Short film showcasing 'day in the life of a beef producer' to screen at Beef 2024

The skills day run by six industry representatives, was part of a project called Believe in Beef, which was run in conjunction with the 2024 Advancing Beef Leader Program.

The skills day was created to give children hands on experience working on a cattle property, as a way to introduce them to the industry, as a potential career path.

Project manager Lucy Morrissey said the goal of the project was to not only to bridge the city country divide but create exposure and opportunities for young people wanting to enter the beef industry.

"Our goal was capacity building for the beef industry at the grass roots level, looking at exposure for new young entrants and upskilling for entry into the industry," she said.

"Essentially it was an introduction into the day in the life of what a beef producer does."

The students, from the Taroom and Roma, spent 24 hours at the Freeman Pastoral Company's cattle property located in Melleebee Downs, Wallumbilla.

They had exposure to a wide range of activities including, mustering cattle, stock handling, fencing, paddock checks, changing tyres and whip cracking.

Ms Morrissey said they decided to create the short film of the on-farm experience, to be able to access a larger audience.

"We wanted to influence a greater audience at the consumer level," she said.

"That's where bridging the gap between the urban-rural divide essentially came into play.

"We are presenting who we are, what we do and what we are proud of on several different levels."

She said with the increasing shortage of skilled people in the industry, they wanted to use their platform to open doors for young people and provide a pathway for them.

"We want to provide opportunities for people at a young age to get their hands dirty and realise what it feels like to be a beef producer, as well as have exposure to all the elements involved in the supply chain " she said.

"We are presenting the idea that you don't have to be brought up on the land or become a farmer or a beef producer...there's all these other elements involved that you can contribute to.

"Essentially, everyone is welcome and capable."

Ms Morrissey said that the film was a way of conveying the story of beef production reality to a wider audience, who may otherwise not see it.

"In the livestock industry people are filled with pride but also very humble, so promotion is not our strong suit," she said.

"What we get to do is just so special.

"We have the the platform to create this project because of the Advancing Beef Leaders funded program."

She said their long term vision for the project, was to create connections with urban schools and offer the program to as many students as possible.

"We would like to introduce kids to the industry who may not have had exposure," she said.