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Lizzie’s life-long love of ag By Fiona Gowers
Lizzie McClymont is the new remote marketing business partner for Elders Queensland and the NT. “That was next level. Huge. I was managing an account worth 150 million euro,” she said. “Like it was just one of those experiences. I look back on those days. It was just incredible.” Lizzie returned after 18 months and in 2020 began working for Mort & Co as a sales manager, marketing premium Wagyu and Angus into international markets. But with Lizzie based in Toowoomba and her partner Andrew working as a cropping manager near Goondiwindi, she sought more flexible working arrangements from an employer. “Travelling to be together became unsustainable and I started looking for remote jobs because I wanted to continue my career,” she said. “But, it was a tough time to have those discussions with my partner about what our future held.
“He loves his job and there’s lots of room for him to grow. So, it was down to me then and what I could do. “And I’ve been asked this a few times, ‘why is it that the woman always has to move?’ But, I’m really lucky with this role that I’m in with Elders.” Lizzie said she remained philosophical about leaving an industry she had devoted so much time to but, ultimately, the male/ female gender imbalance and workplace inflexibility left little choice. “The meat industry is what I was born into and raised in so I love the connection my work had to my family,” she said. “I think that was what hit me hardest. “My parents are involved in it and it was always a topic of conversation among my family. It was more than just a day-to-day job for me, absolutely.”
Lizzie said while she had a strong female leader at OBE Organic Australia, she believes it remains tricky for women to progress in the meat industry. “There are some amazing women in there and I just take my hat off to them,” she said. “Because yes, their perseverance is incredible. “The saying, ‘confidence is hard to build and easy to lose’ is true. I had to sort of duck out to rebuild that confidence, I think. “But, you know, I’m still working in agriculture. “I remember during a scholarship interview last year saying, ‘Everything I’ve done in my life has been intentional to get me to where I am today’. “And, it couldn’t be more true. Everything I’ve done has been for agriculture and the industry that I have always loved.”
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Lizzie McClymont has devoted her life to a productive career in agriculture. At just 28-years-old, she has worked in international meat sales for six years, managing big domestic and export accounts in the Middle East, North America and the United Kingdom. But, in her most recent role, Lizzie is homebased as the remote marketing business partner for Elders Queensland and the NT. “It is the most incredible role and I just love it,” she said. “There are four aspects to it, events, sponsorship, digital and training. “My manager is based in Adelaide and he says, ‘Do it Lizzie! You have my full support’. And I love that. It just gives you so much confidence doesn’t it? “It empowers you.” Growing up on a family farm near Goondiwindi, Lizzie attended Kindon State School, which her grandparents started in 1963, and which then had seven students. She boarded at Toowoomba Prep from grade six then on to Fairholme College, before studying a four-year Bachelor of Animal Science course with honours in meat science at the University of New England in Armidale. Fulfilling a life-long dream, Lizzie exchanged to study in the United States at the University of Wyoming for six months in her third year. “Traveling to study was certainly a defining moment in my life,” she said. “The people were amazing and I just loved America. Their tertiary educational system is next level. “It’s so engaging, classes are compulsory and Americans are so competitive - as Americans are - and it drives all those students to just always want to do better.” With one external subject left to complete, Lizzie began a job in sales and production in 2016 with OBE Organic Australia. Based in Brisbane, OBE Organic began in the 1990s as the first and only premium meat exporter that was 100 per cent dedicated to the production of organic beef in Australia. Lizzie was managing sales of the world’s best organic beef to celebrity-filled restaurants and retailers in North America. “It was an incredible experience,” she said. “I was a 23-year-old traveling to America every three months to build relationships with customers and sell them organic beef. It was amazing. “Grass-fed Australian beef still holds a very strong reputation in that health-conscious US market.” Seeking a permanent move overseas in 2018, Lizzie secured a role with Irish company Kepak, managing Tesco’s accounts in the United Kingdom.
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Warwick Rodeo Queen is
Warwick Rodeo Queen Tamara Evans with Aussie cowboy Ky Hamilton and home-grown Warwick cowboy and PBR rider Callum Miller. Callum is the son of Margie Miller who supports the Warwick Show and Rodeo Society by running a tea house that feeds volunteers throughout all major events.
By Fiona Gowers
with nationwide sponsors. So, it’s an amazing opportunity for the Warwick Rodeo Queen to have. “We have become like family over there. They treat our Queen like real royalty and are so generous with their time, resources and advice.” Kate, who works as a Bush Kids clinical administrative officer, has long been involved with the Warwick rodeo, having herself won the Queen title in 2010. Her father, John Skinner is a former general manager of the Australian Professional Rodeo Association, so her involvement evolved naturally.
“Mum and Dad nominated me for Junior Minor Rodeo (now known as Junior Cowgirl) when I was nine,” she said. “Basically, I got the bug for it then and once I started I didn’t want to stop. “I had competed on and off in every age group and, leading up to winning Queen in 2010 from eight other entrants, I had won horsemanship, personality and overall fundraiser.” In 2008 and 2009, Kate travelled to the United States on an International Rural Exchange. During her time in Montana she worked on two ranches, an experience she described as “challenging but exceptionally rewarding”, and which had enhanced her rodeo skills.
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Meeting American rodeo royalty? Tick. Learning the tricks of their trade? Tick. And watching the world’s best horsemen and women ride? Tick. Current Warwick Rodeo Queen Tamara Evans and former Queen Kate Christensen last month travelled to Wyoming in the United States to represent Warwick at the Cheyenne Frontier Days. Held annually since 1897, the event promotes itself as the “World’s Largest Outdoor Rodeo and Western Celebration” and attracts crowds of up to 200,000 annually.
