Beef Australia 2018 lived up to its reputation as one of the world’s great beef cattle events, providing a fabulous week-long showcase and celebration of our industry.
It was the fifth time I had attended this event and it gets better every time.
I was impressed with how well it was organised and the quality across the board – from the presenters at forums, the livestock on display right through to the food and catering.
For AgForce, it was a great chance to be involved in the signature event for Queensland cattle producers.
We provided education and engagement through ‘soapbox sessions’ on issues such as Grazing BMP, property mapping and pimelea research, while the Cattle Kids Calf Classroom – run by our School to Industry Partnerships Program team – proved a hit with the thousands of children who visited.
The highlight for me was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with NAB which has the potential to provide a step change to on-farm practices across all the important areas of natural capital, such as land, soil, water and air.
When faced with more and more onerous government regulations, it’s important we build the facts and data we need to tell our story and to drive sustainable management practices.
The partnership between AgForce and NAB will see us collaborate and share resources to deliver positive economic and environmental outcomes for agriculture while also reducing financial risk.
It’s about showcasing that farmers are the true and best environmentalists, and that natural capital is worth preserving.
Finally, it was fantastic to see so many people embrace the call to ‘Wear Green on Wednesday’ as part of the continuing campaign for fair and balanced vegetation management laws.
Beef Australia 2018 certainly highlighted that our industry can – and should – have a very bright future.
But to achieve our full potential, we really need governments to work with us, not against us, and adopt policies that take our industry forward, not hold us back.
