On and off-farm resource management

Overview

MLA invests in research and development (R&D) to assist enterprises across the red meat supply chain access and efficiently manage resources needed to maintain their operations (such as energy sources) and effectively manage resource by-products (such as effluent and waste run-off).

These investments provide information and tools that enable producers and processors to create, operate and maintain efficient practices that ensures the long-term sustainability of resources, the red meat industry and the environment.

There is an opportunity for the industry to continuously demonstrate its commitment to the environment through improved efficiency of its production systems that focus on capturing productivity gains, while simultaneously reducing waste and reliance on resources.

Core activities

R&D that supports resource management focuses on:

• reducing emissions from production systems
• creating new and efficient ways to improve recycling practices
• reducing and managing effluent and waste run-off
• developing flexible irrigation strategies that are designed around soil, crop, irrigation supply (quantity and quality) and management constraints creating efficient production systems that can operate on less electricity and other resources
• designing and implementing energy awareness programs that reduce the cost and increase the rate of adoption of new technologies by producers and processors
• investigating alternative energy sources for production systems.

Benefits to industry

The improved and efficient management of resources required for red meat production results in several benefits to the environment, the community and all businesses across the supply chain, including:

• reducing reliance on energy resources such as electricity can result in higher productivity for less cost and environmental impact
• recycling of resources such as wastewater and effluent can reduce the amount of waste that businesses need to manage, which also reduces operating costs
• using less resources, while still maintaining profitable businesses, increases overall business performance and strengthens the industry’s social licence to operate.