October saw Brisbane’s RNA Showgrounds play host to BeefEx 2024 – a chance for the grain-fed beef industry to come together, share knowledge and hear from outstanding speakers from across the globe.
Sketch Corp’s Alex and Helen were delighted to attend and meet delegates from around the country, as well as hear updates on the current situation in the national and global beef markets. Soaking up a full-day of presentations from outstanding speakers throughout the industry and beyond, here’s a round-up of what we learned.
Opening remarks – Barb Madden, ALFA president
Barb welcomed delegates with a positive and optimistic look at the beef industry – highlighting both its current achievements and its future path, including the Emerging Leaders program. She hailed the pioneering men and women that laid the foundations and built the infrastructure for what was to come, with ALFA recording record numbers of cattle now on feed – 1.4M head, with 356 NFSA-accredited feedlots – as well as a 33% year-on-year increase in grain-fed beef exports.
Session – “On being bold”, Professor Ralph Schoellhammer
European political scientist and commentator Ralph Schoellhammer gave a rousing speech that examined current societal responses to energy, mining and agriculture, and how Australian beef producers can respond. He said that society in general is currently “at war with the pillars that make up humanity” and there’s a lack of knowledge around where our food, energy and money comes from. Schoellhammer went on to examine the growing pressure to make decisions based on ideological beliefs rather than science, which has created a view that “all agriculture is bad” – but there remains an increasing global demand for beef amidst food shortages. As these needs will undoubtedly be met by other countries, Schoellhammer stated Australian producers should do what they’re good at and provide beef to global markets in a way that’s safe and sustainable – acting as a “meat superpower” and educating the younger generation that agriculture is in fact cool, whilst raising the awareness of where food comes from and contributing to the improvement of the planet.
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Session – “Managing market mania”, Joe Kerns
Bringing a valuable US meat-industry perspective to BeefEx, intensive animal industries consultant Joe Kerns delved into American commodity markets and supply chains, and examined how his home country has failed to develop an economically sustainable model – relying on the appreciation of land assets whilst animal assets return very little. This means US supplies of beef are slowing down, along with that of current agriculture up-and-comer Brazil, whilst world demand for beef is only increasing – putting the Aussie beef industry in a uniquely strong position, now and into the future.
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Session – “Global expectations shaping beef production”, Charlie Arnot
Beginning his talk with a look at the week that changed the world – the 2011 live export scandal – Charlie Arnot hailed the subsequent work of the National Feedlot Accreditation Scheme in creating a culture of excellence and trust in Australian beef production. As the CEO of the Center for Food Integrity, Arnot examined the way the NFAS influenced the world and protected Australia’s social licence – ultimately raising the bar for compliance, animal welfare and compliance among importing countries.
Looking to the future, the rise of AI has been a hot topic at all the ag conferences Sketch Corp has attended this year, and BeefEx was no different, with Arnot flagging the rise of misinformation as a key challenge for the industry – “We’re living in a post-truth world”. With people now trusting influencers as much as they trust scientists, Arnot stated it’s crucial that producers are aware of this trend and can quickly evolve to maintain existing trust and protect their freedom to operate.
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Session – ‘Leading through a crisis”, Richard de Crespigny
After a delicious lunch featuring outstanding Aussie grain-fed beef, delegates flocked to hear former Qantas pilot de Crespigny share how he managed to safely land a damaged A380 plane in Singapore – saving the lives of over 460 people. Drawing upon his crisis training, he emphasised the need for quickly adapting to circumstances and trusting others to also do their job – and “Instead of wondering what’s broken, focus on what’s working”. Stating “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it” (with ‘finding your why’ emerging as something of a theme throughout the day), he drew upon his ‘why’ of always getting his passengers home safely as his motivation to stay calm and land the plane. Once landed he insisted on speaking to all passengers in person and even gave them his phone number – emphasising the importance of communication in a crisis, and that only through honest, consistent and frequent communication can trust be maintained and built in a crisis. His lasting message to the beef industry was to “Be bulletproof not gun shy”, and be comfortable in the uncomfortable.
Session – “Practicality over paperwork”, Alex Thomas
Our time at BeefEx ended with a deeply personal story from Alex Thomas, who has been caring for her farmer father since she was 15. Suffering a series of workplace-induced injuries and illnesses during his time in agriculture, Thomas’ father inspired her to launch ‘Plant a seed for safety’ – an initiative that asks ag business owners and workers to lead by example and inspire better practices in others when it comes to on-site safety. Armed with the knowledge that “Eight times more people are hurt in rural industries than any other industry,” but that for some, “Compliance is a dirty word”, Thomas walked us through the theory that people learn best by following actions, rather than adhering to “paperwork and box-ticking”. Whilst admitting that most of the time things go right, Thomas feels feedlot owners still need to take practical steps towards keeping people safe, and change their language from compliance to care – because as she says, sustainable agriculture needs sustainable people.
And with that, it was our time to leave. We had a wonderful day at BeefEx – it was great to connect with so many passionate people from across the industry, and we feel more inspired than ever to help drive this incredible sector forward. With the increasing impact of AI, ideological decision-making and fluctuating global markets, there’s never been a better time to market Australian beef producers in a way that shows the world what they’re capable of – solving global food shortages and producing the world’s best beef. We can’t wait to spread the word!