Cowgirls of the West Brunch, a Thunderbirds airshow, street parades, meet and greets, autograph signing and pancake breakfasts were among highlights they experienced. Behind-the-scenes, Tamara and Kate met sponsors, committee members and met various Australian rodeo riders competing at Cheyenne in 2022. Warwick representatives have been visiting Cheyenne “on and off” since 2014 and Kate said the event was an opportunity to connect with the Frontier Days committee and to learn from them. “Pageantry is a full-time job in the United States,” she said. “It’s a professional pursuit
Warwick Rodeo Queen Tamara Evans with Aussie Bronc rider Damien Brennan, the only Australian to make the “short go on finals Sunday“ at the Cheyenne Frontier Days.
20 TODAY September 2022
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just living the dream “I have always enjoyed the timed events, particularly team roping,” she said. “When I was in America I was working with cattle, as well as breaking horses and cutting hay and had the opportunity to attend a roping clinic with former World Champion Team Roper Clay Tryan and his brother Travis. “I learnt so much over there and gained so much confidence and knowledge to come back and win Queen.” In 2011 Mrs Christensen moved to the other side of the quest, helping to run the contest before assuming the top job the next year. Since 2014, she has secured invitations to national rodeo events in Canada and Cheyenne to give the Queens exposure to overseas events. And, in a fitting circle-of-life moment, Kate has just been appointed to the management committee of the Warwick Show & Rodeo Society at its recent annual general meeting. She said the Warwick Rodeo Queen quest is now accepting applicants for this year’s contest. It caters for girls in four categories from the age of five through to 30 and boys from age five to seven. The categories are Mr Tiny Tot, Miss Tiny Tot, Junior Cowgirl, Rodeo Princess and Rodeo Queen. Judging will be held on 15 October in the lead up to “Australia’s Most Famous” rodeo on 24-30 October. For more information please visit warwickshowandrodeo.com.au
Former Warwick Rodeo Queen and current Warwick Show and Rodeo Society management committee member Kate Christensen with Cheyenne Frontier Days general chairman Jimmy Dean Siler and Warwick Rodeo Queen Tamara Evans.
Mining untapped potential By Fiona Gowers
Lead researcher Simone Lee says it is crucial that young aspiring women in rural, regional and remote areas be encouraged to harness their talents and ideas and turn them into operating businesses.
Empathy, creativity and innovation are indispensable factors to successful entrepreneurship. They are among the secret ingredients of good business being examined in a University of Southern Queensland study focused on one of the most untapped groups of rural economies. The Young WiRE project seeks to help develop the full entrepreneurial potential of young women in rural, remote and regional Australia. Lead researcher Simone Lee, who is completing the project as part of her PhD, said it was critical that young aspiring women in rural, regional and remote areas be encouraged to harness their talents and ideas and turn them into operating businesses. With more than 10 years as a life skills mentor for young women in the bush, Ms Lee knows intimately the challenges these women face in achieving their goals. “Only 13 per cent of rural businesses are founded by women, which is significantly lower than their urban counterparts,” she said.
“In addition, women who own or manage rural businesses are considerably older than women entrepreneurs in capital cities. “There needs to be a focus on growing the entrepreneurship and career pipeline of young women into economic activity and contribution.” Ms Lee’s research will help shape leadership programs designed especially to help propel young women outside of urban Australia into successful entrepreneurial careers. More than 150 young women will be surveyed as part of the research, which also aims to develop a conceptual framework of the antecedents of entrepreneurial mindset in Australian RRR women. “This will be the first research of its kind examining the entrepreneurial mindset of young women in rural, regional and remote Australia,” Ms Lee said. “It is already helping to uncover the full potential of young women to contribute to the regional and rural economy.” University of Southern Queensland is committed to advancing economic opportunities of women in rural, regional and remote areas through the Institute for Resilient Regions.
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Innovation out of Africa By Fiona Gowers Building resilience to climate change in at-risk communities is a pivotal element of research at the University of Southern Queensland. Tanya Dobson is a researcher tackling this challenge through her PhD, helping to record and preserve undocumented knowledge of climate management among small-scale and micro-farmers in rural South Africa. Ms Dobson’s work “on the ground“ in the region of KwaZulu-Natal seeks to understand how some of the world’s most vulnerable farmers are responding to climate change. “The farmers I am working with are some of the most impacted members of the community,” she said. “Their farms/gardens lack the kind of infrastructure that can control things such as temperature, sun exposure and water. “This means that any small change in the climate - or in weather conditions - can have a really big impact on their ability to grow crops successfully. “I have spoken to farmers who have had their entire fields flooded suddenly and devastatingly and then other farmers in a community nearby who are struggling to get enough to water their small garden.” Ms Dobson’s research will document knowledge and customs of local farmers, attitudes and perceptions towards climate change among those farmers and the changing effectiveness of traditional methods as climate becomes less predictable. She said Indigenous knowledge and customs that may address or be affected by climate change were often unrecorded, despite their global significance. This may include documented practices such as the continued use of traditional weather-forecasting techniques to predict incoming patterns such as the presence of certain bugs or the bloom of specific types of flowers. “The nature of this knowledge means that much of it has not been captured or recorded in the western, scientific literature,” she said. “These observations and perspectives are crucially important to include in discussions and interventions to tackle global climate change.” Ms Dobson is working with the Africa Foundation to facilitate the successful implementation of a Climate Resilient Communities Program in rural KwaZulu-Natal.
Tanya Dobson is helping to record and preserve undocumented knowledge of climate management among small-scale and micro farmers in rural South Africa.
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Tanya Dobson is working with the Africa Foundation to facilitate the successful implementation of a Climate Resilient Communities Program in rural KwaZulu-Natal.
22 TODAY September 2022