What does chicken do for you?

There's something I love about agriculture. Obviously. But often I have trouble describing it. I was once asked to give a presentation on 'What makes me tick?'. I like giving presentations. Those that know me, will understand me when I say that I can and will talk. But this one had me stumped. How do I expand 'well, agriculture, of course' and put it into a 15 minute presentation? Well I managed to put pen to paper and thought of all the times that something excited me about the industry and made me buzz. It was almost strange...I mean there's the obvious things, the lifestyle, the fresh air, the satisfaction and rewards from raising animals, but as I learnt, it's the small things that really make me tick. Here's one of them.

Today, I attended my beef systems class at KSU where we had a guest speaker, Hal Sankey, Vice President of Cargill Meat Solutions Beef Corporation. Mr Sankey gave us an insight into the company background as well as his own- he sat in the same seats as what my classmates and I were sitting in today. He went on to talk about how his parents were cattle producers and how they operated as a business. Then, we looked at the next stage of the production line and we did some calculations and went through some figures to find out just how limited the boundaries can be for cattle buyers buying cattle for slaughter. Based on some current figures, we found the importance of the carcass by-products, namely hides, to the packing plants.

Mr Hal Sankey, Vice President of Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation came to KSU to talk about beef pricing in our Beef Systems class. 

I guess what really made me excited was seeing the challenge that Mr Sankey has when buying cattle and selling beef. There is a fine line between making a profit or running at a loss. There was some great discussion about supply and demand as well as the option for packers to sell by-products. There were examples where packers could be breaking even on the beef but making dollars on the sales of by-products such as hides. Today, the value of hides have increased as countries become more affluent and purchase luxury items, such as cars with leather seats. We learnt that this has mainly been driven by China. Here's something though that I had never given a thought and I am pleased that I have learnt this: For every animal slaughtered, they can vary in size, weight, retail yield etc when talking about pounds of beef, but for every animal slaughtered, there is only one hide. Yes, the size and quality can vary, however, if there are 200,000 animals killed for example, there is going to be 200,000 hides. So this influences the supply and demand for these hides and hence the value that they are worth. Lower supply or higher demand for these hides, then make the beef processing all the more worth the while. Then think about how that can influence the price of cattle at the sale yards. Quite interesting really.

Anyway, so after some more discussion about these by-products, we moved on to the topic of other proteins. An interesting, but very thought provoking question was raised: What does chicken do for your family? At first I couldn't think of anything too much (other than the obvious that it provides nutrients for our bodies). Does poultry, for example, provide you with leather car seats and shoes for your children? It was this that really hit home to me for some reason. Suddenly I became excited and pleased that I am in the beef industry. It really is something to think about. Perhaps you'll think about it the next time you are dining out!

For me, this discussion really made me tick and made me think 'Yes. I am so proud to be in the beef industry and involved in agriculture.' Feel free to share what it is about agriculture, especially the beef industry, that makes you tick!!

NCBA Convention: The #followmetotennessee experience

Last week was by far my favourite since being here in the States. Last Monday, a crew of 35 K-State Collegiate Cattlemen and Cattlewomen boarded a bus, bound for the 12 hour drive to Nashville, Tennessee. There we attended the National Cattlemen's Beef Association Convention and Trade show, which was held from February 4th - 7th. The event attracted almost 8000 people, with 300 exhibitors in the trade show, that stretched across 5.7 acres. The convention included committee meetings, general information sessions as well as interactive question and answer sessions. Some of the events that I attended included:

• CattleFax 2014 U.S. global protein & grain outlook seminar
• General sessions
• Outlook session on the the architecture of consumer demand
• Collegiate leadership round table
• NCBA Young Producers Council meeting

In addition to this, there were plenty of opportunities to network and socialise, particularly with the Cowboys Night at the Opry, which featured Little Big Town, Diamond Rio, Sarah Darling and more.

The General sessions were among my favourite. These sessions included speakers Captain Richard Phillips and Archie Manning, who provided great inspiration as they talked about leadership and how they came to be leaders themselves. Captain Phillips' story was incredible - he was captain of the Maersk Alabama off the coast of Somalia, when he was attacked by pirates and stuck in a lifeboat with them for days. Not only was his story courageous, but his message to us was that you just never know how strong you are until you are put into a position that presents risk and challenge. This had a strong connection as it is linked to not only farming families but challenges that the agricultural industry my face as a whole. From a different field again, Archie Manning, spoke about the leadership lessons that he had learned as 'a player, a businessman, and a father'. Archie is a 14-year veteran quarterback and has two Superbowl champion quarterback sons. This presentation was very personal and inspiring. Archie told us about his life and how he had to just step up and be a leader.

Captain Richard Philips sent a very strong message about the unknown strength within when in a leadership role. 

