Meat and Livestock Australia has vowed to turn up the heat in a beef with crossbench Senator Cory Bernardi over using the term "lambassador" in a political advertisement.
The industry body's lawyers have complained to Senator Bernardi over Sam Kekovich's involvement in a Facebook post promoted with the phrase "The Lambassador supports Australian Conservatives".
Senator Bernardi isn't backing down, putting him on a collision course with the MLA.
The organisation's managing director Richard Norton is willing to fight the matter in court to prove "lambassador" is their intellectual property.
"Is the word 'lambassador' part of the intellectual property of MLA ? No it's not. Will it be in a month's time? I suspect so," Mr Norton told a Senate estimates hearing in Canberra on Tuesday.
Mr Kekovich has been the face of MLA's campaign to promote eating lamb on Australia Day, starring in a string of well-known advertisements.
Mr Norton said the former Australian Rules footballer's conduct was in breach of his contract with MLA.
"Our correspondence to Senator Bernardi has demonstrated we are very concerned," he said.
"We have taken every possible action we can and I'm committing to tell you MLA has not yet finished taking action."
He lamented levies paid by farmers would pay for the legal fight with the Australian Conservatives' founder.
Agriculture Department Secretary Daryl Quinlivan is backing MLA's fight with Senator Bernardi.
"We would agree 100 per cent with comments made here by the MLA's general counsel that they aren't allowed to engage in political activity," he said.
