The SMARTBEEF Project | Meat & Livestock Australia

The SMARTBEEF Project

Build confidence through knowledge
Be empowered by data
Transform your business

Get involved in SMARTBEEF — an exciting new project that will add value to your beef operation

The SMARTBEEF Project aims to equip southern Western Australian beef producers with the tools, knowledge and support networks needed to make data-driven decisions that improve business resilience and profitability.

Kicking off in April 2025, the project will:

leverage myFARMSMART, a customisable economic tool, to support producers in analysing their own numbers so they can tailor decisions to their operation
focus on producer empowerment and skill development rather than prescription
foster collaboration through peer networks, expert guidance and engagement with key industry players, creating a strong support system for ongoing learning and adaptation.

Tackling challenges faced by southern WA beef producers

The SMARTBEEF team is working towards helping southern WA beef producers tackle the challenges they face on a daily basis, particularly the impacts of climatic conditions on:

Optimising time of calving and weaning weights

Aligning herd nutrition with seasonal feed availability

Managing market options by gaining insights into product value related to market demands

Built around key pillars of successful beef enterprises, the project focuses on supporting producers to cut through time-wasting management tasks, streamline decision making and focus on strategies that drive efficiency, profitability and sustainability across the entire supply chain.

Join a SMARTBEEF producer group

The SMARTBEEF Project is establishing five groups of up to 10 producers in southern WA. Each group will be supported by a group coordinator and a focus farm host.

Within these groups, producers will:

set directions for their own business
share experiences and address challenges
identify learning and development opportunities
work towards the project's profitability and resilience.

How it works

Producer groups

Producer groups will be supported by a group coordinator and a focus farm host.

As part of one of these groups, you will:

undertake self-directed, producer-focused learning
visit industry leadsers in the supply chain
learn from your peers and the focus farms
use myFARMSMART to empower your decision making (valued at $7,000)
benchmark using data from 100 other businesses.

Producers will attend half-day sessions regularly from April 2025 to September 2026 to learn more about:

target markets
market demand and specifications
meeting markets efficiently and cost-effectively
time of calving and weaner management
forage options
nutritional management
pasture/grazing management
assessing business parameters
identifying improvement opportunities with myFARMSMART scenario analysis.

Participating producers will have the opportunity to be involved in podcasts and case studies showcasing the results of the project.

Focus farms

The project will be supported by four focus farms - see locations below.

The host farmer for each of these focus farms will:

share their knowledge, innovations, and strategies
host learning workshops and annual field days
play a key role in the project’s data collection efforts
serve as a meeting point for producer groups.

Our host farmers are already using innovative and effective management strategies to grow their weaners and meat market specifications that suit their business. Take advantage of their experience and knowledge and sign up to one of our producer groups today!

Benefits

Use exclusive tools

Producers will gain exclusive access to myFARMSMART, a farm management and analysis software program valued at $7,000. Find out more about the tool in this video.

Watch video

Learn from industry experts

Producers will have access to expertise from University of Adelaide, the Davies Livestock Research Centre, the Y. O’Connor ERADE Village Foundation and producer/grower groups. The SMARTBEEF Project will facilitate workshops and learning sessions involving a range of industry experts.

Access a comprehensive resource library

Participants will have access to:
- survey results
- case studies
- fact sheets
- podcasts
- field days
- webinars tailored to support success.

Grow your network

Connect with peers, advisors and supply chain participants to learn how to improve your business and discover fresh ideas.

Project team

LA.ONE Economics & Consulting, Western Beef Association and University of Adelaide are partnering with MLA Donor Company to enable producers to engage in this project.

Lucy Anderton – Project team leader

Lucy Anderton brings 35 years of experience in agriculture, specialising in agricultural economics, farm business management and rural financial counselling.

As the founder of LA.ONE Consulting, she is passionate about helping producers build resilience and explore pathways to greater profitability. She developed myFARMSMART, to support producers in making informed decisions through scenario analysis and economic insights.

Beyond her consulting work, Lucy and her husband run a mixed farming enterprise producing wool, prime lambs and crops, giving her a hands-on connection to the challenges and opportunities faced by producers today.

Philip Barrett-Lennard

Phil is a highly regarded agricultural consultant with over 30 years of experience. Specialising in pastures, livestock and mixed farming systems, he works across WA conducting research and providing advice.

