The Weekly Grill

S4 Ep7: Northern Cooperative Meat Co chairman, John Seccombe

Weekly Grill podcast host Kerry Lonergan this week chats with John Seccombe, Northern NSW beef producer and chairman of the Northern Co-operative Meat Co processing business at Casino.

Operating since 1933, NCMC is recognised in Australia and globally as an industry leader in red meat processing, and along with WAMMCo in Western Australia, is one of only two cooperatively-structed red meat processors in the country. Through its world-class processing facilities, NCMC provides customers with a unique opportunity to process beef, veal and, pork.

John has chaired the NCMC board for the past 11 years.

 

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S4 Ep6: MLA Science & Innovation head, Michael Lee

Weekly Grill podcast host Kerry Lonergan this week chats with Michael Lee - Group manager for Science and Innovation at Meat & Livestock Australia.

  

In this role he provides strategic direction and leadership to MLA’s Science & Innovation team with the scope of work including food safety, processing efficiencies, automation, digital agriculture, objective measurement, food innovation, meeting market specifications, and positioning red meat value chains for future growth - as well as increasing demand for red meat through pioneering products and processes and new tools, techniques and technologies.

Michael comes from a food and packaging technology background with 25 years’ experience across the meat supply chain from retail to operations. Prior to joining MLA he has worked for Woolworths Supermarkets National Office, Hans Smallgoods, and JBS Australia in various commercial and technical roles.

 

The Weekly Grill is brought to readers and listeners by Elders and Rhinogard by Zoetis.

S4 Ep5: Cattle Australia chief executive, Chris Parker

Weekly Grill host, Kerry Lonergan this week catches up with Cattle Australia chief executive, Dr Chris Parker. Among other topics, the pair discuss the grassfed cattle levy, carbon and methane, biosecurity, skilled labour shortages, sustainability … and more.

 

 

S4 Ep4: Northern live exporter Patrick Underwood

With Wednesday’s Indonesian national election victory being claimed by the Gerindra party’s Prabowo Subianto, attention will now focus on the prospects for 2024 live cattle import permits to be issued, following lengthy delays.

 

In this week’s Weekly Grill podcast, host Kerry Lonergan talks with Darwin based live exporter Patrick Underwood from Australian Cattle Enterprises, discussing the permit issue, prospects for live exports to Indonesia and other markets throughout 2024, and what happens to northern cattle – now rapidly gaining weight - if there are further permit delays.

While unofficial tallies conducted by Indonesian polling agencies yesterday had Subianto holding between 57 percent and 59 percent of votes, it will take Indonesia’s Election Commission up to a month to confirm the final results.

S4 Ep3: Northern pastoral and agribusiness identity, Chris Evans

This week’s Weekly Grill podcast guest, Chris Evans, has spent his working life involved in extensive cattle operations across Northern Australia – both as a consultant/advisor and under his own steam.

 

He was managing director and later chairman of prominent agribusiness consultancy and asset managers Taylor Byrne (later Rural Management Partners) from 1987 to 2015, managing a wide range of pastoral assets across Queensland, the NT and the Kimberley region. For a lengthy period he also played a significant role in Indigenous-owned pastoral operations.

Chris also spent almost a decade as a director of Consolidated Pastoral Co, and under his own ownership, runs Bulloo River Pastoral Co, operating Nyngarie Station near Quilpie.

He sits on the Western Queensland Beef Research Committee, and in 2013, undertook a new business venture, launching online rural merchandise sales platform, FarmShop Australia.

S4 Ep2: What lies ahead in 2024 for beef, with analyst Simon Quilty

Driven by favourable weather across eastern Australia, the 2024 cattle market has opened with a flourish, as slaughter cattle, young cattle and breeder replacements all trend sharply higher in value.

 

Today's Weekly Grill podcast hosted by Kerry Lonergan features independent analyst Simon Quilty, discussing the current market environment and what lies ahead. Is the best of the price rally now behind us? Will current cattle prices be sustained? Will processors facing labour challenges be able to cope with greater slaughter cattle volume? What impact will the beef herd decline in the United States have on Australian meat and livestock markets?

These and other questions are explored in this week's episode.

S4 Ep1: Cattle market update, with Matt Dalgleish and Chris Howie

Driven by favourable weather across eastern Australia, the 2024 cattle market has opened with a flourish, as slaughter cattle, young cattle and breeder replacements all trend sharply higher in value.

Today's return of Beef Central's Weekly Grill podcast series begins with host Kerry Lonergan talking with regular markets commentators RMA's Chris Howie and Ep3's Matt Dalgleish discussing the current market environment and what lies ahead. Is the best of the price rally now behind us? Will current prices be sustained? Will processors facing labour challenges be able to cope with greater slaughter cattle volume? These and other questions are explored in this week's episode.

The looming impact of the US drought on global beef supply and beef demand over the next two years out of the US is another key focus in today's update.

These and other topics are posed in today's cattle market update podcast by Weekly Grill host, Kerry Lonergan.

Today's first podcast for the year is out of sync, due to the Friday public holiday, but normal Friday podcast upload schedules will resume from Friday this week, when Kerry Lonergan talks with analyst Simon Quilty.

S3 Ep41: Beef extension legend, Bernie English

adoption of of new practises and technologies.

 

Based out of Mareeba, west of Cairns, the Queensland Department of Agriculture senior beef extension officer received a NABRC Lifetime Achievement Medal during the recent at the Northern Beef Research Update conference in Darwin.

Along with great depth and breadth of knowledge of extensive grazing operations in northern Australia, Bernie brings unbridled passion, energy and an engaging presence in his mission to help producers in his region optimise their operations' efficiency and productivity.

In this week's Weekly Grill podcast discussion with host, Kerry Lonergan, Bernie discusses the evolution of beef extension in northern Australia, and modern day challenges and opportunities to bridge the gap between research and development, and the adoption phase by beef producers, in an era where they have countless other demands on their time.

Mentoring young extension personnel has also been a passion as he enters the twilight of his career.

During their conversation, Kerry asks Bernie a key question: "What changes would you make if you were Queensland Agriculture Minister for a week?"

S3 Ep40: On National Ag Day, the Weekly Grill chats with new NFF president David Jochinke

It’s National Ag Day today, and in response Weekly Gill podcast host Kerry Lonergan chats with freshly-minted National Farmers Federation President, David Jochinke.

The NSW farmer and grazier took over from Fiona Simson in late October, wasting no time in launching an unprecedented campaign against anti-farming policies.

S3 Ep39: Cattle market update, with Chris Howie & Matt Dalgleish

In their final livestock markets wrap for the year, regular markets commentators, RMA’s Chris Howie and Ep3’s Matt Dalgleish face the big questions:

Are we at or near the bottom of the cattle and sheep price cycle? What impact will the forecast drier summer have on supply and demand? What are the main drivers heading into 2024?

These and other topics are posed in today’s cattle market update podcast by Weekly Grill host, Kerry Lonergan.