The Weekly Grill

S2 Ep 18: New Federal Agriculture Minister, Murray Watt

The Weekly Grill podcast host Kerry Lonergan this week turns up the heat on new Federal Agriculture Minister, Murray Watt.

 

In a wide-ranging discussion, the pair discuss jobs and the industry's underlying labour shortage, biosecurity challenges including FMD and Lumpy Skin Disease, energy prices, livestock export trade and carbon emissions.

Sen Watt was a solicitor before entering the Queensland public service where he worked as chief of staff to Premier Anna Bligh from 2002 to 2007.

He entered federal politics when he was elected to the Senate for Queensland in 2016, having previously served in the Queensland Parliament representing the seat of Everton.

Prior to last month’s Federal election, he served as shadow minister for Northern Australia, Disaster and Emergency Management and Queensland Resources in Opposition.

Senator Watt also participated in Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee inquiries in 2019 and 2020.

S2 Ep 17: Wagyu Association president and Zanda McDonald award winner, Charlie Perry

The Weekly Grill podcast host Kerry Lonergan this week turns up the heat on young NSW Wagyu beef producer, Charlie Perry.

Mr Perry, who lives and works on his family-owned and operated Trent Bridge Wagyu beef property near Guyra, returned to his passion for agriculture after a successful career in business consulting, and hasn’t looked back.

Since taking over management of his family enterprise in 2016, he’s overseen substantial growth in the family business, despite some of the worst years of drought on record, with a focus on productivity gains, genetic indicators and sustainability.

He also serves as the current president of the Australian Wagyu Association, representing Wagyu breeders, lotfeeders and other supply chain stakeholders across the nation.

Now in its eighth year, the Zanda McDonald Award supports talented and passionate young professionals in the ag sector from Australia and New Zealand.

S2 Ep 16: Markets update, with Chris Howie and Matt Dalgleish

Host Kerry Lonergan this week turns up the heat on StockCo's Chris Howie and Thomas Elder Markets' Matt Dalgleish, in our second markets wrap for the year.

The pair explore the current drivers for young cattle, breeding cattle and slaughter cattle prices and where the markets may head in coming months

S2 Ep 15: Cattle baron Peter Hughes

The Weekly Grill host Kerry Lonergan this week talks with northern Australian cattleman Peter Hughes, who has forged a vast grazing empire across Queensland and the Northern Territory over the past 40 years. Last month he was inducted into the Australian Wagyu Association's Hall of Fame

S2 Ep 14: ALFA president Barb Madden

The Weekly Grill host Kerry Lonergan this week talks with Barb Madden from Smithfield Cattle Co, president of the Australian Lot Feeders Association.

In a wide ranging discussion the pair explore current record high feedgrain prices, cost to operate for lotfeeders, challenges and opportunities for grainfed beef in the carbon space and more.

 

S2 Ep 13: Sally Warriner - ”Not just the wife of the general manager”

The Weekly Grill host Kerry Lonergan this week talks with Sally Warriner, who recently published her memoirs, having spent nearly 25 years living in the outback on cattle stations with her former husband, Ken.

Sally left cattle station life when her children were in boarding school. Her sons are spread across the country and most are still involved in agribusiness.

She originally trained as a nurse - a useful skill in the isolated communities she lived in - and has lost track of the number of times she stitched up injuries over the years.

Books: Not Just the Wife of the General Manager: Life in the Outback and a Whole Lot More

A celebration of a woman's life on an outback station writ large.

In a wide ranging discussion, Ian and Kerry explore livestock's opportunities and challenges in an increasingly sustainability-conscious world.

 

 

S2 Ep 12: Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef president, Ian McConnell

The Weekly Grill host Kerry Lonergan this week talks with Ian McConnell, the Australian-born president of the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef.

From a well-known Queensland grazing family, Ian studied animal science at UQ Gatton and then meat science at Colorado State University. He worked as a DPI livestock extension officer for almost a decade, during which time he was named Australian Rural Youth Ambassador and Cattle Council of Australia’s Beef Industry Rising Champion.

In 2012 Ian joined the World Wildlife Fund For Nature Australia to lead the environmental organisation’s engagement with the Australian beef industry, before being promoted to WWF’s global beef industry lead in 2014. Last year Mr McConnell joined Tyson Foods, one of the world’s largest protein companies, as the director of sustainability for Tyson's international business unit.

In a wide ranging discussion, Ian and Kerry explore livestock's opportunities and challenges in an increasingly sustainability-conscious world.

 

 

 

S2 Ep 11: Lumpy Skin Disease and biosecurity issues, with Australia’s chief vet, Dr Mark Schipp

The Weekly Grill host Kerry Lonergan this week talks with Australia's chief veterinary officer Dr Mark Schipp, discussing latest biosecurity issues of relevance to the beef industry - and in in particular, the looming threat of Lumpy Skin Disease.

Now appearing on Australia's doorstep in Indonesia, LSD presents an enormous biosecurity threat to Australian livestock - and not just the beef industry, but potentially sheep and goats as well.

Topics explored in today's podcast include the issue of vaccine development, and whether Australia should simply use currently existing live vaccines from overseas.

S2 Ep 10: Whats in store for rural property market values in 2022?

Rural property: what’s happening, and where are values headed? Weekly Grill host Kerry Lonergan this week talks with Herron Todd White’s Tim Lane, discussing some of the key messages from HTW’s recent annual rural property briefings held in Brisbane and Melbourne.

 

Will land prices and demand come under pressure from rising interest rates? Will the momentum in interest in land for carbon projects continue? Where are the likely hot-spots for rural property investment, heading deeper into 2022? Have we seen the end of the foreign and institutional investment cycle?

 

S2 Ep9: Understanding the increasingly complex carbon market, with Terry McCosker

The Weekly Grill podcast host Kerry Lonergan this week turns up the heat on RCS's Terry McCosker, aiming to better understand the increasingly complex carbon sequestion and trading market.

In a wide-ranging conversation, the pair touch on a range of topics from carbon offsets, likely future price trends in the carbon market, tax implications for carbon projects and what a change of government might mean for the carbon market.