In the research, development and extension space, he has made a major contribution to the knowledge and adoption of perennial pastures and crop grazing. He is a good communicator and a regular speaker at field days.

Phil farms north of Gingin, WA where he runs Red Angus cattle on a mix of annual and perennial pastures.

Alan Peggs

Alan has worked as an agricultural consultant for the last 30 years, primarily in WA.

With a background in farm management, Alan’s forte is in assisting clients to meet target market specifications and minimise cost and risk. His focus is on expanding his client’s feedbase, improving its utilisation and enhancing the genetic base of their herd to ensure it has the capacity to meet market specifications now and in the future.

He likes nothing better than working with groups of progressive producers who are prepared to share their ideas and experiences and, in turn, learn from each other.

Jeisane Accioly-McIllree

Jeisane was born and raised in Brazil where she graduated as a vet in 1990. She has lived in Australia for nearly 30 years, working in livestock production research and extension.

She has been involved in several projects in WA, focusing particularly in making scientific information accessible to industry and ensuring relevance to regional conditions.

Jeisane is passionate about developing opportunities for red meat industry stakeholders to improve efficiency and sustainability.

She owns a consultancy and is the executive officer of the Western Beef Association Inc.

Time and cost

The first producer group will start in April 2025 and finish in September 2026, and the second producer group will start in May/June 2026 and finish in December 2027.

Each group will:

attend several meetings over 18 months
attend the annual field days
engage in self-directed peer-to-peer learning.

Time

Factors impacting the time involved for each participant include:

how much value a producer wants from the project
initial set-up with myFARMSMART software and ongoing support if required
interactions with other group members and producer group coordinators.

There will be several development days at the focus farm for each producer group over the project duration.

Cost

Participation in the project involves a net cost to producers of $2,000/year, totalling $4,000 over the project period.

Producers will make four payments to the project and receive four payments from the project for submitting data and completing tasks, as outlined in the schedule below.

Payment structure	Producer pays	Producer receives	Criteria
Initial payment (sign agreement)	$2,500	$1,500	Complete project survey
6-month payment	$2,500	$1,500	Submit farm data
12-month payment	$2,500	$1,500	Submit myFARMSMART PDF report
Final payment	$2,500	$1,500	Submit myFARMSMART scenarios and benchmark report
	$10,000	$6,000

The tasks required to receive payments are relatively simple and producers will be fully supported by team members and facilitators to complete them.

Project advisory group

The project advisory group plays a key role in ensuring the success of SMARTBEEF by providing valuable feedback and insights from the farming community. The group:

consists of experienced producers who contribute to decision making
offers advice on best practices
helps to shape the direction of the project.

The group's input ensures that the project remains relevant, practical and beneficial for producers across the region.

Richard Metcalfe, beef producer

Richard is the principal of Metcalfe Pastoral, a family business based on the south coast of WA between Albany and Bremer Bay.

Together with his wife and two sons, Richard operates a totally grass-based production system running 2,500 Angus and Murrah Grey breeders. They supply 1,800 grassfed cattle to Woolworths annually and have a seedstock component to their business, conducting an annual bull sale and supplying 150 bulls to industry.

He is a life member and former National President of the Murray Grey Cattle Society.

Matthew Camarri, beef producer

Matt is a beef producer from Cundinup, WA. He runs mainly breeding cows with a small portion of grass-finished cattle, as well as a feedlot business supplying domestic supermarket grainfed cattle.

Matt has been a member of WALRC for six years and is also WALFA’s (WA Lot Feeders Association) executive and Treasurer.

He is passionate about improving the beef industry for all producers.

Mark Thomas, Chair of Western Beef Association and beef producer

Mark Thomas is a beef producer based near Peel, WA where he and is family farm 350 breeders and 100 store cattle. They also market some hay for the equestrian industry to balance feed availability.

Mark is the Chair of Western Beef Association and runs a finance brokerage separate to his farming commitments.

The property Mark farms features a mix of low-lying heavy clay and acidic sands, which significantly influence his management decisions and strategies.

Dr Jess Shilling, veterinarian and beef producer

Dr Jess Shilling is a large animal veterinarian at Bovitech Veterinary Services, animal health consultant and beef producer based near Albany, WA.

She has a keen interest in pasture-based beef production systems and enjoys helping clients increase on-farm profitability through improving their productivity and reproductive efficiency.

Dr Shilling also has experience in meat processing and meat science research, and strives to keep up to date with the latest research and technologies.