Tech Geek, Ag Advocate
Tech Geek, Ag Advocate
Tech Geek, Ag Advocate
NEXT GENERATION:
actually going OK, I can use this other than just on a weekly basis; I can use it everyday. Mr Whitty said his involvement with Australian agriculture came about from a desire to do something different. I wanted to look at what farmers, or what the agricultural sector, was doing on Twitter. And they werent doing much, he said. There was a lot in the US with the AgChat Foundation, which is what AgChatOz is based on, but we didnt have
EN Pearts enthusiasm is infectious. The 19-year-old (pictured) grew up on Bundaleer, a cattle property in the heart of the Arcadia Valley some of Queenslands finest grazing country. Straight after finishing her final chemistry exam, to complete the first year of a four-year Bachelor of Rural Science at the University of New England, Jen jumped straight in the car to be in Roma in time for the start of the 2011 Young Beef Producers Forum. While she is not yet sure in what exact capacity, Jen knows her future lies in the beef industry. The beef industry is my life and I cant imagine that I would want to do anything else, she said. Its my past, my future, my everything. Jens family has just successfully completed a succession plan, and while she would love to return to Bundaleer at some point in the future, that is not the only thing tying her to agriculture.
The industry just has so much potential. As a young person I can come in and do pretty much anything and make a difference, she said. Producing food for an expanding population thats what I want to spend the rest of my life doing. We have just finished succession and it went really well. We have the most wonderful family. My grandparents are living on the place as well, which is wonderful. My grandfather is the biggest source of knowledge and to have him there to mentor us as were growing is really good. Jen finished boarding school at Concordia College in Toowoomba in 2009, and took last year as a gap year to return to Bundaleer before starting university in Armidale this year. Picture: SARAH COULTON.
AMES Kellaway (pictured) reckons the city-country divide is growing and sees this as the greatest barrier to educating an urban market about agriculture. The Australian Egg Corporation Limited (AECL) managing director was one of the keynote speakers at the Young Beef Producers Forum in Roma. After his presentation, Mr Kellaway said the agricultural sector has a really tough gig moving forward. At the end of the day its an urban voting population and I tell you what, the city-country divide, as I see it, is getting wider. Its not getting narrower, he said. So we have a really tough job ahead of us in terms of trying to educate the marketplace. Mr Kellaway said the egg and beef industries appeared behind the game in
using online and social media to their full extent. We care about feeding our growing population, we care about the welfare of our animals, we care about our environment and we care about providing a choice these are critical issues that the beef industry would also have, he said. So if youre trying to communicate that, it aint easy in this world of social and online media. I would suggest the beef industry (and) the egg industry dont have the smarts in this space. They really dont. I think we need to get more on board. Mr Kellaway told delegates of his experience as managing director of AECL, working in brand management, business development and product marketing with a range of other government agencies and agricultural organisations. He detailed the resurgence of the egg category during his time with the AECL and told delegates of the companys
current marketing and promotional strategy. Mr Kellaway said a great success story for the egg industry had been the growth of free range eggs, which had experienced a huge increase in the past decade. He was quick to put that increase into perspective, though, saying it was from a low base and had a relatively small influence in total growth of the egg category. In terms of free range itself, I tell you what, this is a good product to work with, he said. You take the pack away and the eggs look pretty similar. They taste the same, they look the same, same mouth feel, same smell, same functionality. Whats the difference? Well, what weve been able to tap into is what the consumer is prepared to pay for, which is emotion. They really care ... about how those chooks produce.
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24 November 2011 QUEENSLAND COUNTRY LIFE 9