Professor Phil Vercoe, in collaboration with Meat & Livestock Australia, heads up a research partnership called BeefLinks. It is a collaborative, transdisciplinary research program that aims to deliver effective and practical strategies to increase the profitability, consistency, and sustainability of production across the WA beef supply chain.
A recent UWA Media Release interviewed Prof Phil Vercoe and Dr Fiona Dempster on progress being made under this research-industry partnership, which commenced in 2019.
There are a number of approved projects that work towards meeting the BeefLinks vision, which is clearly starting to make an impact.
CAED Deputy Director, Dr Fiona Dempster, leads the socio-economics projects where she regularly engages and formally interviews beef producers and other supply chain actors to get to the heart of what drives decision-making, especially when weighing up the adoption of new practices and new markets.
“Producers don’t make decisions in a vacuum and they don’t only consider such things as productivity or science. They weigh up all the elements; it’s a holistic picture. And animal welfare is always vital to them.” said Dr Dempster.
Dr Dempster is due to submit her Final Report early next year, and will begin communicating the research findings to DPIRD staff and industry stakeholders thereafter.
More Information
UWA Media Release: STEAKS ARE HIGH FOR FUTURE OF WA BEEF
To discuss new research opportunities for the WA beef industry, please contact Fiona Dempster at fiona.dempster@uwa.edu.au
Key Contacts
Professor Phil Vercoe at philip.vercoe@uwa.edu.au
Dr Fiona Dempster at fiona.dempster@uwa.edu.au
Associate Professor Fay Rola-Rubzen at fay.rola-rubzen@uwa.edu.au
