A Central Queensland cattle company has been recognised as one of the most sustainable beef producers in the world.
Leather Cattle Co (LCC), run by Melinee and Rob Leather, took home the Success Through Collaboration Award at the Global Conference on Sustainable Beef in Uruguay this week.
The couple operate three properties covering 17,500ha south-west of Rockhampton, running 5000 head for the EU, Grasslands and Wagyu markets.
Award judges said the Award was given to the business that best exemplified the foundational principles and goals of Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB) and drove collaborative efforts to advance beef sustainability.
GRSB President Bob Lowe said LCC led by example and implemented positive change by building extension and adoption networks throughout their community to enhance, strengthen and protect not only their business, but build the capacity of their broader industry.
Ms Leather said the evidence of the relationship between environmental health and the prosperity of grazing enterprises drove them to prioritise and invest in sustainability across their beef business.
She said the local community came together after realising they were a like-minded group of producers that wanted to have a focus around sustainability.
“We could see that sustainability for the beef industry was going to be something that was going to be critical for us going forward.
“We were starting to see some really significant changes with the climate, we felt like we were getting hotter and drier as our community had been through some pretty prolonged droughts here in Queensland.”
Ms Leather said producers wanted to get together and have a platform to share learnings and information around technology.
She said all of the works they undertook on their properties showcased the belief that productive cattle enterprises could go hand-in-hand with addressing climate change.
“Beef producers manage over 50 percent of Australia’s land mass, so we have got a huge responsibility to make sure that we are managing it collaboratively and sustainably,” Ms Leather said.
