41 minute read
GenAngus Future Leaders Program scaling new business heights
Diana Wood, Marketing & Communications Manager
What does it mean to be recognised as a future leader? In opening the 2022 GenAngus Future Leaders program, Angus Australia Extension Manager, Jake Phillips noted that, ‘They are enthusiastic, positive and passionate’, three words that are not out of place when describing the twenty-nine GenAngus future leaders that recently came together in Adelaide.
With an eye on their future in the beef industry and the drive to push themselves out of their comfort zones, the 2020 and 2021 cohorts joined the 2022 Cohort, for the first two days for the leadership day and first day of presentations. The excitement in the air was palpable as GenAngus returned to a face-to-face event for the first time since 2019. The leadership day was a combination of ‘scaling new heights’ aka Tree Climb Adelaide and team problem solving at Escape Room Adelaide.
Sweeping The Sheds
During the official dinner, Jake asked the group, ‘What does it mean to be recognised as a future leader? For Jake this is what resonates. ‘They are enthusiastic, positive and passionate. They are highly competent, they seek continuous improvement, and embrace opportunities that no one else wants to latch on to. They want to be in the hot seat. They are people in positions of leadership. They are visible examples of role models to everyone around them and willing to do anything that they ask others to do. They lead from the front, they pack up at the end and when everyone has gone home, they sweep the sheds. They understand you never have a second chance to make a first impression. Leaders have and demonstrate integrity, personally and professionally. Leaders recognise astutely that their power is only strengthened by reciprocal empowerment by those they lead and influence. They make a habit of reflection and systematically review personal and business performance; they develop reflection and practice these habits daily. They appreciate value and have faith in the collaborative process, trusting that the group will find a better solution that works for everyone. They are persistent, they don’t give up and they never ring the bell. They don’t take themselves too seriously, they are humble, they practice humility often and they know their personal strengths and weaknesses, their tendencies. They are receptive to views that counter their own. Tomorrow’s leaders will be able to see the world from multiple perspectives and respect their differences. Leaders must have an international and global view of society, business, farming and indeed life. Future leaders will need to learn to listen respectfully, consult with others, work as part of the team and take responsibility for their actions. Leaders will need to be able to optimise todays only constant, change. They will need to thrive in chaos. Leaders must have mentors and role models that can teach them how to manage the political nature of life and business. The agricultural landscape units of power used to be land size and cattle herd numbers, how many people worked for you, how many Toyotas, but today in the technology revolution, units of power are information and knowledge. Being in the right place at the right time will still be critical for leaders. Leaders must make time to make themselves available for opportunities and make themselves available for others. They must give people good time. Future leaders have vision, real influence and they have a hard work mindset, they also have great character and integrity.’
Alkira Riley, Rebecca Rundell & George Giddings
The GenAngus Future Leaders Program would not be possible without the industry alliance between Angus Australia and specialist farm insurer Achmea Australia and when opening GenAngus at the official dinner, Jake Phillips acknowledged the support that Achmea Australia provides Angus Australia, alongside the Angus Foundation and New Zealand Angus. ‘The alliance from Achmea Australia to bring this program to life, along with the support from Achmea Australia staff has offered across four years, continues to be life changing for now 40 young passionate agricultural leaders in Australia and New Zealand.’ Jake also recognised the work that Angus Australia has had in developing the careers of your beef leaders since the formation of the Angus Youth programs in the 1970’s. ‘Angus Australia has an amazing record of being the catalyst of opportunity for some of the brightest minds in the Australian beef industry. This commitment to the future is nothing short of remarkable’. ‘For some of you this program may change your life, in fact I know it does. Personally, for me, to be able to bring this program to life is one of the greatest pleasures I have had in my working career.’ Throughout the dinner presentations were made by Achmea Australia CEO Emma Thomas and Angus Australia CEO Scott Wright, as well a keynote address from past Angus Australia President, Libby Creek OAM and finished off with a panel discussion made up of 2020 GenAngus Leaders, Brodie Collins and Damien Thomson and 2021 Future Leaders Dayna Gray and Jasmine Green. Dinner on the second night was a casual occasion that included a panel discussion from some of the program speakers opening up on their career trajectory in agriculture and some sliding doors moments on how they ended up in the position they have. These conversations included sharing some lows and the vulnerabilities they faced along their journey, as well as the incredible highs they have achieved in their careers. Sharing the stage, were Angus Street, AuctionsPlus; Milly Nolan, The Livestock Collective; Heidi Wright, Wright Social; Richard Officer, Achmea Australia and Cam Parker, Primary Producers SA. During her speech Emma highlighted, that at Achmea Australia it is their vision to protect and enhance agricultural communities. What this means is in ‘PROTECT,’ we support farmers to recover from a loss quickly to put them in a position to continue business to produce food and fibre for the world’ and in ‘ENHANCE’, to not just be part of communities, but to develop ways to improve those agricultural communities by our presence. And for Emma, that is how GenAngus came about. ‘With Dr Peter Parnell, we asked the question, how can we enhance the Angus beef community, and we discussed the future leaders program and how Achmea Australia could support that.’ ‘I am immensely proud to see this program going from strength to strength, flourishing and attracting very talented leaders.’ Looking to the future, and presenting during National Reconciliation Week, Emma encouraged the GenAngus Future Leaders to be leaders in inclusion and diversity and to look at how they can embrace diversity in both Australia and New Zealand. ‘This is your community, so please make the most of it, grow connections, take away opportunities to reconnect in the future and think about how you can support each other and your farming communities through this program.’ ‘Unlock innovation around sustainability and look at the farming practices you have today. Are they sustainable for the future to continue to produce great quality food for many generations to come.’ ‘You are here because you are already leaders in your community. I challenge you to take that away and see how you can embed sustainability practices and if you already are continuing to embrace them and lead this in your communities by sharing your knowledge with others.’
