Sheep Producers Australia (SPA) provides a critical link between producers and industry organisations. As the custodian of the Sheep Industry Strategic Plan 2020, SPA is well positioned to ensure industry coordination of levy investment for joint benefit between producers and the organisation’s partners.

By working together, SPA can ensure producers’ best interests are met through the provision of RD&A, services, programs and marketing.

Levy oversight

Key industry partners of which SPA has legislative oversight of producers’ levy investments are:

• Meat & Livestock Australia. MLA is a producer-owned, not-for-profit organisation that delivers research, development and marketing services to Australia’s red meat industry. MLA strives to be the recognised leader in delivering world-class research, development and marketing outcomes that benefit Australian cattle, sheep and goat producers. SPA, working in collaboration MLA, aims to deliver value to levy payers by investing in initiatives that contribute to producer profitability, sustainability and global competitiveness. For more information, visit mla.com.au

• Integrity Systems Company. ISC, a wholly owned subsidiary of MLA, delivers the Livestock Production Assurance (LPA) program, National Vendor Declarations (NVDs) and the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS). ISC has responsibility for delivering a coordinated, fully integrated integrity system. The LPA program provides evidence of the provenance of livestock that ensures Australian meat is safe, while the NVD provides the mechanism for the transfer of information to support these claims. The NLIS enables full traceability through the value chain and demonstrates the industry’s commitment to continually improve its traceability and integrity systems. More information about the integrity programs is available on the MLA website mla.com.au/integrity

• National Residue Survey. NRS validates good agricultural practices through the national residue monitoring program and validates Australia’s system for managing the risk of chemical residues and environmental contaminants in animal and plant products. The NRS supports Australia’s primary producers and agricultural industries by confirming Australia’s status as a producer of clean food and facilitates access to domestic and export markets. SPA works with NRS to deliver meat residue monitoring programs that support international market access and to validate industry quality assurance programs. In doing so, NRS programs help confirm Australia’s status as a producer of safe food, facilitating access to key domestic and export markets. Find more information at daff.gov.au/agriculture-food/nrs

• Animal Health Australia. AHA is a not-for-profit public company that facilitates innovative partnerships between governments, major livestock industries and other stakeholders. SPA works with AHA to strengthen animal health in Australia and maximise confidence in the safety and quality of Australia’s sheepmeat products in domestic and international markets. AHA’s collaborative programs improve animal and human health, food safety and quality, market access, animal welfare, livestock productivity and national biosecurity. For more information, visit the AHA website at animalhealthaustralia.com.au

Industry partners

Key industry partners which SPA works with to benefit the sheep industry are:

• WoolProducers Australia is the national voice for wool growers, representing them on national wool issues, and for advancing Australian wool growers social and economic well-being.

• Australian Meat Industry Council. AMIC is the peak council that represents retailers, processors, exporters and smallgoods manufacturers in the post-farm-gate meat industry. SPA works with AMIC to ensure a sustainable value chain and improve information flow up and down the value chain. Visit amic.org.au

• SAFEMEAT. SAFEMEAT is a partnership between red meat and livestock industries and state and federal governments providing oversight and direction into a range of meat safety systems in place throughout the Australian production supply chain. SAFEMEAT ensures that Australian livestock products achieve the highest standards of safety and hygiene from farm to consumer through research and development. It monitors the status of Australia’s products, reviews standards and develops policy on issues that impact the red meat industry. SAFEMEAT encourages rationalisation of regulation and standards within the industry, drives the direction of strategies that ensure meat safety standards and hygiene and monitors industry performance in delivering these outcomes. See http://safemeat.com.au for more information.

• Red Meat Advisory Council. RMAC is an industry advocacy and advisory group for beef, sheepmeat and goat meat. RMAC represents the Australian red meat and livestock supply chain from ‘paddock to plate’ to advance the industry’s interests to customers, the community and government. RMAC creates value for the industry through industry leadership and coordination, providing advice to the Federal Minister for Agriculture as a Ministerial Advisory Council. RMAC advocates key solutions to improve Australian red meat and livestock businesses to the community, industry and government, coordinate the Meat Industry Strategic Plan 2020 – worth $7 billion to the sector – and manages the Red Meat Industry Fund. Visit http://rmac.com.au for more information.