Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast The Weekly Grill

There's a lot happening in the international and domestic environment that's shaping the Australian rural property market heading towards 2025, leading property marketing identity Danny Thomas tells Weekly Grill podcast host Kerry Lonergan in this week's episode.

The Weekly Grill is brought to readers and listeners by Rhinogard by Zoetis.

Young Scotswoman Claire Taylor has risen in prominence as an ag communicator since tackling a Nuffield Scholarship last year, helping turn the tide on the global anti-farming agenda.

Farming is coming under increasing fire on multiple fronts, and the industry has a job to do, to rise above the noise and present a stronger, more united voice against many of the criticisms thrown at its door, she tells Weekly Grill podcast host Kerry Lonergan in this week’s episode.

Throughout her Nuffield scholarship, Claire uncovered brilliant examples where farming has a voice at the decision-making table and strong relations with policymakers, the media, and members of the public. Her objective is to share these stories and encourage farmers to step outside the agricultural echo chamber and better communicate with members of the public, media and politicians, to ensure their voices are not only heard, but valued.

Claire grew up on a small beef farm on the west coast of Scotland, later studying Politics and International Relations at Edinburgh University. She spent ten years working with the BBC and the Scottish Farmer – first as a reporter and later as political editor - covering the ag sector she cares so passionately about.

The Weekly Grill is brought to readers and listeners by Rhinogard by Zoetis.

Recent episodes of animal activists using drones to intrude on feedlot sites has reignited interest in laws and rights over intrusion on private property.

In this week's Weekly Grill podcast with host Kerry Lonergan, Brisbane-based agribusiness lawyer Trent Thorne from Hamilton Locke steps through the laws, regulations and rights surrounding drone use, and how they apply to commercial businesses like feedlots and cattle properties.

Among other topics, the pair also discuss developments in the long-standing live export class action following the suspension of live export cattle trade into Indonesia in 2011, and what it takes to climb Mt Everest.

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Meat & Livestock Australia's new managing director Michael Crowley has well and truly got his feet under the desk since kicking off in his new job in late May.

Many in the industry got their first insight on Mr Crowley's take on the industry service delivery company's future direction in an address to the Queensland Rural Pres Club last month.

One of his key visions is to see Value-Based Marketing embedded within the Australian beef industry, delivering performance-based payments to producers that factor in meat yield, as well as meat quality and carcase traits.

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Rabobank’s general manager for ag research, Stefan Vogel chats with Weekly Grill podcast host Kerry Lonergan on where Australian livestock industries currently sit in a challenging global environment.

Logistical challenges around the Suez Canal, regional conflicts and challenging economic conditions are creating some headwinds for Australia’s ag exports – but there’s still plenty to be optimistic about, he says.

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University of Queensland genetics researcher Prof Ben Hayes

AI has exploded in importance over the past year or two across all areas of business, research and society in general, and the agriculture field is no exception.

What lies ahead for the use of AI in the beef industry? Is it a tool than can further increase the industry's rate of genetic gain, particularly on hard-to-measure traits? Where else can AI fit into the beef production system?

Indonesia’s Prabowo Subianto was elected President with a landslide victory in February. Ahead of his inauguration on 20 October, what the the implications for Australian agricultural trade - and live cattle exports in particular - with our nearest neighbour?

Veteran live exporter Greg Pankhurst, who spent more than 20 years living and working in Indonesia, provides his view in this week’s Weekly Grill podcast episode with host, Kerry Lonergan.

In March this year, Prabowo said he believed that within five years Indonesia would be able to become a net food exporter and gain food independence. How realistic is this target?

Today's Weekly Grill podcast continues our occasional markets series, with host Kerry Lonergan talking with regular markets commentators RMA's Chris Howie and Ep3's Matt Dalgleish.

The looming impact of the US drought on global beef demand over the next two years out of the US and other countries is one of the key focuses in today's update.

Slaughter and store cattle supply and demand heading into spring could produce some  surprises, the pair suggest

The Weekly Grill is brought to readers and listeners by Rhinogard by Zoetis.

Competitive Texas BBQ smoker cooking is a huge activity in the United States, and one of the best in the business - Phil Breeden - is in Australia at present, competing in a local competition, delivering master-classes and checking out the Australian Texas BBQ scene.

