At 36 years of age, Michael Lyons may represent the lead of a new generation of beef producers who can't remember a time when environmental management was not a front-of-mind issue.
For much of the past two decades his family's property, Wambiana, south of Charters Towers, has been the venue for long-term grazing trials showcasing the accumulated effects of different stocking strategies and spelling on animal production, land condition and profitability.
Mr Lyons' acute interest in land and environmental management recently saw him invited to participate in a environment debate in Brisbane.
Titled "Can Red Meat Be Green?" the debate was held at the University of Queensland as part of MLA's community communications program.
High school and university students and the general public heard from and asked questions of the environmentalists.
They included Professor Tim Flannery, Corey Watts from the Climate Institute and Arron Wood, 2006 UN environment award winner.
Mr Lyons brought a grassroots producer perspective to the forum panel, arguing that cattle can be part of the solution to environmental management, and that if left unmanaged, large areas of land currently used by the pastoral industry could develop into a feral animal, exotic weed and fire threat of monumental proportions.
He said that within his own family enterprise, younger cattle turnoff, and running a greater proportion of younger stock that were more efficient feed converters, had helped contribute to methane reduction.
Mr Lyons also told the audience that it was "hard to be green when in the red", meaning there needed to be a marriage between profitability and sustainability.
As the Wambiana trial had demonstrated, it was often possible to make more money, more consistently, while running fewer cattle. He agreed a few producers still feared that any move towards better environmental management would have a negative impact on their bottom line.
"In our case we've tried to align our business to work with nature. As soon as you try to work against it, it becomes expensive. That means things like better aligning matings so that calves are more likely to hit the ground when there is fresh feed about. In exotic weed management, camels have made a big impression on infestations of parkinsonia, rather than having to spend big money on chemicals.
"Earlier in my father's generation, cattlemen tended to take their cues from the cattle themselves. Now days, we tend to look more at the grass, and if we can manage the grass well, the cattle will look after themselves."
Mr Lyons said he was impressed with the forum presentations from environmental experts like Tim Flannery, who discussed his belief that cattle managed in the right way could be part of the solution.
During the debate, the audience also heard that the Australian beef industry had achieved a 6.5 percent reduction in emissions per kilogram of beef produced since Kyoto protocol reporting began in 1990.
"A reduction in emissions/kg of beef produced is a great achievement for Australian producers," MLA managing director David Palmer said.
"The Australian beef industry has increased production by 25.4pc over the same period, which demonstrates that we are able to produce much more beef, with less emissions," he said.
"The industry acknowledges that we contribute to Australia's overall emissions profile, which is why we are undertaking extensive R&D to better understand how we can continue to find ways to improve the efficiency of production. By doing that, the beef industry can further reduce its emissions while producing much-needed food for Australian and global consumers," Mr Palmer said.
"The industry is committed to being transparent, which is why we are being proactive and holding public debates to put the issues on the table and discuss them."
* Michael Lyons will co-chair one of the forum sessions being held during the upcoming Charters Towers Meat Profit Day on September 2.
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