The Economic, Environmental and Social Benefits to NSW from Investment in the CRC for Beef Genetics Technologies

The Australian cattle and beef industry and the associated RD&E community recently developed a successful proposal for the CRC for Beef Genetic Technologies. The expected benefits from the proposed scientific programs of the renewed CRC were estimated using the DREAM economic modelling framework. A “top-down” assessment philosophy was used that included explicit “with-CRC” and “without-CRC” scenarios. The benefit from the extra investment and consequent research effort due to funding the CRC is estimated to be worth over $1.4b in present value terms. Every $1 of these extra resources brought into the Australian beef industry through funding the new Beef CRC is expected to return around $35 to the industry. The marginal returns to the NSW beef industry from funding the CRC were also assessed. It was estimated that NSW DPI involvement in a refunded CRC will generate an additional $251m in economic benefits to the cattle producers, beef processors and marketers, and beef consumers of NSW, in present value terms. The estimated net cost required to fund this involvement is $3.785m. Estimates were also made of the extra benefits that would flow through to the broader NSW economy, beyond those accruing to the cattle producers, beef processors and marketers, and beef consumers of NSW (some $111m); and of the value for the saved methane output due to adoption of NFI genetics in the NSW beef herd(some $28m).