Image: Simon Casson
Libby Creek OAM was raised on an Angus stud in the south east of South Australia and spent most of her life managing large beef enterprises with her husband Bruce. This includes the Basin Angus for more than 18 years, the past 15 years at Hillcrest Pastoral Company, as well as being involved in her familys live export business. In 1992 Libby joined the South Australia State Committee and in 2011 joined the Board of Angus Australia for 8 years and had the role of President from 2016 to 2018, In 2021 Libby was awarded an Order of Australia medal for services to beef industry. Libby originally had dreams of becoming a livestock agent, but at the time it was unusual for females to be employed as an agent and while she did become employed in a studstock role, Libby also ended up involved in the export of Angora goats to New Zealand. During this time, Libby met her husband Bruce and following the birth of her first child Will (who incidentally was awarded the 2011 Michigan State University Scholarships), Libby began to work for the family Angus stud, The Basin Angus and live export business, before taking over the running of the stud and selling over 300 Angus bulls around Australia. Following family succession, Libby and Bruce moved to Kangaroo Island and in a twist of fate, the people they were working for bought The Basin and Libby and Bruce found themselves back in charge of the stud for another 8 years. The stud was sold in 2007 and Libby and Bruce became joint managers for a family business, Hillcrest Pastoral, running five cattle properties and Libby is still working for them today. In 2011 the course of Libby’s life was changed following a phone call where they were asked to host a group of Kazaks to visit a commercial beef cattle property. The Kazakstan government was funding the importation of beef cattle following the breakdown of communism in the early 1990’s and their beef cattle population needed replacing. Following the tour, Libby and Bruce were invited to Kazakhstan to build a world’s best practice Australian type commercial cattle property. The next thing they knew, Bruce had moved to Kazakhstan to set the property up and Libby found herself commuting between Australia and Kazakhstan, while continuing her employment with Hillcrest Pastoral. Unsurprising Angus cattle were the mainstay of this program and Bruce built an entire farm and feedlot from a bare piece of land under challenging conditions. Angus heifers were imported and were kept in paddocks as opposed to being housed, which was the norm. But Bruce believed that the cattle needed to adapt to the environment, that is –45 degrees in winter and 38 degrees in summer. The Angus cattle were incredibly resilient and that is something Libby loves about Angus cattle, along with their ability to thrive in so many different environments around the world. Libby was fortunate to select all the Angus heifers for the project in Kazakstan and introduce them to Australian EBVs, so they could understand how performance recording worked in Australia. During their time in Kazakhstan, Libby was enthralled by the humour, warmth and generosity of Kazak people. ‘It made me think about what is important in life, when people who have so little can be so welcoming and generous, warm and kind.’ Libby’s time on the Angus Australia Board taught her about good governance and the complexities around making decisions that affect members across a range of environments. ‘A simple change can have a negative affect somewhere else. It taught me that making change is not always simple.’ But for Libby, the diversity of the board and experience from so many varied business backgrounds, and at times totally opposing opinions, saw the team still work together to see where they could adjoin and come out with a good outcome. Libby has enjoyed the journey to promote Angus cattle in so many ways over the years of her career and hopes that in some small way she can continue to add to that. ‘What I have learned is that life doesn’t always work out as you planned and great opportunities can come along when you least expect it.’ ‘Money is good to have but having a job that you really love and really want to get out of bed each day to do is the best job in the world.’ ‘I believe to treat people with respect and to look after your employees and be good to your employer and to run their business like it is your own.’ ‘Try to see both sides of every story. Put yourself in other people’s shoes and understand where they are coming from.‘ ‘Accept criticism and feedback no matter how much it might hurt, or you might disagree with it, but grow from it, embrace the change, and keep an open mind to new technology.’ ‘Whatever opportunity you get, grasp it with all you can, build a group of mentors around you, people you look up to and respect and people that inspire you to do better every day.’ During her time in agriculture, Libby is often asked about being female and the first female to lead the Angus Australia board. ‘The opportunities for women in agriculture are so much broader today than they were when I started my career, but it is my hope that women are given roles because they are the best suited for that role, not just because they are female.’ Libby Creek OAM. Image: Simon Casson
