The Weekly Grill

S1 E27: Red meat industry identity, Richard Rains

In this week's week's episode of The Weekly Grill podcast series, host Kerry Lonergan turns up the heat on veteran red meat industry identity Richard Rains.

Prior to his retirement Richard was the head of Sanger Australia, one of the nation's largest non-packer exporters.

He is widely credited for convincing global burger giant McDonald's US to shift its grinding beef policy from domestic only, to also including imported product from Australia. McDonald's global has since become Australia's single largest beef customer.

A passionate crusader for the red meat industry, Richard has strong views on wide ranging topics including fake meat, the greater need for branding to lift Australian beef out of the commodity space, and how the industry should respond to attacks from animal activists and environmentalists over its sustainability performance.

S1 E26: The future of carbon trading, with Toby Grogan

In this week's week's episode of The Weekly Grill podcast series, host Kerry Lonergan turns up the heat on carbon trading expert, Toby Grogan, from Impact Agriculture.

Carbon credits and carbon trading are arguably some of the most complicated and misunderstood topics in the beef industry today. What are they? How do they work? What's in it for producers?

Currently there are about 150 properties in Australia involved in regulated soil carbon projects, and perhaps a couple of hundred more involved in vegetation management carbon projects, Mr Grogan estimates.

The pair explore issues such as what the carbon trading rules say around a property selling credits, and then seeking to claim carbon abatement as part of beef brand claims.

S1 E25: RMAC chairman John McKillop

In this week's week's episode of The Weekly Grill podcast series, host Kerry Lonergan turns up the heat on Red Meat Advisory Council chair, John McKillop. The pair tackle sustainability, fake meat, red meat's carbon footprint, the red meat industry's ability to cut-through in Canberra, the evolving scope of RMAC, and other related issues.

 

S1 E24: Gary Noller and Rob Sinnamon

How does the future look for stud cattle shows in Australia?

While the 2021 Royal Queensland Show has unfortunately been cancelled due to COVID, this week's episode of The Weekly Grill podcast series sees host Kerry Lonergan turn up the heat on RNA councillor and Beef Cattle Committee chairman Gary Noller, and Northern NSW stud cattle breeder and exhibitor Rob Sinnamon.

Both have had a life-long connection with stud cattle exhibitions across Queensland and NSW, and suggest that the competitive showing of stud cattle remains as popular as ever, despite rising costs and other challenges. The pair also discuss the growing importance of the RNA's Paddock to Palate Performance Classes, which have risen in prominence over the past ten years - providing a great opportunity for cattlemen to benchmark their herd's performance against some of the best in the land.

S1 E23: Veteran meatworks cattle buyer, David Ronalds

In this week's episode of The Weekly Grill podcast series, host Kerry Lonergan turns up the heat again on veteran Victorian meatworks cattle buyer, David Ronalds, who this year clocks up his fifth-eighth year buying cattle across eastern and central Australia. How has the industry changed? What was cattle buying like back in 1964, when he first started? Did he ever foresee slaughter cattle making the money they are today?

Tune-in to hear David's account of how cattle buyers used 'dead reckoning' on cattle weights, and other challenges facing buyers from days gone by.

 

 

S1 E22: Chris Howie and Matt Dalgleish - EYCI at 1000c/kg - Have we hit the top of the cattle market?

In this week's episode of The Weekly Grill podcast series, host Kerry Lonergan turns up the heat again on StockCo's Chris Howie and Thomas Elder Markets' Matt Dalgleish, as the Eastern Young Cattle Indicator this morning crashes through the magical 1000c/kg barrier for the first time in history.

Have we yet seen the peak in young cattle prices? Both Matt and Chris are forecasting a softening trend between now and mid-September, but market fundamentals among restockers, lotfeeders and processors jostling for scarce young cattle remain buoyant, to say the least.

S1 E21: Beef processor, ACC’s David Foote

In this week's episode of The Weekly Grill podcast series, host Kerry Lonergan turns up the heat on Queensland beef processor and supply chain manager, Australian Country Choice's David Foote.

Mr Foote is currently in gradual transition out of his full-time role as ACC's group managing director, which he has filled for the past 22 years, handing over the reins recently to Anthony Lee.

Over the years Mr Foote has become well-known for expressing strong, well-argued opinions about red meat industry matters - ranging from labour reform to industry representation, the industry's response to recent challenges over its environmental footprint and animal welfare and a host of other topics - many of which are touched-on in this podcast.

 

S1 E20: Beef advocate and orthopaedic surgeon, Gary Fettke

In this week's episode of The Weekly Grill podcast series, host Kerry Lonergan turns up the heat on orthopaedic surgeon, Gary Fettke, who this year has emerged as a powerful advocate for a diet containing adequate amounts of red meat.

The sense that red meat industry is under attack from powerful and aligned forces, and urgently needs to better align its own resources and “get off the back foot”, has been a central and recurring theme across the meat industry this year.

An independent medical practitioner with no commercial ties to, or any financial interest in, the red meat industry, Dr Fettke explains that over the past 30 years he started seeing more and more complications arising from diabetes and lifestyle disease, that led to him having to perform amputations  which he believed should have been avoidable.

The further he delved into the science, he said it became clear that diets high in sugar and refined carbohydrates were the underlying cause - diets that effectively reflect the recommendations of Australia’s (and most other developed countries’) official dietary guidelines.

He spent several years exploring the evolution of plant-based vegetarian guidelines, and has uncovered the extent to which powerful processed food corporations and anti-meat religious groups have influenced global dietary guidelines and policies universally in place today, which effectively demonise red meat while promoting increasing consumption of grain, sugar and carbohydrates.

 

S1 E19: Low and Slow Barbecue King, Grant Coleman

In this week's episode of The Weekly Grill podcast series, host Kerry Lonergan turns up the heat again on low-and-slow BBQ competition king, Grant Coleman.

In his day-job, Grant is general manager at NH Foods' Oakey Beef Exports plant on the Darling Downs, but come the weekend, he is one of Australia's best known BBQ smoker competitors.

Three years ago he was runner-up in the World BBQ championships in the United States, and regularly travels for weekend competitions anywhere from from Townsville to Port Macquarie.

Is the low and slow BBQ movement just a fad, or is it here to stay? Hear what Grant has to say...

 

S1 E18: Chris Howie and Matt Dalgleish - Have we hit the top of the cattle market?

In this week's episode of The Weekly Grill podcast series, host Kerry Lonergan turns up the heat again on StockCo's Chris Howie and Thomas Elder Markets' Matt Dalgleish, on whether the industry has yet seen the peak in young cattle prices.

Both believe an Eastern Young Cattle Indicator above 900c/kg is going to be around for at least the next three months, and that market fundamentals among restockers, lotfeeders and processors jostling for scarce young cattle remain buoyant, to say the least.