Australia: Cattle producers under fire for not taking the threat to live-ex seriously

Commercial cattle producers have been given a jarring wake-up call about just how much was at risk if their live export trade falls foul of government support the way sheep has. At a beef event held in conjunction with the Ekka, one of the country's most experienced live export people, Frontier International's Tony Gooden, said producers had become complacent and must move quickly to get themselves ahead of the game. Speaking at the Australian Brahman Breeders' Association conference in Brisbane, Mr Gooden was candid about the challenges the trade faced and how it was producers who extracted the most out of the live-ex value chain. He also hammered home that it was all cattle producers, not just those supplying the trade in the north, who would be hurt by the loss of trade. And he made no bones about the fact that it was only producers who could garner the public and political support needed to keep the trade going. There were only seven or eight live cattle exporters active in ...