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Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack has slammed animal rights activists who protested out the front of Rockhampton’s Beef Australia event and placed ads around town condemning the event.
Seven protesters gathered at the gate holding up anti-beef signs on Thursday May 6.
Mr McCormack told a press conference on the same day that the ‘activists’ should visit a friendly pub in Rockhampton and have a steak.
“That’s my reaction to that,” he said.
“I mean, [Beef Week] is creating wealth opportunities for Central and North Queensland.
“This has been such a boom.
“The farmers who produce the cattle, the best cattle in the world. the animal welfare for them is front and centre.
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Beef Australia is a rare opportunity for Clare Hills to spend a week with her family during the second term of school.
The Rockhampton Girls Grammar boarder hails from Oakdale near Moura in Central Queensland’s cattle belt.
Her parents and siblings - with the exception of older sister Abigail - have travelled to the Rockhampton showgrounds to show off the variety of breeds they run on their property. BEEF AUSTRALIA 21: Clare Hills (left) from Rockhampton Girls Grammar tries out the virtual reality meat processing system
The Morning Bulletin first spotted Clare behind a virtual reality helmet, trying her hand at cutting beef ribs.
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Subscriber only Six other protesters joined Animal Liberation Queensland s Chay Neal in holding up anti-beef signs outside Australia s premier beef event in Rockhampton on Thursday. They handed out 44-page booklets - printed on 100 per cent recycled paper with vegetable-based inks - detailing their objection to the beef industry. The beef industry is a leading cause of environmental destruction and climate change, it stated. Over 90 per cent of land clearing over the last three decades in Queensland has been for grazing. BEEF AUSTRALIA 21: Chay Neal, Executive Director of Animal Liberation Qld, protests outside Beef Australia Mr Neal said it was appropriate to bring their fight to Beef Australia, where the industry s future was discussed and debated.
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As agricultural technology continues to rapidly evolve, global farm machinery firm John Deere is tapping into how to put it into its products.
On the ground at Beef Australia, John Deere managing director Australia and New Zealand Luke Chandler has had a busy week, speaking at a tech talk and judging at the Pitch in the Paddock.
“I’ve been spending time talking to people in the industry, looking at some of the new technologies, talking to customers about how we can engage,” he said.
“There are technologies John Deere is investigating to help make farmers and customers more sustainable.”
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While at Beef Australia this week, Coles announced it had added 30 new Australian farming families as direct cattle suppliers, 15 of which are from Queensland.
Taroom grazier Andrew Simmons is among the 130 farming families in Australia that supply their meat to Coles.
The Simmons family owns Carinya, Taroom, 1200 hectares across three properties with a cattle and feedlot operation.
Mr Simmons has been supplying Coles with three decks of cattle for the past 30 years.
He sends the cattle to the yearling market in Brisbane.
“I like the idea of partnering with them because you have a continuity, you know where you are going, you know they look after you and you have a contract and price you know you’re not going to lose,” Mr Simmons said.