Phil has been involved in competitive BBQ events in the US and Canada since 2015, and is now full-time professional competitor, having competed in 167 sanctioned US competitions, earning 16 grand championships and 19 reserves to date. Along with fellow Texan BBQ competitor Bill Purvis, Phil is visiting Australia as a guest of the Australian BBQ Alliance.

He caught up with Weekly Grill podcast host Kerry Lonergan during his visit.

The Weekly Grill is brought to readers and listeners by Rhinogard by Zoetis.

This week's Weekly Grill podcast is a conversation with livestock scientist Fran Cowley from the University of New England, whose current work focusses on managing and mitigating livestock methane emissions.

Associate Professor in livestock production at UNE, her current work includes looking for better ways to predict emissions from feedlot cattle. A lot of this was a future-proofing exercise – providing support to grain feeding being a method of reducing the carbon footprint of beef.

“The feedlot industry is an important way that we can work towards a carbon-neutral food production system,” she said.

“In the future, it’s highly likely that we will see an environment where there will be a price on market access on carbon. Being able to have a more accurate and lower estimate of the emissions and carbon footprint of feedlots is going to ease potential issues accessing markets that require no or low emission product,” she said.

Prof Cowley reinforced the importance of producers continuing to adopt best practices, with research reinforcing the importance of feeding more efficiently and making sure that every mouthful of feed that cattle are consuming is being turned into more beef.

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In this week's Weekly Grill podcast, host Kerry Lonergan turns up the heat on Queensland lotfeeder Charlie Mort, principal of Mort & Co.

The pair discuss the changing Australian feedlot environment, plans for the construction of Mort & Co's new Central Queensland feedlot near Gogango, market demand for grainfed beef and other topics.

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Jack Owen is a Victorian sheep-meat producer who used to spend hours thinking about what his neighbours were doing and how successful they were – until he decided to stop thinking and do something about it – so he interviewed over 200 successful farmers and graziers and made notes on how they operated and why they there successful.

The result is his personal improvement book, 'You Are Not Your Farm - What the top 5pc of farmers are doing that the average farmer is not.'

His work takes a broad sweep of common farming practices – and personal likes and dislikes among the primary producers he spoke to, which contribute to ongoing success.

Much of this is self-evident, but there’s also thought-provoking assessments which will challenge our everyday habits, he tells Weekly Grill podcast host Kerry Lonergan.

His book is available from the Amazon books website.

In this week’s Weekly Grill podcast, host Kerry Lonergan turns up the heat on Wagyu boss Matt McDonagh, discussing the opportunities and challenges facing the Wagyu industry in Australia, where breeders are placing their genetic selection emphasis, and the impact as greater numbers of Wagyu feeders occupy valuable pen space for long periods in Australian feedlots.

Victorian veterinarian Dr Craig Wood is the new president of the Australian Cattle Vets, a special interst group of the Australian Veterinarians Association.

A cattle specialist at Mortlake Vet Clinic, Dr Wood succeeds Broome WA vet, Dr Tracy Sullivan as ACV president.

In a wide ranging discussion, Weekly Grill host Kerry Lonergan chats with Dr Wood about the role vets would play in any exotic disease incursion in Australia, the current level of risk from LSD and FMD from nearby Indonesia, and the challenges in attracting young veterinarians to work in the bush.

The Australian Cattle Vets members provide crucial services to agricultural producers who feed the country, playing key roles in disease surveillance, securing the nation’s quarantine status and protecting ongoing productivity. Members also have a significant responsibility in managing and maintaining animal welfare.

The ACV is one of the AVA's largest special interest groups, with 1100 members across Australia. Members come from private practice, government departments including agriculture and quarantine services, research, and animal health companies. The ACV has representation on Cattle Australia, with which it has associate membership, and works closely with other cattle industry bodies.

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Fifth generation retail butcher Michael James operates a successful retail site at the inner southeastern Brisbane suburb of Carina. He also represents independent retailers on the board of the Australian Meat Industry Council.

In this Weekly Grill episode, Michael speaks with host Kerry Lonergan about the current domestic retail beef trading environment, where consumers face considerable cost of living presses and time constraints.

