Red meat livestock (Cattle, Sheep and Goat) levy-payers can now access a wide range of Meat & Livestock Australia’s (MLA) products and services delivered directly to them at no cost following the commencement of the Accelerated Adoption Initiative.
The initiative – announced recently by MLA Managing Director Jason Strong at Red Meat 2019 in Tamworth – came into effect on 25 November 2019 and will operate until 30 June 2021.
Under the Accelerated Adoption Initiative, MLA will provide a temporary relief for costs incurred for the delivery of key products and services, from MLA, directly to red meat levy payers. It does not include the livestock transaction levy, which will remain unchanged.
Items eligible include:
- Livestock Production Assurance (LPA) accreditation and reaccreditation
- LPA National Vendor Declarations (NVD) books
- LPA record keeping books
- eDec tokens
- Training workshops, forums and field days delivered directly by MLA such as Bred Well Fed Well, BeefUp and MeatUp Forums; and
- Sheep Genetics membership and services.
MLA Managing Director Jason Strong said MLA’s focus is to fast-track the adoption by producers of as many MLA tools as possible that deliver direct benefit to levy payers as MLA looks to support the national recovery of the Red Meat supply chain.
“There is a unique opportunity for our industry to deliver on the Red Meat Advisory Council’s ambitious 10-year vision of doubling the value of red meat sales,” Mr Strong said.
“However, achieving this goal won’t be easy, especially given the challenges we face as an industry – particularly with recent drought, floods and fires having an impact.
“We must use everything in our collective and individual powers to deliver transformational change.
“The removal of financial barriers for producers to access MLA products and services is the first step identified by MLA to provide that direct support to producers.
“This is a practical and immediate step, with levy-payers already accessing the initiative.”
