GenAngus - empowering the future of the beef industry

Diana Wood, Marketing & Communications Manager

What do you get when you put twelve incredible young minds with the drive to learn and succeed in a room for three days, with leading experts in their field with a willingness to share their knowledge?

The answer… GenAngus! A transformative program that was meticulously designed to equip these aspiring individuals with the skills, knowledge, and mindset required to excel in today's dynamic and fast-paced agricultural industry.

At the end of May in Adelaide South Australia, these twelve emerging leaders of the beef industry had the opportunity to embark on the three-day intensive workshop to help them start their beef cattle business or advance their existing business.

The program kicked off with participants invited to ‘take the first step’, both figuratively and literally, as they conquered their fears in the tree tops on the Adelaide Tree Climb.

The first day wound up with a team building exercise in Escape Hunt Adelaide, followed by the official dinner featuring Achmea Australia CEO Emma Thomas, Angus Australia CEO Scott Wright, Meat & Livestock Managing Director Jason Strong, and a panel of past GenAngus participants including Jack Laurie, Nancy Crawshaw and Brodie Collins.

According to Angus Australia’s Extension Manager Jake Phillips, the GenAngus program has become a pinnacle event for Angus Australia.

‘What we find is that there are really measurable things that people are bringing out of this program and putting into their lives and their businesses, and it is something that we're extremely proud of.’

Jake also acknowledged that the GenAngus program, now in its fifth year would not be possible without the industry alliance between Angus Australia and specialist agricultural insurer Achmea Australia.

‘I must acknowledge the huge contributions made by Achmea Australia. We wholeheartedly thank them for their ongoing support of the event.’

‘It certainly wouldn't have got to where it is today without this alliance, with Angus Australia and Achmea Australia having now provided this opportunity to sixty young people across Australia and New Zealand,’ finished Jake.

Emma Thomas, CEO of Achmea Australia, recognised how important it is for young people in agricultural communities to have access to development opportunities that are relevant to them.

‘Achmea Australia is immensely proud to see the GenAngus Program going from strength to strength, attracting bright young beef leaders and leading industry experts from across the country,’ said Emma.

Emma took the opportunity to emphasise to the attendees that they were about to embark on an exciting journey of professional growth

‘The people I've met tonight are intent on what they're looking to get out of the program, which is fantastic. You've come here with real purpose, and I encourage you to make the most of it.’

‘I was told tonight the theme is about investing in your people, and at Achmea Australia, we really encourage people to bring their whole selves to work. We can truly be in it together, through the ups and downs of life and business,’ said Emma. ‘The GenAngus Future Leaders Program alumni can provide you with a supportive community. You can learn from, support, and share through life challenges, farming, business opportunities that may come’. Emma also highlighted how GenAngus is aligned with Achmea Australia’s vision of protecting and enhancing a sustainable future for agricultural communities.

‘Strong agribusinesses are underpinned by strong families and communities. And that's why we, as a specialist agricultural insurer, are committed to supporting farmers and growers of today and the agricultural leaders of tomorrow, to continue to feed the world, together and sustainably.’

‘Through your journey with GenAngus and beyond, you can help strengthen and promote the resilience of Australian agriculture. Your learnings, abilities, eagerness to innovate, and your resilience and adaptability, are all key as we collectively face challenges like climate change, sustainability and biodiversity, food security, rising farming costs and the digital future of agriculture,’ added Emma. ‘As future leaders in agriculture, you inspire possibilities. Sometimes there may be no readymade solution to the problems that you encounter, but it's up to you to pave the way, seek support, ask for help and lean into the future.’

‘Your leadership will shape the future of the industry and we're counting on it.’ Emma said.

A Program Like No Other

Achmea Australia CEO Emma Thomas summed up GenAngus perfectly when speaking about what led to the development of the program. While there were some great youth leadership programs, there seemed to be a gap for young adults wanting to take the next step to enhance their leadership and development journey. This program aims to fill that gap.