‘I have been given wonderful opportunity in my career and I know that this generation will receive more, but I have followed my passion in the beef industry, and I hope that I can give something back.’ For Libby, her greatest achievement is her three beautiful children and with every challenge thrown at her it comes back to the important things in life. That is, ‘To cherish love and appreciate family and friends around you.’ ‘Go to bed each night knowing that you have tried to do the very best you can and that you have been good to people around you and you have enjoyed each day.’ ‘Some days are not good, and we all have those, accept that you are not always going to get things right and learn from that and do take opportunities when they arise.’ ‘It won’t always be the right choice, but at least you have had a go. Play to your strengths, if you are good at what you do, male or female, you will be recognised for what you do and you will be given opportunities.’ ‘I am envious of the opportunities you have and know it is an exciting time to be in agriculture.’
Enjoy the Journey
As someone with a love of reading, Scott is not short of inspirational quotes and with a mantra to practice what he preaches, Scott himself has had a vast career in agriculture. Haven been given the opportunity to attend a program like GenAngus during the development of his career Scott had some sage words of advice. ‘Listen and hang on every word that people speak to you because you will face the ups and downs of life.’ ‘The gems you get out of these courses, the interactions, and the friendships you build will carry you through ‘My encouragement to you is to grip what you’ve got at the moment, know that the storms of life will come, but then there will be good times and one day someone will give you a job and trust you with an organisation.’ ‘Change is inevitable, and you can make change, but what I have learned in my career is to find your deep purpose in life, to really work out what makes you tick, to work out what is the core that gets you up in the morning. I encourage you to find that core and cling on to that and have a win.’ ‘This program will cause you to make great life decisions, so grab on to this journey and make the most of it.’ Dayna Gray grew up in the North-West of Tasmania on a small beef cattle property. Following a Bachelor of Business (Agribusiness) at Marcus Oldham Dayna worked for Thomas Foods International, in a mixed role of supply chain and marketing management. At the beginning of 2021, Dayna commenced a Livestock Pregnancy Scanning business initially working on weekends and in July last year took the pregnancy scanning business full time and hasn’t looked back. In reflecting on her time in GenAngus Dayna said that starting with mindset, was the best way to begin the journey as she believed that Pete Clark set them up with the skills needed to absorb the days to come and with developing the listening skills needed and the mental state required to learn. From there it was the network built out of GenAngus, ‘This has been really important to me and is a great way to connect with likeminded people.’ When asked about engagement and support from GenAngus, Dayna could not speak highly enough of the outcomes. ‘Following GenAngus, my partner and I were looking to buy some land and so I got in touch with Francis English from Rabobank (one of our speakers), via LinkedIn to go through my plans and we met up and Franics helped us through the process and got the wheels turning.’
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Jasmine Green grew up on a commercial Angus operation herd and was heavily involved in the Angus Youth program as a junior. Jasmine spent 6 months working on a large seed-stock operation in the USA before completing a Livestock Science degree at UNE. Together with her family she runs a small, registered Angus and commercial herd at Merryvale in the NSW Southern Tablelands. And with her husband Hayden runs their own seed-stock business – Summit Livestock in the Riverina. Jasmine also works for Teys Australia as part of the Livestock procurement team, based at their Wagga beef processing plant. As Jamsine continues to grow her family business, she applied for the GenAngus program to help build her business knowledge and skills as well as meet and work with other like-minded young cattle breeders. ‘We are at that point in our business where it is a good opportunity to brush upon my skills and increase networking’
Angus Youth
‘I encourage the 2022 cohort to take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves, and remind them that networking is so important.’
