'Green card' for beef genetics

Under a new agreement between Australia and the US, seedstock producers will no longer have to carry out expensive tuberculosis and bluetongue testing, a move des­cribed by many as a trade barrier.

Minister of Agriculture Barnaby Joyce made the announcement earlier this week, and although the US was yet to recognise Australia's TB-free status, seedstock producers were hailing the development as a major breakthrough.

"There is the potential for northern Australia's cattle studs especially to increase their exports significantly because of these changes," Mr Joyce said.

Artificial breeding expert and veterinarian Ced Wise has welcomed the move and said although the US market was relatively low volume, it had a high value.

It currently accounts for more than half the value of all cattle semen and embryo exports from Australia.

"For those select producers who are producing genetics of the highest order, I think it will be an important market and a valuable addition," he said.

While lauding the move, Dr Wise said more work was needed. "We still have a few hurdles to jump, but they are at least 'jumpable' and they can be done for that market."

While the Department of Agriculture has given with one hand, it has taken with the other, as its fees for processing increased from $283 an hour to $954 an hour from July 1.

This has since decreased to roughly $400 an hour, Dr Wise said.

"The new initiative has been great, and as Mr Joyce has said, it will decrease the cost of getting semen into the US, but we have incurred this 50 per cent price increase in the Department of Agriculture in their work to ensure shipments meet protocols as demanded by these countries."

During his last trip to Canberra, the department had instigated a two-year process to rein in their costs in dealing with these exports.

It looked first at increasing fees, and its second phase was to look at how efficiencies could be built into the process.

"It was pointed out by us that it was a pity the study wasn't reversed to look at the efficiencies first and then the costs, but we have been assured the efficiencies will come."

The next move is working with changes to Canadian protocols, Dr Wise said.

In May this year, the Department of Agriculture hosted a group of veterinarian surgeons holding high-level biosecurity positions within the Australian, New Zealand, US and Canadian governments.

Known as the Quads, the group is visiting artificial breeding centres in the four countries with the view to standardising procedures and protocols.

One of the centres they visited was Rockhampton-based artificial breeding centre Rocky Repro, where Dr Wise said he had frank discussions with the delegates, particularly the veterinarian from the US.

Dr Wise said this visit took a while to get organised, but was a great catalyst to get the changes happening with access to the US market, and the office of Mr Joyce was to be congratulated.

"If we can get these changes, we can be a major player in world genetics. It is a huge business, but we have been faltering and not giving access that our cattle quality and numbers deserve."

Pressure for this change has also come from producers, and earlier this year a national body was created to represent the interests of all parties involved in the export of cattle genetic material.

The forum held in Brisbane revealed that in 2012, the US exported over $142 in semen while Canada, which has a cattle herd half the size of Australia, exported $88 million.

ATHERTON Brangus breeder Stephen Pearce has experienced first-hand the hurdles seedstock producers face when looking to export semen and embryos, so he is excited about the improved access to US markets.

"I think it's brilliant. The US market has been a bit of a trade barrier, so this is opening a door for the rest of the world," he said.

"The interesting thing about the US market is that other countries follow US trends - so this is a step to marketing to the world."

Last year, his family exported Brangus embryos to the US from their Atherton-based Telpara Hills Brangus Stud - the first time that embryos from any breed had been exported from Queensland to the US for 22 years largely due to the restrictions facing Australian exporters.

"We had orders, but we couldn't fulfil them and turned them away because of the protocols, but it is exciting that we can go back and say we can do this."

Mr Pearce said with the announcement earlier this week, he can now start collecting semen and embryos and fulfilling his orders.

"There is a huge interest in Australian genetics."

Although he said the government deserved a pat on the back, there were still limitations as seedstock producers still needed to negotiate a protocol in each individual country.

This means if a producer collected semen or embryos for an order overseas and the client did not continue with the order, the genetic material could not be sold anywhere else.

Mr Pearce said he would like to see countries take a collaborative approach and establish a standardised system so material could be collected to a particular standard and then be sold around the world.

Mr Pearce also said thanks was owed to the Quads group, who recently visited Australia, and recently formed national body that represented the interests of all parties involved in the export of cattle genetics.