Even though it was a 1700km round trip to attend the 2011 YBPF it was definitely worth the drive!
The theme of this years event was Your Brand. Your Story. Your Industry. One of the highlight speakers was Lachlan Hughes from Dulacca, QLD. Lachlan & his wife Anna have established their own branded beef product called Rangeland Quality Meats. They are both very passionate about animals and the environment and use their beef as a way to advocate for the industry and demonstrate the quality products that Australia can produce. Rangeland Quality Meats demonstrated the integrity and quality of their product by suppling scotch fillets steaks for the Gala Dinner and they were fantastic!Another interesting speaker was Dennis Hoiberg from Lessons Learn Consulting. Dennis spoke about the challenges and opportunities in the agricultural sector. He also spoke about how the nature of the agricultural industry force those working in it to be independent and not admit their weaknesses and the impact this has on mental health and quality of life.
We also heard from James Kellaway, Managing Director of the Aust. Egg Corporation Ltd, who spoke about the parallels between egg & beef production and how both industries can learn from each other.
Barbara Bishop involved delegates in a thought provoking workshop on leadership and how to tap into you individual talents.
Tim Driver, CEO of Precision Pastoral also exposed delegates to some of innovative tools that are being developed to improve and assist with beef business operations, including remote livestock management.
Tom Whitty, co-founder of AgChatOz, also spoke to us about using social media to raise the awareness about rural Australia and rural issues.
Throughout the forum we also learnt about the carbon policy and Carbon Farming Initiative and did a property tour of ‘Echo Hills’ were we got to see firsthand how CSG has impacted on their operation.
Once again the forum was also a great networking opportunity and we got to meet many young beef producers from across Australia.
The 2011 YBPF was hosted by FNN, visit the website for more details.