Are customers shifting out of steak into mince, or out of beef into cheaper chicken and pork? How are modern independent butchers countering the challenge of the dominant national supermarket meat retailers?

The Weekly Grill is brought to readers and listeners by Elders and Rhinogard by Zoetis.

Today's Weekly Grill podcast continues our occasional markets series, with host Kerry Lonergan talking with regular markets commentators RMA's Chris Howie and Ep3's Matt Dalgleish.

The looming impact of the US drought on global beef demand over the next two years out of the US and other countries is one of the key focuses in today's update.

Slaughter and store cattle supply and demand heading into winter could produce some  surprises, the pair suggest

The Weekly Grill is brought to readers and listeners by Elders and Rhinogard by Zoetis.

Carbon, industry advocacy and greater need for education in agriculture came into focus during Weekly Grill podcast host, Kerry’s Lonergan’s lengthy chat this week with large scale Queensland beef producer MDH’s Julie McDonald.

Julie wears many hats within the family-owned MDH cattle business. In addition to providing an update on MDH’s cattle operations spread across 14 properties in North, Central and southern Queensland totalling some 3.4 million hectares, she shares her thoughts on carbon – saying while its represents an opportunity for the industry, there is still a lot of work to be done.

Julie said it was important for the industry to have government understanding of the difference between carbon and methane. Carbon and the associated impositions on the beef industry needed to be carefully thought out, and agriculture needs to be weary that it is not simply burdened by additional costs.

MDH is using AgForce’s carbon assessment tool AgCare, and is very happy with it, she says in this week’s Weekly Grill.

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ONE in six people in Australia experience food insecurity and hunger on a weekly basis.

Now a unique outback initiative has been launched enabling members of the Australian cattle industry to help their city counterparts and raise much needed funds to support those in need.

The inaugural 2025 Great Australian Charity Cattle Drive was officially unveiled by Beef Bank director Bim Struss during the sold-out Rural Press Club of Queensland breakfast during Beef Week in Rockhampton. The drive will see 2000 head of cattle walked by professional drovers and paying supporters on horseback along designated stock routes from Longreach to Roma in May next year.

In this week’s Weekly Grill, Bim chats with host Kerry Lonergan about the exciting project, designed to bring city and country together.

The long, hot, wet 2023-24 summer saw a marked rise in Three Day Sickness across Australia, including outbreaks in areas as far south as Victoria where it has never before been seen. In those regions, naive herds never previously exposed to BEF were hard-hit, with stock losses reported. Is climate change and warner temperatures behind it, or is it simply natural variation from season to season?

Zoetis's senior veterinary technical manager Dr Lee Taylor provides some answers, and suggestions for preventative management in different parts of Australia.

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AS part of Beef Central's coverage of this week's Beef 2024 event in Rockhampton, the industry's national exhibition held every three years, we present our special daily podcast series, Trendsetters.

Today's fifth episode features former Australian Agricultural Co boardmember, and former MLA chairman David Crombie, reflecting on 200 years of continuous operations for AA Co.

The company celebrated its bicentenary with a lively long lunch on Tuesday during Beef 2024, attended by 450 stakeholders, past and present.

This week’s Trendsetters special podcast series is brought to readers and listeners by Colliers Agribusiness.

AS part of Beef Central's coverage of this week's Beef 2024 event in Rockhampton, the industry's national exhibition held every three years, we present our special daily podcast series, Trendsetters.

Today's third episode features Zero Net Emissions from Agriculture CRC chief executive, Richard Heath.

The ZNE-Ag CRC was brokered by The University of Queensland and the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, with a consortium of 73 partners across industry, government and education.

The Australian Government’s CRC contribution of $87 million is the largest in the program’s history.

Mr Heath says ZNE-Ag will support the industry to achieve emissions targets in Australian agriculture by 2030 and 2050.

Coming up in this series: US National Cattlemens Beef Association president Mark Eisele and former MLA chair, NFF president and AACo director David Crombie reflecting on 200 years of AAco.

This week’s Trendsetters special podcast series is brought to readers and listeners by Colliers Agribusiness.

