Six young beef industry representatives from across Australia will travel to Longreach next week to compete for the national title of 2012 NAB Agribusiness Rising Beef Industry Champion award.

Each finalist will be asked to make a presentation on an opportunity or a challenge facing the Australian beef industry at the Cattle Council of Australia's meeting in Longreach next Tuesday.

The Rising Champion state finalist demonstrating greatest leadership potential, as judged by Cattle Council Executive and NAB Agribusiness, will be announced at the ‘Beef Industry Champions Gala Dinner’ to be held at the ‘Stockman’s Hall of Fame’, Longreach, on Tuesday night.

The winner will represent young Australian beef producers at the International Livestock Congress and the Western Stock Show and will tour cattle facilities in Denver, Colorado, USA in January 2012.

This year’s state finalists, who are in the running to win the trip to USA, include Trent Anderson from Victoria, Lauchie Cole from Tasmania, Clinton Gartrell from Western Australia, Marc Greening from New South Wales, Ian McConnel from Queensland and Jake Phillips from South Australia.

This opportunity for has been made possible by Cattle Council Rising Beef Industry Champions Initiative, a program established to inspire, empower and support rising leaders in the Australian beef industry. The Rising Champion state finalists from both this year and last year will participate in a week of activities in Longreach aimed at building their leadership potential.

“This is the second year of running this initiative and we have made the program bigger and better this year to include a property tour between Emerald and Longreach, as well as providing the finalists with specialised training in public speaking and an opportunity to participate in a tailored leadership workshop,” Cattle Council of Australia president Greg Brown said.

An objective of the program is for the Rising Champion finalists from each year to form a Rising Champion Network. A Rising Champion Roundtable will be held in Longreach next Wednesday, where young leaders will set the strategic direction for the Network into the future.

“The success of this Initiative both this year and last year, has given the Cattle Council great optimism about the future leaders that we have in our industry. Our job now is to retain interest and help them develop the skills and political know-how to influence policy and stand up for their rights as beef producers to assure a profitable future for the next generation,” Mr Brown said.

To view pictures and bios of each finalist click here