GenAngus was designed to encourage participants to step out of their comfort zone, challenge their business perceptions, increase their knowledge and confidence, and inspire them to put into practice the outcomes they gained from the event.

With that in mind a carefully curated program was put together, with presentations made by:

Pete & Hannah Pete Clark, 21 Whispers

Developing a growth 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, Achmea Australia

The importance of Risk Mitigation & Liability: Brought real-world perspective and discerning examples of how insurance and risk mitigation are a critical part of business, particularly in agriculture. Using an interactive learning platform, Richard used a quiz 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.

Simon Quilty, Global Agritrends

The Outlook for Australian beef: Had attendees hanging on every word of his presentation 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.

Jake Phillips & Nancy Crawshaw, 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.

Milly Nolan, The Livestock Collective; Richard Officer, Achmea Australia; Erica Halliday, Ben Nevis Angus; Nancy Crawshaw, Angus Australia and Simon Quilty, Global Agritrends

Careers in Agriculture: Panelists focused on their career trajectories in agriculture and some serendipitous moments that led them to their current positions. They candidly shared the challenges and vulnerabilities they faced along their journey, as well as some of the accomplishments attained in their agricultural careers.

Diana Wood & Cheyne Twist, Angus Australia

Marketing & Branding 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 and Cheyne encouraged everyone to know their core business, identify what sets them apart, research their competitors and the market and to always focus on quality. Diana and Cheyne also reminded attendees it is never too early to start their marketing plan and to also delve into their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats as a way to start working through concepts.

Heidi Wright, Wright Social

A deep dive into social media: Gave an inspirational session on all thing’s social media. Heidi and Jaymee 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. The group were challenged 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.

John Francis, Agrista

Beef Benchmarking: With a proven understanding of the drivers of productivity and profitability in broadacre agriculture. John took attendees through the process to develop and implement strategies that improve operational performance and deliver increased financial returns. John challenged the group to look at on farm performance assessment and comparative analysis to identify opportunities for improvement in productivity and profitability.

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.

Angus Street, Auctions Plus

Building a team culture: Angus 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.

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.

Francis English, Judo Bank & 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.

You're only a leader when you've given the opportunity to lead

Angus Australia CEO Scott Wright is extremely proud of the GenAngus Future Leaders Program and believes it is one of the most positive items the organisation delivers.

As CEO, Scott had the privilege to spend time with the GenAngus Leaders from 2020, 2021 and 2022 when they all gathered last year and looks forward to doing the same again in 2023, ‘We really enjoy being able to come and sit on the sidelines, because we are excited to see what you become and I love the stories that come out of GenAngus and the success that comes from the program.’

‘One thing to remember is in leadership is you’re only a leader when you’ve been given the opportunity to lead.’

‘You guys were selected from a large group of people. There were a lot of fine candidates, and you come from a range of backgrounds. But I think always it's healthy in leadership to remind ourselves that we've been very fortunate to be given the roles that we have, and we need to stay grounded, said Scott.

In summarising his views on leadership, Scott left the participants with four things to think about.

‘Be thankful that the times we live in with agriculture are unprecedented, be generous and look after each other, give back to what is important to you. And then finally I'd say you're a very bright, talented group of people, but watch for the storm clouds that one day will come, and they will come and be prepared for those when they do arrive. Learn what you can now. Support each other, encourage one another, and you'll go, well, I'm sure the breed is in good hands going forward.

Leadership is not about being in charge. It is about taking care of those in your charge." These words resonate deeply with our program's philosophy, as we believe that true leadership is rooted in empathy, integrity, and the ability to uplift others. With this guiding principle in mind, we have curated a dynamic curriculum that nurtures these qualities within each participant. Through immersive experiences, thought-provoking discussions, and hands-on projects, we strive to cultivate a new generation of compassionate and visionary leaders who will shape a brighter future.