A NEW Western Australian Beef Council program could assist with unifying the industry and build cattle numbers sustainably in WA.
The industry's focus on how to build supply to meet the growing demand of market opportunities has become the common question among industry representatives.
To combat the supply issues, the council is designing a commercial pilot program to come up with a stable supply alternative, that has a long-term future and will allow producers to start planning to grow their numbers.
The first steering council meeting for the program was held last month, and tabled a list of actions, which will then be heard at the next meeting in September.
Beef Council chairman Tony Hiscock told Farm Weekly that he hopes to hear the steering council's findings, and develop the program further.
"We have interest from several sectors to be involved, and that's where the steering committee is coming together and getting things into place," Mr Hiscock said.
"There is a lot of work to do, but it is coming together."
Although in its early stages, the committee's focus is clear to build herd numbers sustainably, learn from the pilot program and use those findings in the future.
How this will be done is still being developed, however Mr Hiscock is confident the steering committee will have a clearer idea within the next few months.
Mr Hiscock said the pilot was being developed now because the industry is seeing a lot of positives, that it hasn't seen in years.
The WA Beef Council wants to make sure everyone is involved.
"We want to make sure the lotfeeders are talking to the grain growers, the transport industry is being pulled in and everyone understands what the opportunities are," Mr Hiscock said.
"And we want to make sure we are all walking down the same pathway.
"We have an export focus, because that's where we will have the biggest growth.
"Having the processors on board is so important, because it means we can go to producers and say this is the destination market that we have in mind and this is where we are heading.
"Previously it was difficult because we haven't had that destination market, and now processors are coming forward and want to be a part of it."
He said positive investments have given hopes of meeting the increased demand into China and other markets.
"Given the recent investments into the beef industry, such as Harvey Beef, Liveringa and Walsh's, there is renewed interest," Mr Hiscock said.
"People are keen to look at what growth opportunities are out there, and start to look at building their numbers."
Mr Hiscock said there are lots of opportunity and options, but there are also concerns about supply.
"There are so many market opportunities, can we actually supply all these opportunities?" Mr Hiscock said.
"The reality is we need to build the confidence, get people to invest in growth, and then we will see more calves on the ground, and see some real herd growth."