On the topic of leadership, the Peterson Farm Bros, famous for their farming parodies our proudly from Kansas State and were there to perform some of their songs for us. We were shown that this is an example of just how people of my generation are able to take a new direction in agricultural leadership. It really was fantastic to see that there was such great recognition given to those three young men. They have had millions of hits on YouTube for their parodies. Here is a link to Chore (Roar Parody), one of their parodies that they performed for us at the General Session: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toyN81wZzLw

The Peterson Farm Bros did a great job entertaining the audience as well as demonstrated the fantastic job they are doing as young leaders in the agricultural industry. 

The CattleFax Outlook was very interesting. There were many keynote speakers who gave presentations on outlooks for the economy, weather, protein and grain for 2014 for the U.S. and their competitors. Some of the key notes that I took away from this was for the year 2014:

• strong inflation of beef in China as both a luxury and key item
• Australia's export of ground beef to China to keep tightening America's supply to China
• reduced domestic beef production
• 78 million more global consumers
• the Chinese 'middle' class of 300 million will increase to 640 million in the next 6 years
• the US and South America should be set for a reasonably good year weather wise, while unfortunately El Nino will continue to influence the Australian weather pattern

The Collegiate Leadership Round Table was a great event to attend. It included leaders such as John Stika, President of Certified Angus Beef, Forrest Roberts, CEO of NCBA, Craig Huffines, Executive Vice President of the Hereford Association and Dr. Molly McAdams, a guest speaker at NCBA who has had more than 20 years experience in research, brand marketing and product development. This was an interactive session that enabled us to answer questions about strategies that we can use to be good leaders and also have open discussion about leadership experiences.

University students deep in discussion at the round table with Dr. Molly McAdams. 

The Young Producers Council meeting featured guest speaker Luke Snyder, who spoke about his life and career as a professional bull rider and how he worked to win the 2001 PBR Rookie of the Year and then the Last Cowboy Standing title in 2011. There was a lot of focus on his key drivers for motivation, as well as keeping a balance to his personal life and career as a bull rider. He also spoke about how important role models were when he started and how important they are now that he has finished bull riding.

Professional bull rider, Luke Snyder presenting at the Young Producers Council meeting. 

The trade show covered every aspect of the beef industry one could possibly think of. One of the many booths that I stopped to visit was the Certified Angus Beef booth, where there were demonstrations on breaking up beef carcasses. In addition to this, there were Certified Angus Beef appetizers around the whole trade show for everyone to sample. I was able to meet John Stika, the President of Certified Angus Beef and some of the people that work there.

Breaking up beef carcasses attracted many visitors to stop by and ask questions about different beef cuts. 

As you can see, it was a great week in Nashville and I must thank the Collegiate Cattlewomen from Kansas State University for hosting me on the trip. These women all have an interest in agriculture and in particular the welfare of the beef industry. They work together as a group to 'agvocate' through promotion of beef products throughout the state.

The Kansas State Collegiate Cattlewomen stop to get a photo with the Peterson Farm Bros, from Kansas also.
Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Forsyth.

The American life!

My second week here at Kansas State University has been a blast. This week I certainly got a taste of the American life. However, there was a hint of 'Aussie' in there.  The Australian Intercollegiate Meat Judging team arrived in Manhattan, Kansas for dinner and training with the American Intercollegiate Meat Judging team. I was lucky enough to join them and it was so good to meet new people interested in the meat industry as well as hear some familiar Aussie accents!!

Two of the members from the Australian Intercollegiate Meat Judging team, Laura Kemmis (Charles Sturt University) and Fred Broughton (University of New England) and myself dining at a Mexican restaurant in Manhattan with the American Intercollegiate Meat Judging team. 

Tuesday night, I attended a mens basketball game- Kansas State University vs. Texas Tech University. I was absolutely blown away at the support the fellow students had for their team and watched the K-State team win that night! The lengths that they went to included a band, cheerleaders, commercials, contests and chants...the atmosphere was incredible!

Getting ready to watch the basketball game, K-State vs. Texas Tech.

This week the stand out of my classes was in livestock sales management. We had a guest speaker, Mr Kent Jaecke, who graduated from K-State University with an animal science degree. He took the same class as I am taking now and told us how he got to be where he is with his business today. His business, Focus Marketing Group, works 100 sales annually and markets purebred, commercial and show cattle. He told us how he has had to move with the times and diverge from traditional sales by public auction and turn to the internet. He has found a great market for selling cattle online and offers a service to cover all marketing associated with a sale. Although he quoted Mr. Stanley Stout, 'that there was no better way to tell the true value of an animal than by putting it up for public auction', he has found now that with the shift in producers reducing their cattle numbers in align with an ageing farming community, that holding a public auction is not viable for some producers. So, in turning to the internet, he has found that producers can market and sell their cattle online without the cost of holding a public auction. Mr Jaecke, will be back at K-State university next week to demonstrate the services of Focus Marketing Group, when the K-State cattle will be prepared for the catalogue for their annual bull and female sale in March.

Kent Jaecke, Focus Marketing Group, giving the livestock sales management class an inspiring presentation about his career in the livestock industry. 

