AUSTRALIA'S burgeoning livestock export trade could be a far more sustainable and profitable business for producers if we followed North America's lead and combined our live export sales efforts with a serious push to sell livestock genetics, too.
Bovine semen exports are currently worth just $1.5 million a year to Australian stud cattle producers, but Canada, which has a cattle herd half the size of Australia's, has annual semen exports worth $90m.
Canada, also a big exporter of live cattle for processing and breeding, combines its stock marketing efforts with a strong follow-up trade in semen and embryos so buyers of quality breeding stock can continue improving their herds with more top-end genetics from the same origins.
Sales of Canadian live export heifers, semen and embryos exceeded $110m in 2012 according to research by Brisbane-based cattle breeding and genetics industry advisor Don Nicol at Breedlink.
The US had a similar strategy, exporting more than $142m in semen alone in 2012 (Australia was its second biggest export destination), plus about 15,500 beef and dairy embryos.
While Mr Nicol believed Australian sheep and goat genetics could also service growing markets hungry for meat and better livestock production results, cattle breeders are leading the scramble in a belated effort to find ways cash in on opportunities available in the international genetics marketplace.
He said Australia's envied animal health and natural environment for breeding livestock gave it many potential advantages in the genetics trade if the industry could co-ordinate marketing efforts and foster more supportive government programs and export protocol strategies like those available to producers in Canada, USA, Europe and even Argentina.
Australia was considered an "ideal hub or entry point" for bovine genetics into Asia, but so far our export agenda was "a market failure" even though the industry probably enjoyed the least constrained access to overseas markets.
Although sales of live beef and dairy cattle were growing solidly into Asia and elsewhere there had been little regular activity on the genetic marketing front to complement these growth areas compared with other countries.
The rapid improvement and availability of sexed semen for artificial insemination was also expected to expand global demand opportunities for genetics exporters as buyers took advantage of the chance to decide the preferred sex of offspring they bought.
Mr Nicol's report commissioned last year by the Australian Registered Cattle Breeders Association (ARCBA) has ignited beef industry enthusiasm to prepare a business plan to look at forming a body which could co-ordinate marketing and promotion of beef genetics, possibly similar to US Livestock Genetics Export Inc.
USLGE sends marketing representatives and seedstock producers around the world to talk andsell to beef, dairy, pig and horse breeders.
ARCBA president Malcolm Foster said time was of the essence, although no immediate funds were available to pay for a $10,000 to $30,000 report which could put an Australian business case to seedstock producers, governments, industry organisations and export regulators.
"We're specifically thinking about dairy and beef genetics, but the business plan could look at what's required at promoting exports in the broader livestock industry," he said.
"We're convinced a lot of synergies exist with the live export industry which have not been developed - including live exports of cattle for slaughter.
"It's often the case that countries we export animals for slaughter into are worried about the decline in their own beef herd's capacity and these could be developed as good markets for breeding cattle and genetics from Australia."
A "total genetics export" approach dovetailing with the live export sector would also be a great opportunity for the live trade to demonstrate a long-term commitment to its business.
Cattle industry estimates suggest a total genetics export approach by Australia's seedstock and live heifer export players could be worth $326m annually.
Australia also had opportunities to dramatically broaden the diversity of cattle genetics available worldwide, particularly delivering stock bred and raised in grass-fed environments as an alternative North America's bias towards cattle for housed and lot fed conditions.
Mr Foster said much of the North American genetics industry's success could be attributed to the strength of its big semen and embryo harvesting and marketing companies and a history of government-funded support for the market.
While the ARCBA realised the same sort of state and federal support was unlikely in Australia, it believed genetic exports deserved better access to funds and support from levy funded industry bodies such as Meat and Livestock Australia and Dairy Australia, plus more efficient and helpful back up from export regulatory and quarantine authorities.