Longtime beef industry stalwart Bruce Creek, Kangaroo Island, has been appointed as the inaugural Chair of the South Australian Beef Industry Blueprint Working Group.
Mr Creek said he was excited to be involved with the ground-breaking project, which comes after the success of the SA Sheep Industry Blueprint which was launched in April 2016.
“We aim to achieve the same success for the beef industry. There are a number of industry groups at work in South Australia and through improved communication and collaboration, we can work together for the benefit of the entire industry.,” he said.
“As part of this information sharing and resourcing we are also asking South Australian beef producers with businesses of all shapes and sizes, all breeds and all numbers, to participate in a survey so we can form the basis of what the requirements are for the industry to better serve everyone in SA.
“If we can get the involvement of everyone, we will have a much more powerful voice to help ensure the success of our industry.”
Mr Creek formerly worked for The Basin Angus Stud, selling 300 bulls a year; managed a commercial beef cattle herd at Avenue Range for the Bainger family’s Hillcrest Pastoral Company and spent 4.5 years in Kazakhstan establishing an Angus herd of about 4000 cows. Under his leadership the Far Eastern European business grew to become one of the world’s largest registered Angus herds. He recently moved back to SA to manage several properties on Kangaroo Island and the Fleurieu Peninsula, overseeing a 3000-cow commercial herd and 16,000 ewe flock.
Livestock SA Board member and SA Sheep Industry Blueprint Working Group Chair Allan Piggott said he was pleased to announce Mr Creek’s appointment.
“The Sheep Blueprint has been very successful in the past 18 months, it demonstrates what you can do if you’re a strong and cohesive industry and if you do have a plan for the future, people are very keen to support you as an industry,” Mr Piggott said.
“The Beef Blueprint working group has continued this whole-of-industry approach and has collective expertise in many aspects of the beef value chain including on-farm, feedlot, processing, retail, farm management groups, consultancy, advisory, agribusiness and research. There are also a number of cattle producers from across SA involved in the working group ranging from high rainfall to pastoral regions.
“We now have an excellent working group with people from across the beef value chain who will develop the Beef Industry Blueprint in the next six months. We are working toward launching it around February next year.”
Mr Piggott said the Beef Blueprint would align with national plans such as the Meat Industry Strategic Plan and the Beef Industry Strategic Plan.
“In the 2015-16 PIRSA Scorecard South Australian beef production was reported to have increased in total production by 11 percent at $55 million due to tight supply and increased prices, and we’re keen to ensure this profitability continues,” he said.
“We very much appreciate the funding and support that the SA Government has committed to allow this work to be undertaken.
“The next step is to continue our consultation with cattle producers in SA. There is a questionnaire that cattle producers can access on the Livestock SA website and we’d encourage all producers in SA to get online and have their input into the priorities of their industry in SA.”
The SA Beef Industry Blueprint is an initiative of Livestock SA. The Davies Research Centre, University of Adelaide and PIRSA are foundation partners in the SA Beef Industry Blueprint.
