Herefords Australia has sights set on sustainability

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When it comes to sustainability, Hereford cattle are leading the way.

And Herefords Australia is making sure the breed is well-placed for the future to keep hitting the mark.

Herefords Australia CEO Michael Crowley says the breed is taking steps to excel in sustainability, after it was announced as a major focus at the Herefords Australia AGM recently.

"Sustainability is one of the largest macrotrends in the global red meat industry," he said.

"Australia is taking a leading position, and as a breed that's something we want to get behind."

He said sustainability included making improvements environmentally, economically and socially.

"From an economic sustainability point of view, we can produce more kilograms of beef at younger ages of superior quality, producers will be rewarded for quality, have lower cost of production, and that will generate more income to invest back into their properties - to improve pastures, to improve genetics, and have a more efficient supply chain," he said.

"A more productive and efficient supply chain will deliver significant environmental benefits with reduced inputs, shorter days to slaughter and more kilograms of beef per hectare.

"There's also benefits for our customers in that there is more demand for our product, there's less food waste, and consumers are willing to pay more for better quality."

He said Herefords had a long and strong history as a foundation breed and a major breed in the country.

"We're coming off very strong foundations but we've seen the market dynamics change so much, and that's why we're looking to set Hereford cattle up for the future. We are taking a leadership position in sustainability in this country, and we're going to be driving that pretty hard," he said.

Genomic testing will play a big role.

"We're embracing genetic technology to help identify more of those animals that are doing a great job across a broad range of traits, and we can drive faster rates of genetic gain on the key traits that will help us deliver more efficient production systems and better eating quality outcomes for our commercial customers and our supply chain."

Mr Crowley said a focus on hard-to-measure traits was part of the plan.

"Traits like feed efficiency and carcase traits are focus points, while also making sure that we don't compromise fertility, longevity and weight for age.

"Our ability to finish on grass and grain are real features of the breed, so we want to make sure we build on all of the things we do well, and then use these technologies to help us make progress on the hard-to-measure traits."

Herefords Australia has also been working with its members to collate the data and evidence from the MSA database. More than 15,000 carcase records were contributed from all eastern states over the first few weeks of the initiative.

"With an average MSA index of 60 for grass-fed production, this outcome exceeds most major customer brand specifications and places the breed at the top end of quality when benchmarked across the country."

He said collation of voluntary contributions of MSA carcase data would be an ongoing initiative for the breed.

He said the AGM held at the national show and sale was a great chance to take stock of how the breed was performing.

"When I look across the breed, the quality of the cattle continues to improve.

"We're really looking to drive things forward and differentiate ourselves, and reconnect with the commercial sector because there's so many things we do well.

"If we become outcome focused, we can work with our commercial sector partners to ensure we deliver those outcomes they need."

Mr Crowley said Herefords were renowned for their fantastic traits.

"Hereford cattle have a tremendous reputation for being docile, easy to handle and fertile. There are fewer bull breakdowns leading to lower cost per calf produced, and females retained in herds for a long time because they have a calf every year."

He said there were huge benefits of crossing Herefords with other breeds.

"In southern systems there is crossing with other British breeds to improve productivity and finishing ability through hybrid vigour, and when you go further north, looking at the key profit drivers in northern Australia, fertility is a huge one - producing more calves per cow joined, more kilos of beef produced per hectare per 100 millimetres of rainfall," he said.

"Herefords over Bos Indicus cattle drives improvement in fertility and carcase quality outcomes, as well as making sure the weight for age and productivity gains are there. There are some big opportunities across a range of production systems."

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