Certified Australian Angus Beef Pty Ltd (CAAB) supports and promotes ethical farming practices and a sustainable environment.
Certified Australian Angus Beef® and the Environment
As passionate Australian farmers, leaving our farms to the next generation in better condition than we found them is a lifelong commitment. Therefore, not only must we produce the highest quality beef for the Certified Australian Angus Beef brand, but also produce it in ways that minimise our impacts on the environment.
This endeavour starts with Australian Angus genetics. Through our relationship with the Australian Angus Society, our breed genetics continue to be developed to produce higher growth rate, higher yielding animals with higher feed conversion ratios. That means more high quality beef with fewer demands on our feed, water and land resources. Importantly, it also means less un-utilised energy from the animal’s feed being lost through animal wastes, methane emissions and processing wastes. To enter the CAAB program, cattle must have at least 75% Angus breed content.
These cattle spend most of their lives on open pastures, making use of land and vegetation that is largely unsuitable for other human food production. Through the Australian Angus Society and other forums, we encourage our farmers to adopt leading-edge environmental management on their properties. Techniques include pasture and vegetation management practices that are appropriate for their regions, water conservation, stream protection, soil condition and maintenance practices, and biodiversity protection.
As high quality beef depends on improving nutrition throughout their lives, most cattle are then enhanced on a grain-fed diet for periods from 100 to 150 days, depending on their specific nutritional requirements. Because this diet is more completely digested than normal pasture, it means that more beef can be produced per unit of feed and with lower greenhouse emissions.
The feeds used are predominantly grains and forage that fail to meet the specifications required for human foodstuffs. This means that high energy feeds that would otherwise be discarded can be converted into high quality protein which is important in the human diet.
In Australia, the National Feedlot Accreditation Scheme requires auditing of accredited feedlots to ensure their operations are meeting environmental standards including waste capture and management. All cattle entering the CAAB program must come through such an accredited feedlot.
CAAB’s processor partners have been selected for their skills and capabilities in processing cattle into high quality beef and their environmental management programs including water use and recycling, energy utilisation, and waste capture and management. These programs are audited as part of their AUS-MEAT processing audits.
Throughout the entire production chain of Certified Australian Angus Beef, emphasis is on developing leading edge standards, training, management and auditing at every step to produce beef as good as it can be – from both quality and environmental standpoints. That’s why the Certified Australian Angus Beef brand is Australia’s most awarded beef.
It’s beef we’re proud of.
Certified Australian Angus Beef® and Animal Welfare
At Certified Australian Angus Beef, we believe that the highest standards of animal welfare are not just expected by our community and our consumers, but are fundamental to our beliefs and values as professional cattle producers. We see it as our moral responsibility to give our cattle as good a life as we possibly can, and to respect the beef they provide to make the best possible high quality meals.
Good welfare starts with genetics. Australian Angus cattle are bred for docility, meaning they are quiet, relaxed and easily handled. They don’t suffer stress to the extent they might otherwise have done. As Angus is a polled breed, they do not grow horns and can’t cause injury to each other or require horns to be removed.
Cattle that enter the Certified Australian Angus Beef program must also meet the welfare standards of Meat Standards Australia (MSA), the audited grading system that underpins the Certified Australian Angus Beef brand. These requirements are based on extensive research by the Australian Beef Cooperative Research Centre which has shown that low-stress cattle management helps produce higher quality beef.
As part of the MSA system, the extent of lifetime stress experienced by cattle is assessed by the level of ossification in spinal cartilage. This assessment is an important factor in the final grading. Additionally, there are immediate pre-slaughter management requirements that all cattle must meet. These include continual access to food and water, not mixing cattle from different mobs, healthy animals in good condition, quiet handling with minimal use of goads and prods, and processing within 36 hours of leaving their property.
All participants in the CAAB production chain including cattle producers, feedlotters, agents, transporters and processors have been trained in low-stress management techniques, including handling practices and facilities.
We know that high quality beef and high standards of animal welfare go hand-in-hand. That’s another reason why Certified Australian Angus Beef is Australia’s most awarded brand.
It’s beef from animals we care about.