Cattle Council of Australia
David Beatty
MLA Group Manager – Productivity & Animal Wellbeing
Phil Hynd
Current producer priorities
Priorities identified by producers through the regional committees are consolidated by NABRC, SALRC and WALRC.
