North Queensland cattle producers were inspired to sell the great Australian story when marketing their products for consumers.
At a Steak Your Place forum in Charters Towers on Thursday, Rabobank Marketing and Sustainability general manager, Marc Oostdijk, encouraged producers to look beyond simply growing and selling an animal.
Mr Oostdijk discussed the value of having a good sustainability story behind the product.
“I think the opportunities for the Australian beef market are much more in the area of selling the great Australian story that producers already have,” he said.
“There is one big brand that they need to sell and that is Australia.
“Countries from all around the world see and trust the Australian brand for cattle, if producers could pitch that more, that would be good for the whole Australian cattle industry.
“I think there is a great narrative for Australian beef, producers need to be proud of it, sell it and have an impact on consumer preference.”
Mr Oostdijk said it came back to consumers increasingly wanting to know and trust the food system.
“They want to know what is on their plate, they want to know how it is grown, they want to measure it with certification. So information about the product is very important,” he said.
“We wanted to show producers a number of farmers who have been on this path, who have been creating value by focusing on several sustainability benefits and providing successful products in the market.
“Either successful because there is a lot of demand for it or successful because they are cutting costs or accessing new markets.”
An example was used of an eggplant farmer who was able to grow a product of high productivity, but utilise every single bit of waste in a meaningful way.
Waste products from the eggplants generated heating for their own glasshouse or electricity for $9000 households and was also used to make building materials.
“I am fully aware that an eggplant is not a cow, but what I was trying to convey was that it is an attitude towards looking at things in a different way,” Mr Oostdijk said.