Finding Her Feet in a Feedlot: Caitlin Herbert’s Journey in Building Drought Resilience

IAN ROGERS

On International Day of Rural Women, we celebrate the vital contributions rural women have made and continue to make in agriculture. A shining example is Caitlin Herbert, a Nuffeld Drought Resilience Scholar, who is using her expertise to examine how feedlots can strengthen the beef supply chain during droughts.

Caitlin has worked on her family’s 16,000-acre farm, Gundamain, in Eugowra, Central West NSW, for fve years. The farm has been in the family for six generations, and Caitlin is the frst daughter to return and actively contribute to the operations, which include a feedlot, cattle breeding, sheep, hay production, and dryland cropping. Last year, the family celebrated 150 years of farming, a proud milestone in their agricultural legacy.

Her scholarship has taken her across North and South America, where she visited feeding facilities in fve countries. This global learning experience has provided Caitlin with insights that she is applying back at Gundamain, helping the farm—and the broader Australian feedlot industry—be better prepared for future droughts.

“I’ve been able to see others doing what we do, but in different ways,” Caitlin said. “This knowledge is helping us at Gundamain and will beneft the entire Australian feedlot and cattle industry.”

Caitlin’s research focuses on how feedlots can offer alternative feed sources, improve animal welfare, and provide contingency plans during droughts. She notes that the feedlot industry in Australia has grown largely due to the country’s extreme weather conditions, particularly droughts, which have become more frequent and severe.

Her Future Drought Fund (FDF) scholarship aims to build drought resilience in Australia’s agriculture sector, with Caitlin’s fndings contributing to a growing knowledge base for future generations of farmers.

Mel Brown, First Assistant Secretary of Farm Resilience, emphasized the importance of programs like the FDF. “These scholarships allow our farmers to learn from the best globally and bring that knowledge home,” Ms. Brown said. “Caitlin’s work not only benefts her farm but creates valuable data for others to learn from.”

International Rural Women’s Day also highlights the ongoing efforts to promote gender diversity in agriculture. The recent Women on Agricultural Boards event, hosted at the Australian Parliament House, is part of this effort, encouraging more women to take on leadership roles in agriculture.

To learn more about the Drought Resilience Scholarship Program, visit agriculture.gov.au.