15. Our Tractability System (NLIS)? From birth, all animal movements are recorded on the database NLIS tags Beef producer Saleyard transactions Abattoir Feedlot NLIS Database
I m Alison – many of you I know or have met throughout the day, but this evening I want to give you a snap shot into who I am, my experiences with Youth Group organisations, I will touch on some of the challenges and extreme opportunities I have had through involvement with various groups, and my thoughts on how we can better work together as the now emerging leaders of Rural and Regional Australia and our agricultural industries.This slide really depicts where I am in my life at the moment and my connection to Agriculture – which is where the first opportunities have come about for me.I come from Crookwell which is a small town in the Southern Tablelands of NSW. My family have been farming there for 3 generations, and our business is in cattle, we run both a seed stock production system, where we annually sell 50 bulls, primarily at an on property auction, and in alignment with this we also have a commercial cattle operation. I am still very involved in this family operation.Also though at the beginning of this year I started to work full time in my own business ‘AJM Livestock Solutions’, in this I provide a number of services as well as consultancy and project management experience primarily to producers and stakeholders of the beef cattle industry.I provide industry training, services such as NLIS scanning and freeze branding, as well as technical support in data managment, recording and how to best use this for on farm benefit.
A bit more in the moment of the time is where I am now. RAS of NSW for 3 yearsWe are only a relatively new group and only a small group – members aged between 25 – 35Potential members are identified by the group and invited to joinSome of the barriersTime commitment – we meet 5 times a year and have a great commitment to be at the RESThe RAS of NSW is a very traditional organisation and proving our worth has been a slow process – but we are in now!!Balancing the skills of the groupWorking without a set budget – which was not motivating as we could put lots of work into a concept only to have it knocked back because we were unaware of the funding available – and what the parameters were to get this. Some of the strategies for successWe are aligned with the a council committee (Ag Development)We have a designated RAS Councillor as a Mentor and contact for the Youth Group We work closely in alignment with the RAS mission and objectiveWe have members with a dynamic balance of many skills, and we have a dedicated team who are proud to be a member of the groupI was the Chair of this group for the period following the 2009 show through to the completion of the 2010 show.The role of Chair for me was very rewarding, but challenging at the same time, in this time I learnt:A lot about people and time managementFurther skills in communication and problem solvingAs well as the fundamentals and importance of corporate governance even at the level of a voluntary youth group
Smaller properties, larger variety of cattle breeds, summer and winter rainfall, perform well under commercial conditions, acceptable eating quality Bos Taurus breeds from european origin