And given her family is going through succession at the moment to move back to the family farm at Crookwell,
GenAngus came around at a good time.
‘Participants are asked to be vulnerable in these sessions and it’s important make the most of the presenters, listen to the shared succession journey with professionals and learn of the success and failure stories from each other.’
‘GenAngus gave me the confidence to start those conversations and I have since worked with ProAgtive to progress our secession journey.’
In summing up her experience, for Jasmine the strength of the program is the networks created and the fact that everyone comes from different parts of the industry and can share their experiences.
‘Getting together face to face has enhanced the networking and learning what drives each other as individuals and what drives their business has been invaluable.’
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Brodie Collins, Tennyson, VIC, currently works on farm for his family Angus Stud, Merridale Angus, as well as running their dairy operation. Brodie applied for GenAngus to continue learning and to continue striving to be better in whatever way he can be. ‘GenAngus was the next step for me to continue this process.’ Brodie highlighted that after attending the online version in 2021 that he was able to implement some change in the marketing and social media he was doing for his stud. ‘We increased the paid advertising and implemented a social media strategy which saw an extra 500 followers for Merridale online.’ The big achievement for Brodie was knowing that a photo of one of their bulls in their sale was seen right up the east coast of Australia and went on to make $50,000, which was a big result for the Collins family. Moving forward, Brodie will continue to keep trying new methods of marketing and digital advertising and growing their followers. Damien Thomson, Berremangra, NSW, has a background in the agricultural industry through his family’s commercial and seedstock Angus operations, where he is involved within the management of the herds. Mr Thomson has studied a Bachelor of Agricultural and Resource Economics and spent time working with ABARES before recently taking a role as a market analyst at AuctionsPlus. With a passion for breeding cattle and driving genetic improvement through the use of objective decisions, Damien hopes to continue the growth of Shacorrahdalu Angus. Damien’s main advice for those involved with GenAngus is to make the most of the networking opportunities available. He also noted that there will be a lot of information to absorb, so encouraged the group to set themselves up as best as possible to soak it all in and be present and engaged. ‘There will be a lot of varied information coming your way in terms of relevance and importance to your business, but I encourage you even in those areas that aren’t what you are thinking about right now, make sure you do listen because you will always pick up things you didn’t know what you didn’t know or things you just hadn’t thought of and things that will connect to other areas of your business. Even if they aren’t front of mind, make sure they are at least, back of mind.’ ‘And don’t forget to ask questions, don’t go home wondering if you should have asked that question.’
- Libby Creek
Setting Up For Business Success
Angus Australia’s Extension Manager Jake Phillips described the GenAngus Future Leaders Program as an incredible experience for all involved. ‘Twenty-eight of the Angus breeds’ and Australian beef industry’s brightest young people have had access to some of Australia’s most leading speakers and have been given the knowledge skills and empowerment for them to make real life change in their businesses and on their farms.’ Jake acknowledged that the wide range of topics covered meant that participants received a number of different outcomes out of the program that they can take home and implement. The program was designed to challenge the participants business perceptions, increase their knowledge and confidence and inspire them to put into practice the outcomes they gained from the event Presentations were made by:
· Pete Clark, 21 Whispers - Mindset: A stirring presentation on the power of the mind and the ability we have to control it if we train to do so. The attendees were given the chance to think laterally and learn about how their mindset influences what they see as well as other key messages such as trying to envisage seeing both sides of difficult situations and keeping focused on the gains, not the gaps in our challenges. According to Pete, ‘As the world changes and adjust to our new normal, our mindset will be the difference that makes the difference.’ · Richard Officer & Danielle Whitelock, Achmea Australia – Risk Mitigation & Liability: Brought some real-world perspective and palpable examples of how insurance and risk mitigation is a critical part of business, particularly in agriculture. Richard and Danielle used a game show to break down some knowledge barriers and start the conversations about how attendees might mitigate risk in their business and highlight steps to take to ensure their business and family are covered when unexpected situations arise. Born and raised on a broad acre farming enterprise in Northern NSW, Richard has a strong understanding and knowledge of farming communities and their exposure to risk. Danielle sees first-hand the importance of insurance to protect agricultural communities. Committed to Achmea Australia’s vision of protecting and enhancing agricultural communities, she is able to help achieve this vision through supporting the next generation of leaders. · Simon Quilty, Global Agritrends – The Outlook for Australian beef: Had attendees hanging on every word of his presentation (albeit via Zoom) about the ebbs and flows of the world protein market and in particular Australian Beef. Simon provided candid and valuable insight into the