Hugh Dawson, Beetaloo Station; Greg Pankhurst, QLEA president, Brisbane and Ollie Thorne, Austrex, Brisbane.
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THE young achievers of the northern cattle industry and the leadership roles many are now already stepping into have been in the spotlight in the opening events of the 2022 Northern Territory Cattlemens’ Association conference this week in Darwin.
Last night more than 200 northern cattle industry participants young and not so young let their hair down and dug deep into their pockets at the Young Livestock Exporters Network ‘Crocs and Frocks’ fundraiser at Darwin’s Crocosaurus Cove.
Cage of death
Helping to contribute to highly successful charity auction which raised over $20,000 was Austrex CEO Tom Slaughter and director Jake Morse, who selflessly took a plunge in the “cage of death” with a saltwater crocodile as part of the fund-raising efforts.
NTCA CEO and Tipperary Station general manager David Connolly paid tribute to the enormous role young staff play in the northern cattle industry, and pointed to the life lessons they were also learning along the way.
“I say to my young staff, you’re learning these life lessons and you’re getting paid to do it,” he told the large crowd last night.
“Some of us are old enough to remember ag colleges, we used to have to pay to go those ag colleges to learn those life lessons.”
Future Leaders
At another event this morning the newest intake of the Georgina Pastoral Company NTCA Future Leaders program was welcomed at a formal breakfast at Darwin’s Adina Vibe hotel.
The program was established in 2014 in recognition of the need to foster and develop leadership skills within the NT pastoral industry.
Over the next 12 months the participants who come from a diverse range of cattle stations and businesses across northern Australia will get take part in several professional development programs and opportunities.
As a sign of how popular and successful the Future Leaders program has become, this year’s cohort is the largest yet.
“In order for our industry to maintain its vibrancy, its strength, its position in community, it is really crucial that we invest in these future leaders,” NTCA executive officer Romy Carey said.
Turning fun careers to full time
Natalie Gibson from Georgina’s Lake Nash Station said the company, a major sponsor of the Future Leaders program, sees the initiative as an important way to help encourage young, enthusiastic and capable staff to consider the industry as genuine option for their long-term careers.
She noted that as technology increases in the industry, from fleet tracking and remote water monitoring to DNA testing and drones, the list of job and career pathways available in the northern cattle industry only continues to grow.
Natalie Gibson
Convincing young people that the industry was more than a fun place to spend a few years was the major challenge.
“As an industry we can build careers for all skill sets and personalities,” she said.
“We employ a lot of gap year types that initially don’t consider us or our industry a viable long term career option.
“We are the fun before their real life starts.
“We have managed to bend a few but for the majority that is how we are seen.
“How do we keep the staff that would go on to study ag, science, engineering? What do we offer our young leadership staff, our head stock people, our operations managers? We need to offer them a path and a purpose.
“We need to get them inspired by the industry as a whole. We know we have the lifestyle to offer, and we have viable long-term careers.
“Now we need to involve our young people by promoting and progressing our industry through programs such as NTCA future leaders that support and retain the next lot.”
Scroll through the pictures below to see some of the faces at the Crocs and Frocks Fundraiser and the NTCA Future Leaders breakfast:
NTCA CEO Will Evans, YLEN president Kari Moffat, Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud and NTCA president David Connolly.
Trent Thorne, Hamilton Locke and Nationals Senator for Qld Susan McDonald.
Peter Daniel, Grant Daniel Long, and Mitch Braithwaite from South East Asian Livestock Services (SEALS).
Trent Thorne, Hamilton Locke; Angus Street, AuctionsPlus and John McKillop, Kidman and Co and Red Meat Advisory Council.
Roseworth Ag College alumni enjoying a catch up in Darwin were Jed Matz, CEO of the Northern WA and Northern Territory Drought Resilience Innovation Hub, and Will McEwin from Frontier Ag.
Marc Gallagher, Yarraman Territory, Darwin and Jessica Dipasquale, ENJAY aerial and contract mustering services, Katherine.
Tammy Kruckow, Tammy Kruckow Coaching, Babinda, Qld and Anthony Cox, AAM Investments, Legune Station.
Aaron Wakeley, AA Co; Alastair James, RMAC and John Cunnington, Halleen Australasian Livestock Traders. the Livestock Collective and chair of WA Livestock Exporters Association.
Federal agriculture minister David Littleproud speaking at the YLEN Crocs and Frocks fund raiser.
Tim Sweet, AgTrade, Brisbane and Dave Cameron, Toowoomba.
Austrex’s Tom Slaughter and Jake Morse brave Darwin’s ‘cage of death’.
GDL’s Peter Daniel keeps bids flowing tt the charity auction.
2021 NTCA Future Leaders program graduate Mitch Taylor from Red Range Stock Supplements, Kunnunarra, WA and Luke Bowen, deputy CEO of the NT Department of Industry Tourism and Trade. Agriculture, Fisheries and Biosecurity.
Henry Ponder, Newcastle Waters; Cameron Latter, Bonalbo Station; Billy Dakin, Brunette Downs and James Gourley, NTCA.
Ali Quintana, Newcastle Waters with Georgina Pastoral Company’s Natalie Gibson, Amanda Arnold and Therasa Cobb.
Cattle Council of Australia CEO John McGoverne (left) and president Markus Rathsmann (right) with Phil Hausler, senior executive director, agriculture division, NT Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade.
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