AS part of Beef Central's coverage of this week's Beef 2024 event in Rockhampton, the industry's national exhibition held every three years, we present our special daily podcast series, Trendsetters.

Today's second episode features dynamic young New Zealand livestock producer Nancy Crawshaw, who recently received the 2024 Zanda MacDonald award. As part of her employment with Angus Australia, Nancy crossed the ditch to experience her first Rockhampton Beef Expo.

She previously worked with Teys Australia in a supplier relationship role, working her way through the ranks.

Coming up in this series: US National Cattlemens Beef Association president Mark Eisele; Zero Net Emissions from Agriculture CRC chief executive, Richard Heath.

As part of Beef Central's coverage of this week's Beef 2024 event in Rockhampton, the industry's national exhibition held every three years, we present our special daily podcast series, Trendsetters.

Setting the scene in today's first episode is Cattle Australia chairman, Garry Edwards. Speaking as the three-yearly industry event opened this morning, Mr Edwards said Cattle Australia had been working hard to ensure the interests of grassfed cattle producers were not just represented, but were being advanced.

He also appealed to producers to cast off their humble nature and speak proudly on behalf of the largest levy-paying sector in the Australian economy.

“My words are simple - get comfortable being uncomfortable and having conversations with people you don’t know,” he said.

“Embrace the challenge and get out there and talk to people who don’t look like you, who don’t understand what you do, because they are the consumers of your product and ultimately deliver our social licence. That is critical to the profitability and sustainability of our future."

Garry Edwards will be on the speaking panel during Beef 2024's Queensland Rural Press Club breakfast on Thursday.

This week's Trendsetters special podcast series is brought to readers and listeners by Colliers Agribusiness.

Today’s Weekly Grill podcast turns to the important topic of mental health in the bush, with contributions from Dolly’s Dream general manager Sally McSweeny and neuro science specialist Dr Simone Shaw.

Dolly’s Dream was created by NT couple Kate and Tick Everett following the loss of their 14-year-old daughter, Dolly, to suicide, after ongoing bullying. They have been tirelessly working since then to change the culture of bullying. Today Dolly’s Dream addresses the impact of bullying, anxiety, depression, and youth suicide through direct support to young people and their families, especially to those living in rural, regional and remote Australia.

At Beef 2024 in Rockhampton next month, Do It For Dolly Day will be celebrated in Friday 10 May, dedicated to bringing the community together, spreading kindness, and uniting to end bullying in honour of Dolly Everett.

Here’s how visitors can participate:

Go blue: Wear something blue on Friday 10 May or come down to the McKenzie Pavillion and buy some Dolly’s Dream merchandise.

Be kind: Embrace kindness in all your actions and go that extra mile on the day (or week!) to be kind to someone. One kind word can change someone’s entire day.

Fundraise: Help raise funds to deliver our anti-bullying initiatives. Your efforts will ensure that we can continue to support young people and families experiencing bullying. You can register your activity here.

Donations: You can download a Do It For Dolly Day poster to display at your Beef 2024 site to encourage donations.

There is also a fundraising lunch “Dining for a Dream” planned for  Tuesday 7 May. Click here for further details.

The Weekly Grill is brought to readers and listeners by Elders and Rhinogard by Zoetis.

Driven by favourable weather across eastern Australia, and growing international beef demand, the 2024 cattle market has some strong underpinnings for the 12 months ahead.

Today's Weekly Grill podcast continues our occasional markets series, with host Kerry Lonergan talking with regular markets commentators RMA's Chris Howie and Ep3's Matt Dalgleish.

The looming impact of the US drought on global beef supply and beef demand over the next two years out of the US and other countries is a key focus in today's update.

The Weekly Grill is brought to readers and listeners by Elders and Rhinogard by Zoetis.

Weekly Grill podcast host Kerry Lonergan this week turns up the heat on Darwin-based rural property valuer Frank Peacocke, discussing the outlook for land values in the Northern Territory and Kimberley region, alternate landuse with the region's emerging farming sector, carbon opportunities and other issues.

As part of our series relating to AA Co's 200-year anniversary this year, today's Weekly Grill episode sees host Kerry Lonergan chatting with former AA Co senior manager Geoff Wagstaff, who worked with the company for almost 30 years, from 1979.