similarities the Australian beef industry currently has with the 1970’s but also why he feels that the current time is going to be the “golden era” for beef based on world supply decreasing, Australian supply increasing and the world demanding more quality, which positions Australia with an enormous opportunity. Given his extensive career and the fact that he has a very active meat and livestock consulting business and works closely with medium size to large meat processors, live cattle exporters, Australian feedlotters, backgrounders and Australian farmers and importers in China, Japan and the US, Simon is well placed to provide accurate insights. · Francis English, Rabobank & Matthew Merret, Bretnalls – Finance Fundamentals for Young Farmers: Provided a wealth of knowledge to attendees on finance fundamentals for young farmers. Attendees were provided with advice around the importance of accurate bookkeeping and finance management, relationships with bankers, lawyers, and accountants. Attendees were encouraged to find the people and professions that will help them in business and life and get them on their team by bringing them into the circle, a close-knit group of contacts working together. For Matthew, an upbringing in the rich agricultural area in the South-East of South Australia provided the platform for a considered understanding and appreciation for all kinds of farming businesses. He specialises in many areas, including management reporting, budgeting and forecasting, compliance and tax planning. Passionate about finance and agriculture, Francis has a straightforward approach, and is enthusiastic about financial literacy and having an organised approach to business ownership. · Simon Vogt, Pinion Advisory – Implementing Change: Attendees were taken through the ins and outs of implementing change in their business along with developing a strategic plan. Simon covered off the important aspects of this process, including early call to action, that is recognising the need for change and putting processes in place to make change; the change cycle, looking at the type of change you will make and what that means; the pre work for chan, understanding your business model, knowing your clients’ proft drivers and what to look for; and developing a forward looking strategy, your plan of action to achieve a long term overall aim. Attendees were also given valuable insights into the management characteristics or traits of top 20% farm business managers. Simon chairs a large number of Advisory Boards for farming families and family corporates working on strategy, growth, and optimising profitability and he enjoys combining his financial knowledge with ‘mud under the boots’ experience to create valued outcomes for clients.
· Cameron Parker, Primary Producers SA –Redefining our Success Cam shared a stirring and emotive self-reflection on his career, from a Melbourne born student, through management of Australia’s largest supermarket chain and establishing deep connections with agriculture in regional Victoria. This was the start of a whirlwind career that progressed into policy development for peak industry bodies across Queensland and South Australia. Cam’s message was about thinking deeply and asking participants to consider what it is they are striving to achieve and defining success, and challenging them to consider why through the seven Whys. Essentially asking the individual to answer why they were at GenAngus, followed by six further whys to establish their core reason they believe in what they are doing. It had a resounding effect on the group who enjoyed the challenge of critical thinking. Cam also shared insightful business growth mindset strategies such as the 10,20,70, allocating 10% of time thinking about the past, 20% dealing with the present and 70% working on the future and encouraged attendees to
2020 Cohort
consider big decisions they were dealing with for the future with 70% of their attention. Cam also encouraged the group to think big and consider themselves capable of making big change on an industry level, not just a farm level. Cam is considered a leader amongst his peers, considering the pathway he has taken with choosing agriculture as a career and identifying the way he could make the most positive contribution to the industry through policy direction and consultation to government.
· Angus Street, Auctions Plus – The Secrets to AuctionsPlus Success: Provided the group with candid and personal insight into the success of the business based on values, culture and having the right people. Angus also challenged the group that growth and comfort do not coexist and that thinking digitally needs to be a foundation pillar of businesses going forward. The attendees were totally inspired by Angus’s presentation and felt an emotive connection to Angus who laid much of his own life lessons on the table for the benefit of the group. Angus is passionate about helping businesses evolve to stay ahead of the pack through the use of digital technology, and believes that with a little country music, genuine conversations and a motto of ‘the sum of us beats the one of us’ we can shape the future of the Ag sector.
· Diana Wood, Angus Australia – Marketing 101: An oversight to branding, what sets us apart, how colours and themes and consistency can influence a customer’s perception and some key notes on defining who you are as a business. Diana encouraged everyone to know your core business, identify what sets you apart, research your competitors and the market and to always focus on quality. Diana also reminded attendees it is never too early to start your marketing plan. Given her involvement in the Angus Youth program, Diana has a passion for supporting youth in agriculture and believes it is integral for the up and coming stars of the beef industry to be provided access to the tools which can help them succeed, in particular in the areas of marketing and communications.
