LIVE: Forum on Kidworth study

The study forms the basis of a competition designed by Longreach grazier James Walker to challenge people to look at a fictitious but representative grazing business and suggest answers to the equity problems facing so many. (cont. below forum)

Put together by Mick Keogh from the Australian Farm Institute and boasting a prize pool to date of $30,000, the competition inviting people to submit recommendations on how they would advise the drought-affected beef enterprise to carry on has already attracted 200 registrations.

James said it was a form of informal learning popular in New Zealand, which he would like to see made more use of here, to acknowledge the life skills people brought to problems on paper.

This was one of the topics raised by New Zealand’s Young Farmers CEO Richard Fitzgerald, who travelled to Longreach at the end of July to take part in the outback business summit at which the Kidworth competition was launched.

Richard said his country had focused on talent development and youth encouragement to take its primary industries forward.

“We need 50,000 extra people but more importantly, we need new skills,” he said.

“New Zealand’s primary industries story is one of establishing agriculture as something dynamic and interesting.

“We want people to see farming is not just about working the land but about a stimulating career as well.”

Out-of-the-box thinking sees James offering entry to the Kidworth competition via video clips or voice recordings.

“They could stand in their cattle yards and tape themselves – people are time poor and often they just like to talk about their ideas, so I don’t want to limit the ways in which they can contribute,” he said.

Rural finance is front and centre of the case study, as it is in homes throughout northern Australia, and James hopes a mortgage broker will also join the online forum to generate ideas.