Here's some of Geoff's recollections of early company operations.

Click here to view Beef Centrals' earlier story on AA Co's genetics history

The Weekly Grill is brought to readers and listeners by Elders and Rhinogard by Zoetis.

On the eve of the annual Inter-Collegiate Meat Judging northern conference in Rockhampton next week, Weekly Grill podcast host Kerry Lonergan chats with ICMJ chairman Peter McGilchrist, on how the education body came into being, what purpose it currently serves for the beef and sheepmeat industry, and who has been part of the program over the years

The Weekly Grill is brought to readers and listeners by Elders and Rhinogard by Zoetis.

Former NFF President Brent Finlay came out of the paddock two decades ago to tackle agricultural representation including local, state, commodity, national and World Farm Organisation roles.

Passionate about Australia's greatest industry  - agriculture - its people, its communities and its products, he is seeking support from across the sector and the rural community for landmark reforms to Australian agricultural representation.

Relieving unnecessary regulatory burdens is just one of the topics raised during today's discussion with Weekly Grill podcast host, Kerry Lonergan.

With the countdown to the Australian beef industry's paramount event, Beef 2024, now down to seven weeks, podcast host Kerry Lonergan this week chats with event chairman Bryce Camm.

More than 100,000 Australian and international meat and livestock industry stakeholders are expected to pass through the Rocky Showgrounds for the six-day event.

How are preparations going? What's new for 2024? How can patrons extract the maximum benefit from attending? Beef 2024 chairman Bryce Camm has high expectations for the May event, which promises to inform, educate and entertain patrons like never before.

The Weekly Grill is brought to readers and listeners by Elders and Rhinogard by Zoetis.

Weekly Grill podcast host Kerry Lonergan this week chats with John Seccombe, Northern NSW beef producer and chairman of the Northern Co-operative Meat Co processing business at Casino.

Operating since 1933, NCMC is recognised in Australia and globally as an industry leader in red meat processing, and along with WAMMCo in Western Australia, is one of only two cooperatively-structed red meat processors in the country. Through its world-class processing facilities, NCMC provides customers with a unique opportunity to process beef, veal and, pork.

John has chaired the NCMC board for the past 11 years.

The Weekly Grill is brought to readers and listeners by Elders and Rhinogard by Zoetis.

Weekly Grill podcast host Kerry Lonergan this week chats with Michael Lee - Group manager for Science and Innovation at Meat & Livestock Australia.

In this role he provides strategic direction and leadership to MLA’s Science & Innovation team with the scope of work including food safety, processing efficiencies, automation, digital agriculture, objective measurement, food innovation, meeting market specifications, and positioning red meat value chains for future growth - as well as increasing demand for red meat through pioneering products and processes and new tools, techniques and technologies.

Michael comes from a food and packaging technology background with 25 years’ experience across the meat supply chain from retail to operations. Prior to joining MLA he has worked for Woolworths Supermarkets National Office, Hans Smallgoods, and JBS Australia in various commercial and technical roles.

The Weekly Grill is brought to readers and listeners by Elders and Rhinogard by Zoetis.

Weekly Grill host, Kerry Lonergan this week catches up with Cattle Australia chief executive, Dr Chris Parker. Among other topics, the pair discuss the grassfed cattle levy, carbon and methane, biosecurity, skilled labour shortages, sustainability … and more.

With Wednesday’s Indonesian national election victory being claimed by the Gerindra party’s Prabowo Subianto, attention will now focus on the prospects for 2024 live cattle import permits to be issued, following lengthy delays.

In this week’s Weekly Grill podcast, host Kerry Lonergan talks with Darwin based live exporter Patrick Underwood from Australian Cattle Enterprises, discussing the permit issue, prospects for live exports to Indonesia and other markets throughout 2024, and what happens to northern cattle – now rapidly gaining weight - if there are further permit delays.

While unofficial tallies conducted by Indonesian polling agencies yesterday had Subianto holding between 57 percent and 59 percent of votes, it will take Indonesia’s Election Commission up to a month to confirm the final results.

This week’s Weekly Grill podcast guest, Chris Evans, has spent his working life involved in extensive cattle operations across Northern Australia – both as a consultant/advisor and under his own steam.