· Heidi Wright – Wright Social: Gave an inspirational session on all thing’s social media. Heidi covered the dos, the don’ts, the must haves, and the best-in-class advice for business using the world of Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter to engage with customers and followers around the world. Heidi challenged the group to define their goals and what they wanted to achieve, to define their target audience and imagine what that audience will resonate with and finally to craft the message to generate genuine engagement. Heidi shares a connection to grass roots agriculture with and with her business purpose being to help organisations that add-value to the agriculture, food and fiber sectors to GROW, through providing ongoing access to world-class social media strategy and tactics, she brought skills to the table that could be implemented straight away.
· Jake Phillips, Angus Australia – A breeding Program by Design: Produced a series of key messages that challenged the group to focus on being objective with their comparison of genetics, to focus on developing a breeding objective and to focus on what the limiting factor for production is in particular animals and indeed herds. Attendees soon became focused on their own herd goals and selection criteria as each of the attendees’ breeding objective was discussed and dismantled to reveal which was objective and which was subjective and where the right path to success was more likely going to be. Jakes role at Angus Australia is front line with Angus members and breeders of Angus cattle to assist them in understanding the variety of breeding and genetics selection tools and information available to them. This also includes overseeing the expansive Angus Youth scholarships, awards and bursaries offered to industry, a program Jake himself has benefited from previously.
· Jess Cavanagh and Isobel Knight, Proagtive –Sucession Planning: Provided candid insight into the often-contentious dilemma of succession planning by presenting valuable information on the key components to successful succession planning. The attendees were able to have open and honest discussions as a group, while looking at real life scenarios that had played out in other families, with Jess and Isobel able to provide thought provoking insight into how best practice succession planning works, what’s required and the most appropriate time frames to monitor to ensure the best result can be achieved for all interested parties. Jess’ dream is that Australian families will continue to have the passion, drive and skill to continue in their roles as custodians of Australian farms, well into the future. While Isobel’s passion is to ensure that the next generation has an opportunity to participate in agriculture and believes a lack of succession planning is costing farming families, rural communities and agriculture dearly.
2021 Cohort
2022 Cohort
· Milly Nolan, The Livestock Collective – DISC Profiling: Prior to GenAngus attendees completed DICS assessments producing a profile designed to assist their understanding of self and others, to learn how to build relationships, relate better with one another and learn how differing perspectives affect relationships. The DISC model identifies the main behavioral styles to facilitate interaction with people to more effectively manage and communicate. Milly had attendees deep dive into their behavioral styles to help them identify how they can better interact in team environments. The attendees were encouraged to share their profiles with each other and open up on ways they could use their style to their advantage in business. Milly is keen to unite the livestock industry and ensure our voice is heard and as such is passionate about providing the tools for others to reach their greatest potential.
Forever Learning & Growing
‘The business skills, the networking and the long-term connections we have made’. ‘I thought I knew what I was doing but have realised that I don’t necessarily have all the skills and I need to keep learning’. ‘A pack of practical skills that we can take away and implement at home.’ These were some of the many comments that summed up the experiences of the 2022 GenAngus Future Leaders as they opened up and shared their experiences across the program. Jarrod Koch, Barrabool, VIC, has been co-director and owner of Longview Agriculture for approximately five years. Together with his wife, he runs an Angus and Simmental stud and commercial beef operation, including Angus breeders and grass fattening Angus steers across two properties in southwest VIC. Jarrod was blown away by the quality of the presenters during GenAngus. ‘They have been really phenomenal, and I’ve tried to take a little bit out of every lesson, but the key takeaway is just trying to slowly improve every day in all different aspects of the business .’ Jarrod also took a lot from the Risk Mitigation session, ‘Richard really honed in to us the importance of making sure that our businesses and our assets are protected and encouraging us to go through the whole gambit, of what level of risk are we comfortable with, what we can do to reduce that level or risk, right through to insurance.’ Peter Colliver, Meningie, SA, currently works as Stud Manager of Stoney Point Performance Angus and has been involved in the beef industry from the age of 16. He also studied and obtained an advanced diploma in Agriculture and completed 21 months exchange with IAEA in Canada and Denmark. Peter applied for GenAngus because, ‘I thought it was a great opportunity for where I am in my career to further my knowledge, meet a lot of influential people to build my network and increase my skills.’ ‘One presentation that I took the most out of was the one presented by Francis and Matt on banking and accounting. It was a great opportunity for someone like me that’s looking to get into land ownership and to know that there are still ways of getting into agribusiness and property ownership,
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G H I J
A: Alexis Gandy, B: Ben Lucas, C: Bridget Watson, D: Cara Fagan, E: Damon Englund, F: Emily Read, G: George Giddings, H: George Phillip, I: Jack Laurie, J: Jarrod Koch, K: Nancy Crawshaw, L: Peter Colliver, M: Sam Finlayson. Images: Simon Casson
Angus Youth which I thought had almost been beyond my grasp and that there are certainly still opportunities for young people to get into agriculture now.’
