THE Nationals have called out One Nation candidate David Farley for using a figure about beef’s water usage, which was a big source of contention six years ago.

In calling for reforms to the way water is managed in the Murray Darling Basin, Mr Farley, who is a former managing director of the Australian Agricultural Company, claimed that it took 15,000L of water to produce 1kg of beef.

“Without good water policy, you will not have good beef,” he said in a social media video.

The 15,000L figure rose to prominence in 2018 when it was used by ABC science program ‘Catalyst’, which was claiming that meal worms and other insects could provide the same level of nutrition and be healthier for the environment than beef.

Communications watchdog the Australian Communications and Media Authority found the episode of Catalyst breached ABC’s duty to report impartially after a complaint was lodged by Meat & Livestock Australia.

At the time, MLA had submitted evidence from the CSIRO that suggested the figure was closer to 500L/1kg of beef. In general discussions about the subject, other producers have also pointed out that the water consumed by cattle was not simply lost, as it was recycled back into soil.

Nationals call out the figure

Nationals candidate for Farrer, Brad Robertson, said he was appalled to see a former agriculture leader using the figure.

“If he thought he was promoting better water management by falsely claiming our beef industry uses 15,000 litres of water to produce 1kg of beef – he is dead wrong.

“He is wrong, and he needs to publicly apologise to our incredible beef producers for dragging them through the mud and making them a target for zealots.

“Understandably I’ve been contacted by beef producers across Farrer who are furious that Mr Farley has made such wild claims just to secure votes for himself at the election.”

What is Farley pushing for?

Water security has been a big part of Mr Farley’s campaign for the seat of Farrer in Southern New South Wales, with a by-election set for May 9. He has called for more water storage and a royal commission into the Murray Darling Basin.

He has done other videos similar to the one filmed about beef, including a recent video about corn.

Beef Central contacted Mr Farley’s office this afternoon to see if he stood by the figure and will update this article with any response. In a separate response to his local Channel 7 station, Mr Farley said:

“I stand with the beef producers of Farrer, full stop. Australian beef is among the most water-efficient in the world because of the hard work of primary producers, not politicians,” he said.

“Farrer’s farmers are being bled dry by the Basin Plant the Nationals failed to stop, failed to fix and failed to roll back.

“One Nation will continue fighting for water that keeps beef on the table.”