He was managing director and later chairman of prominent agribusiness consultancy and asset managers Taylor Byrne (later Rural Management Partners) from 1987 to 2015, managing a wide range of pastoral assets across Queensland, the NT and the Kimberley region. For a lengthy period he also played a significant role in Indigenous-owned pastoral operations.

Chris also spent almost a decade as a director of Consolidated Pastoral Co, and under his own ownership, runs Bulloo River Pastoral Co, operating Nyngarie Station near Quilpie.

He sits on the Western Queensland Beef Research Committee, and in 2013, undertook a new business venture, launching online rural merchandise sales platform, FarmShop Australia.

Driven by favourable weather across eastern Australia, the 2024 cattle market has opened with a flourish, as slaughter cattle, young cattle and breeder replacements all trend sharply higher in value.

Today's Weekly Grill podcast hosted by Kerry Lonergan features independent analyst Simon Quilty, discussing the current market environment and what lies ahead. Is the best of the price rally now behind us? Will current cattle prices be sustained? Will processors facing labour challenges be able to cope with greater slaughter cattle volume? What impact will the beef herd decline in the United States have on Australian meat and livestock markets?

These and other questions are explored in this week's episode.

Driven by favourable weather across eastern Australia, the 2024 cattle market has opened with a flourish, as slaughter cattle, young cattle and breeder replacements all trend sharply higher in value.

Today's return of Beef Central's Weekly Grill podcast series begins with host Kerry Lonergan talking with regular markets commentators RMA's Chris Howie and Ep3's Matt Dalgleish discussing the current market environment and what lies ahead. Is the best of the price rally now behind us? Will current prices be sustained? Will processors facing labour challenges be able to cope with greater slaughter cattle volume? These and other questions are explored in this week's episode.

The looming impact of the US drought on global beef supply and beef demand over the next two years out of the US is another key focus in today's update.

These and other topics are posed in today's cattle market update podcast by Weekly Grill host, Kerry Lonergan.

Today's first podcast for the year is out of sync, due to the Friday public holiday, but normal Friday podcast upload schedules will resume from Friday this week, when Kerry Lonergan talks with analyst Simon Quilty.

adoption of of new practises and technologies.

Based out of Mareeba, west of Cairns, the Queensland Department of Agriculture senior beef extension officer received a NABRC Lifetime Achievement Medal during the recent at the Northern Beef Research Update conference in Darwin.

Along with great depth and breadth of knowledge of extensive grazing operations in northern Australia, Bernie brings unbridled passion, energy and an engaging presence in his mission to help producers in his region optimise their operations' efficiency and productivity.

In this week's Weekly Grill podcast discussion with host, Kerry Lonergan, Bernie discusses the evolution of beef extension in northern Australia, and modern day challenges and opportunities to bridge the gap between research and development, and the adoption phase by beef producers, in an era where they have countless other demands on their time.

Mentoring young extension personnel has also been a passion as he enters the twilight of his career.

During their conversation, Kerry asks Bernie a key question: "What changes would you make if you were Queensland Agriculture Minister for a week?"

It’s National Ag Day today, and in response Weekly Gill podcast host Kerry Lonergan chats with freshly-minted National Farmers Federation President, David Jochinke.

The NSW farmer and grazier took over from Fiona Simson in late October, wasting no time in launching an unprecedented campaign against anti-farming policies.

In their final livestock markets wrap for the year, regular markets commentators, RMA’s Chris Howie and Ep3’s Matt Dalgleish face the big questions:

Are we at or near the bottom of the cattle and sheep price cycle? What impact will the forecast drier summer have on supply and demand? What are the main drivers heading into 2024?

These and other topics are posed in today’s cattle market update podcast by Weekly Grill host, Kerry Lonergan.

Where is progress up to in the development of feed additives designed to mitigate the product of methane in the rumen of beef cattle? In this week's podcast, host Kerry Lonergan chews the fat with Dr Adam Main from CH4 Australia, a company producing feed additives based on asparagopsis seaweed, farmed in a network of land-based ponds on the Eyre Peninsula. The products are already in commercial use in South Australia.