Emily Read, Coonabarabran, NSW, grew up working and contributing to her family cattle operation. She returned to the business officially in 2018 and has since began growing her own herd with her husband, breeding commercial
Angus cattle.
For Emily being able to network and learn from some of the best in the industry was key. ‘Everyone in the room is already passionate, but it just gives you that extra little push to go home and be like, yes, we can make this better, we can improve this.’
‘Learning about marketing has been huge because we have been a little bit lost, so it was great to hear from Di about product recognition and branding, but also learning from
Heidi about social media, both giving us some things that we can go home and focus on.’
Damon Englund, Upper Stowport, TAS, is director of Deep
Creek Cattle Services Pty Ltd, and also runs a small Angus stud DC Angus. In its sixth year, Deep Creek Cattle Services is an Artificial Breeding service providing beef producers with genetic gain. Damon and his partner also own and run a small farm buying weaned Angus heifers from clients or weaner sales to develop into PTIC heifers to be sold on
AuctionsPlus annually.
Damon joined GenAngus to further his business skills in areas like marketing, but Pete Clark’s presentation was something that really resonated with him.
‘Starting with mindset set the program up, it highlighted that I need to be better both as a person and I need to become more disciplined in business and push myself out of my comfort zone.’
‘I would certainly recommend GenAngus to anyone that’s thinking about attending, along with the business skills you can pick up from this program, is the phenomenal networking.’
Cara Fagan, Coonamble, NSW, has been involved in the beef industry from a young age through her family farming enterprise. Cara has been involved in the breeding programs, bull selection and all aspects of animal husbandry and management. GenAngus appealed to Cara because of the business support and knowledge opportunities that come from the program. ‘I think it’s really important to be in a group of like-minded people because then you can build your ideas on each other, and you’ll find that there’s always a lot more growth and strength in the team.’ And in terms of putting her learning into practice, ‘I think the first thing that I’ll take home and implement will be the branding strategy. I’ve gotten a lot out of the marketing, social media and branding sessions. I will also be looking at the risk mitigation strategies we have in place.’ Bridget Watson, Coonalpyn, SA, and her family started a commercial herd in 2012 and recently began a seedstock enterprise, where they are developing their stud herd with the aim to host their first bull sale in 2023. Initially thinking she was too young to attend GenAngus, Bridget was glad that she was encouraged to apply and step outside her comfort zone. ‘It’s such a good program and I’ve learned so much from it. And being so young, it’s not a weakness, it’s probably a strength. I am learning so many new things and it just opens my future for me.’ ‘The mindset presentation also stood out for me because I do doubt myself and the mindset showed me that I can do this and I will do it fun.’ Nancy Crawshaw developed a passion for agriculture and genetics growing up on her parents’ sheep, beef, and Angus Stud property in New Zealand and is currently working as a Quality Assurance Manager for Teys Naracoorte. Being able to reconnect with a group of young people who are also passionate about Angus in the beef industry and
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wanting to gain improvement through further learning was key for Nancy. ‘We’ve got a great network out of it, but the amount of information we’ve absorbed over the last few days has been very eye opening, it is going to take us a while to process all the information and then work out how can we start implementing what we have learned.’ For Nancy the DISC profiling was a highlight. ‘Being able to take this profile information back to my team at work could be quite a big advantage in our team, and in our next meeting, everyone can go through some of the processes, such as writing a post it note to describe the other team members to see how we all view each other.’ Samuel Finlayson was brought up on a cattle property based near Armidale, NSW, where his family developed Angus beef brand ‘Three Creek Beef’. Sam has worked in the business’s international trading and finance sectors. Sam applied for the program to gain further knowledge and experience in how to take the next step in business. “I also believe that networking with other likeminded individuals and business professionals will be an invaluable opportunity for further development.” In summing up his experience, Sam took a lot from Angus Street. ‘Be the change you want to see and the ‘Legacy’ quote of sweep the sheds reminds me how important humility and discipline is and how they come hand in hand.’ The session on succession planning was also key for Sam, ‘After listening to that I realised how important succession planning is in a family.’ George Philip, Dannevirke NZ George Phillip is a sheep and beef farmer near Dannevirke on the east coast of the north island in New Zealand. The family runs 240 stud breeding cows and their progeny as well as 4300 breeding ewes with 1000 stud ewes. Coming out of GenAngus, George hopes to develop some structure and effort in his marketing program to try and keep this consistent. George also has a vision for having more involvement in the genetic direction of his herd. ‘Listening to Jake and knowing how to set a breeding objective, getting that nailed down and making sure we are doing our best to collect the data needed for genetic evaluation will be important for me.’ George Giddings, Fairlie NZ runs Meadowslea Angus with his family. They mated 700 stud Angus cows this year as well as 3000 stud ewes and focus on breeding cattle suitable for the South Island hill and high-country environment. During the 2020 COVID lockdowns George and his family were unable to hold their annual in-calf female sale as a conventional auction, so developed their own Yourbid helmsman-style bidding platform to run that sale which was very successful. George went into the social media session thinking he knew a lot, but after listening to Heidi found himself learning so much more than he realised was possible and has some new ideas to take home and implement. Given his involvement in online auctions, George also took a lot out of Angus Street’s presentation. ‘Leaning how to turn friction points into positives is a key thing and knowing how to manage the business against the existing industry and make it work for everyone.’ Alexis Gandy, Diamond Tree, WA, is co-owner of Gandy Angus, a seedstock operation offering bulls at auction annually, which she has run for 15 years. Due to being in a rebuilding phase of their herd, following family succession. Alexis felt the need to develop some skills to help promote their business and remind people they are still there and so applied for GenAngus. The calibre of the speakers was something that stood out for Alexis, as well as the fact that there was something for everyone in each session.
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‘But the social media session was a standout for me, it’s something I really struggle with and always ends up at the bottom of my to do list. We got some practical tips on how to manage our social channels and really setting some strategy around that. I really need to take the time to make a plan, write it out, be a lot more deliberate about what I’m doing, because it can be really easy to rush to the outside and physical tasks that always seem to take priority.’
Ben Lucas, Book Book, NSW, has a background of over 10 years’ experience working on his family farm where they run approximately 1,000 Angus breeding stock. Since 2020, he has operated Baylen Angus and in their first year the original focus of this business is to breed bulls for the everyday farmer.
Ben ended up attending GenAngus because his wife applied for him and according to Ben, it was one of the best things she has done for him, ‘I am very grateful, because it was an absolutely fantastic program.’
‘It couldn’t have come at a better time, as we look to grow our business. I realised that even topics that don’t really interest me, that when you sit there and listen to that, you’re like, wow, it actually does play a massive part in your business.’
‘Succession planning was a highlight being on a family farm operation and Simon Quilty’s presentation about market trends gives you a little bit of confidence in going forward for the next five years. It’s given me a little bit of confidence to say, right, we’re doing the right thing, so let’s go in at 100 miles an hour and if we come out the other side and the market stays where it is, well, we feel confident in what we’re doing.’
Jack Laurie, Moppy, NSW, is the owner of Breeder Genetics, a genetics company focusing on the selling of semen. It is a breeder-to-breeder platform providing a marketplace for all beef producers.
As well as business outcomes, Jack was driven by the connections to apply for GenAngus.
‘Throughout my life, I’ve probably learned, it’s not always what you know, it’s who you know and at a lot of these events, the connections and the networking you can do at them is underrated.’
Jack highlighted that, ‘It’s a lot about the little things we could be doing better that sort of add up. I know it’s a bit of a cliche to talk about the one percenters, but if you can tweak some of those little things we’d be able to do a lot better.’ ‘Talking about our mindset and how we can have a positive mindset and trying to actually understand how we’re going to receive information and give it back out, through to how can all be doing better with our social media, as well as looking at finance to get in a better financial position and have more security.’
Where to from here?
As the week ended Jake Phillips finished with some parting words of inspiration. ‘The real magic happens when we are able to bring the right presenters and future leaders together in the same room, open their minds and facilitate their learning growth journey.’ ‘The most impressive component of the program is how everyone was able to learn from each other, identifying the strengths of others and offering pieces of experience and self-reflection that others may be able to use.’ Most importantly the participants survey responses indicate that the likelihood they will make practice change by attending GenAngus was 97/100. ‘The submitted scores of likelihood of the participants to make practice change is a clear sign that the program offers the right ingredients for the participants to think deeply, self-reflect, implement cultural changes and strategically think about the business they are in and the opportunities they will take to ensure that the Angus industry and its people will continue to be profitable and sustainable and offer the next generation a chance to enjoy the wonderful things the breed has to offer,’ said Jake. ‘It is clear that the GenAngus program has cemented its position as Australia’s leading development program for young people with a passion for the Angus cattle industry.’
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