Cattle producers will draft their own definition of deforestation in an attempt to ensure continued access into the European Union ahead of beefed up laws.
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The EU will bring in new legislation in January that bans goods that have come from deforested areas.
"Their (deforestation) definition does not suit the way we use agricultural land, particularly in the grazing in the cattle industry," Cattle Australia head Chris Parker told AAP.
"We need better data and a better understanding of how we collect that data," Dr Parker said.
Cattle Australia, the peak body for cattle farmers, wants input from stakeholders across the supply chain including banks, producers and processors, to come up with their own definition.
The group launched a set of principles at Beef Week in Rockhampton on Thursday that underlined its policy on deforestation.
"We need an Australian-specific definition that recognises the uniqueness of the Australian environment," Dr Parker said.
"We see this as being a serious attempt to provide a serious definition that's in line with the way we responsibly manage our environment."
But conservation groups have condemned the move.
"They're interested in further denying that there is a problem in Australia when it goes completely against all the evidence," Glenn Walker from Greenpeace said.
"Australia has globally significant levels of deforestation, that is a fact," he said.
"There is already a global best-practice definition of deforestation.
"The best thing for the beef industry, particularly the big beef buyers, to do is to clean up their supply chains."
But beef producers dispute the claim and say a new definition will help bring clarity to what's happening.
"The best available data out there suggests that, yes, it is occurring, but it's not particularly at high levels," Dr Parker argued.
Queensland, which is widely regarded as having the best deforestation data available, found almost 350,000 hectares of woody vegetation was affected by clearing activity in 2020-21.
Almost 90 per cent of that was attributed to cattle and sheep graziers.
The new definition would need to align with international expectations, according to Dr Parker, although the EU was under no obligation to accept it.
Around 3750 tonnes of Aussie beef is exported to the EU each year, making it a small market for Australia, but the expectation is that other markets may follow.
This week agriculture minister Murray Watt confirmed he had written to the EU to ask for the legislation, due to begin in 2025, to be deferred because of the trade uncertainty it had created.
The deforestation definition will be drafted over the next few weeks and will seek input from stakeholders across the cattle supply chain.
Australian Associated Press
