Gen Angus Future Leaders Program

Chris Metcalfe, 2021 program recipient recounts his experience of the Future Leaders Program 2021

Lex Gandy, program recipient gives her account of the Future Leaders Program 2022

For me, the best thing about being involved in the beef industry is the people within it. I’m fortunate to frequently interact with West Australian industry leaders who are always eager to pass on their knowledge and experiences.

Last year I was given the opportunity to branch out and be a part of the GenAngus Future Leaders Program. This Angus Australia run program provides a great opportunity for youth within the beef industry to learn from nationally recognised industry leaders as well as build a network of like minded young Ag professionals from all around Australia.

My experience within the 2021 program was disrupted due to Covid and as a result our program became three days of online sessions via zoom in early November. We heard from an amazing line-up of speakers who provided skills and guidance across all aspects of Ag including financial lessons, marketing tips and tools to future proof our industry. My personal highlights were hearing from Angus Street, CEO of AuctionsPlus, Simon Quilty from Global Agritrends and Peter Clark from 21 Whispers who specialises in mindset and behavioural methodologies.

With the borders re-opening in 2022 a face-to-face component for our cohort was able to take place earlier this month in Adelaide. A silver lining to the Covid affected program was that Angus Australia were able to include three cohorts from 2020, 2021 and 2022 in an event focused on team-building, networking and leadership. This event was a great opportunity for me to make some great new contacts within the Angus world including fellow Angus breeders, AI technicians, veterinarians, and genetics suppliers.

I would encourage anyone interested in gaining personal and leadership skills within the beef industry to apply for the 2023 program.

At the beginning of June, I had the pleasure of attending GenAngus Future Leaders Program in Adelaide. The 2022 course brought together 10 Australians and 3 New Zealanders aged between 18 -40 involved in different areas of the Angus industry. It was presented by Angus Australia with specialist farm insurer Achmea Insurance and the program focussed on providing knowledge and confidence to launch a new or existing beef enterprise. With Amelia Nolan of the Livestock Collective, who do excellent work in promoting farming industries to consumers, as our facilitator the program was able to deliver this beyond expectations.

On the first day our group was brought together with the 2020 and 2021 GenAngus cohorts as their course had to be delivered online over the last 2 years. It was a great bonus to be able to meet all of them.

Lex Gandy, Gen Angus Future Leaders Program continued from page 17 The first day was all about getting to know everyone, pushing ourselves outside of our comfort zones and working individually and in groups. I really enjoyed the day and found myself doing activities I would normally just watch my kids do! The first day finished with a cocktail dinner and featured excellent addresses from former Angus Australia President Libby Creek and other industry leaders. The next day the 2022 cohort began our 2.5 days of intensive session covering a range of topics to help us improve our businesses. Each session was presented by an expert in their field and provided us with excellent, easy to implement information. It was a great combination of personal development, business skills, and farming knowledge and improvement that was incredibly useful and I am already able to implement. Each evening we were able to continue our conversations with our group at dinner and were fortunate to be joined by a number of the presenters from the day who shared further with us. Jake Phillips, Breed Development officer at Angus Australia, did an amazing job of coordinating the program and each session built off the last and worked so well together. We ended the course with receiving our DISC profiles back which taught us about ourselves, how we work and how others like to work. It was fascinating and made so many things learnt along the way take on more meaning. I could not recommend applying more highly. The connections made were invaluable and I returned home with more energy and focus looking forward to all of the opportunities we have in this industry.

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