Adam also talks about the benefits and applications of farming seaweed for cattle beyond the well-worn carbon/methane debate.

As the Australian red meat industry approaches the twenty-fifth anniversary of the launch of Meat Standards Australia, this week's Weekly Grill podcast episode dives deep into the evolution of the ground-breaking tenderness guarantee program with one of its pioneers, Rod Polkinghorne.

Rod provides a detailed and comprehensive background into what existed prior to MSA, the circumstances that led to the program's development and launch, and the originality of the 'consumer-driven' approach to meat science. Indeed, one of MSA's early signatures was the use of the 'empty chair', signifying that every decision at board level had to pass the 'pub test' with the average beef eating consumer before  implementation.

Nobody has contributed more to MSA's enduring success than Rod, and his partner in countless consumer taste test programs and research trials over the past 30 years, Judy Philpott. 

CAN Australia do more with its red meat production than simply putting it in a box and selling it in chilled or frozen form? Weekly Grill podcast host Kerry Lonergan this week sits down with successful beef jerky manufacturer Emily Pullen, whose family produces the popular Jim's Jerky range in Queensland.

Jim's Jerky ploughs through about four tonnes of grassfed topsides each week producing its tasty beef snacks, marketed through major domestic supermarket retailers, roadhouses and exported into a large number of overseas countries.

Weekly Grill podcast host Kerry Lonergan this week sits down with Cattle Australia's acting chief executive, Queensland beef producer Adam Coffey.

The pair discuss Cattle Australia's bedding-down over its first 12 months, progress on plans to fund the grassfed industry representative body, and CA's recent call to shift the beef industry's environmental benchmark focus from 'carbon neutral' to 'climate neutral' - designed to concentrate on the bottom-line warming impact of the industry. As part of this, it called for a review of MLA’s CN30 (Carbon Neutral) framework.

Cattle Australia is approaching the end of its first full year of operation as Australia’s new peak representative body for the nation’s 40,000-plus grassfed cattle producers, and will soon start calling on producer support in the form of annual membership fees to help resource its advocacy efforts on their behalf.

Weekly Grill podcast host Kerry Lonergan this week sits down with Justin Slaughter, who has risen through the ranks in his 31-year career in the Australian meat and livestock industry.

Justin is CEO and managing director of AgTrade, an Australian-owned, globally-focused livestock, genetics and food security company, with a commitment to working across the livestock supply chain to provide protein to all major markets around the world. The AgTrade group of businesses include live export service provider Austrex; specialised beef supply chain manager and exporter Paradigm Foods, and ThriveAgri. Together, the companies span premium branded beef, pork and lamb products; breeding livestock and genetics; animal feed & nutrition products; and breeding, dairy & beef livestock export.

Justin has previously served in a range of industry representative roles including as chair of the Queensland Livestock Exporters Association and director of the Australian Livestock Exporters Council, as well as participating in various trade & ministerial delegations to improve market access for Australian primary producers. In 2013, he received a Livestock Industry Young Achiever Award for his dedication to the live export industry.

Australian young cattle and slaughter cattle prices have continued to descend during the first eight months of 2023. In this week's podcast, regular markets commentators, RMA's Chris Howie and Ep3's Matt Dalgleish face the big questions:

Are processors going to be able to cope (labour wise) with larger numbers of slaughter cattle? If not, what happens to prices? These and other topics are posed in today's cattle market update podcast by Weekly Grill host, Kerry Lonergan.

Other topics include the rapidly changing circumstances in the US beef production cycle, the impact of this month's UK Free Trade Agreement, the log-jam of young cattle in northern Australia caused by the Lumpy Skin Disease regulatory episode, and other potential headwinds and tailwinds

Thirty-three year old Mitch Highett is a city boy by origin, but has forged an impressive early career in the beef industry. He chats this week with Weekly Grill podcast host Kerry Lonergan.

The Australian winner of the 2023 Zanda McDonald award lives in Orange NSW, and is the founder and managing director of Bullseye Ag. Mitch's farm management company works alongside farms across NSW and QLD with an area totalling more than 200,000ha. He also has a cattle enterprise running 250 breeders, and assists farmers through the Rural Assistance Authority and as Chair of the NSW Young Farmers.