Next week I am heading off to Nashville, Tennessee with the Collegiate Cattlemen and Cattlewomen from Kansas State University to attend the National Cattlemen's Beef Association Convention and Trade show. This event is the oldest and largest convention for the cattle business so I am very excited to be attending.

Week one of America!!

For those of you who may follow my blog site, you will have noticed that I started blogging not all that long ago, as part of a scholarship selection for the Semex Genetics Angus Youth Kansas State University Scholarship. Late last year, I found out that I was the successful recipient and I was absolutely over the moon! So I spent the last couple of months preparing for my once in a lifetime opportunity. As part of my acceptance of the scholarship, I will be writing a weekly blog for those who may be interested in following me as I learn about and tour the American beef industry.

So, it is with pleasure that I write my first blog about my first week in America!

Just a week ago I boarded to leave for the United States of America. My first day was spent at the National Western Livestock Show in Denver, Colorado. I instantly noticed the huge scale of this show in comparison to our large agricultural shows in Australia. It certainly was an eye-opener! I stopped by and watched the angus cattle judging section, as well as went and saw the amount of preparation and fitting that these animals are given. Another interesting thing that I noticed was the length of their coats, they looked like teddy bears compared to the coats of our Australian cattle!

Day 2 was a 7 hour drive from Denver to Manhattan, Kansas State. The country was extremely flat with wind turbines which were a regular sight to see!!

Kansas State University is where I will be learning about the American beef industry for the semester!

 Below is a picture of the abattoir that is at the university. It is designed for lamb, beef and pork and students can put the skills they have learnt, in to practice. There is also a feedlot, feed-mill, dairy, seed stock operation, commercial beef operation, rodeo arena and so so much more!! Last Thursday I met up with Peter Parnell, Chief Executive Officer at Angus Australia and we toured some of these facilities. I also had the chance to meet Dr. Larry Corah from Certified Angus Beef- over some American Angus steak of course!!

 

This semester at Kansas State University, I am taking classes in beef science, ruminant nutrition, grazing livestock nutrition, cow calf health systems, beef systems management and livestock sales management. Livestock sales management involves the planning, promotion and production of a stud sale, while beef systems involves producing a business plan for a cow-calf operation as well as visiting different enterprises around the state that are involved with the beef industry. So far these units prove to be very interesting!!

My Royal Showgirl Experience

Attending the Sydney Royal Easter Show as a State Finalist in The Land Sydney Royal Showgirl Competition would have to be one of the best and most memorable times of my life. I always had always aspired to be a part of the Royal Show as a showgirl and in 2010 I did just that. The year prior to that, I won the local showgirl competition at the Kempsey Show. The following year, in my first year at university I was a Zone Showgirl finalist at Gloucester. I was very excited as I prepared for the State Finals at the Sydney Royal Show.

The competition involved many aspects, including public speaking skills, personality and rural knowledge-anywhere from a local to a national and international level, after all, the aim of the competition being to find a rural female ambassador for NSW. There were many functions that we attended where we were able to meet many distinguished people who were involved in agriculture or involved with the Sydney Royal Show.

Overall, I had some fantastic experiences. However, one of the highlights for me was visiting the Westmead Children's Hospital to deliver showbags to the many children that weren't able to make it the Easter Show. This is where a fellow showgirl and myself were about to be shown how precious life and good health really was. We were in the oncology ward and were handing out showbags left right and centre, putting smiles on the children's dials. It was upon meeting a young boy, no more than three years old I'd say, that we felt so moved. We had a selection of showbags for the little boy to choose from who was suffering Leukaemia at the time. He got so excited he grabbed the Ben10 showbag off us and begged his mother to put his new Ben10 watch on his little wrist. His mum did so and then proceeded to ask him what the time was. "37.8" he said. For a moment there I was stunned wondering how this young child knew about decimals. It wasn't until a little while later that his mother explained to us that he has his temperature taken everyday and watches the nurse look at her watch and read out his temperature. This made me feel saddened that this disease was part of this little boy's life but in other respects made me so happy that I was able to bring a small bit of excitement to some very ill children. I think the showgirl visit to the hospital is very symbolic of the compassion and selflessness that is displayed by everyday people in rural Australia in times when support is needed.

There was so much fun had in the week that I spent with my fellow showgirl finalists at the show. We went to The Land at Camden and saw how the newspaper is produced. We also learnt about the history of agriculture in Camden as well as visited the Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute which was very interesting. There were many functions at the show that allowed us the opportunity to meet some very well respected people.

The showgirls had the opportunity to go behind the scenes of the district exhibits. The work that goes into these exhibits is incredible!

I would strongly recommend this competition for young women that are passionate about agriculture. It really motivates you and inspires you to work hard to better the industry of which there are so many people that are so proud of it! I know I had the best experience and I want more young women to be able to share the same experience that I had.

Meat Science: looking at marbling in hot-boned beef carcasses.

For the past 12 months as part of my final year of rural science I have been working on an honours project in meat science. Since I have been wrapping it up in the last little while I thought I would share it with you!

At the moment there is industry interest in determining the financial benefits of hot meat processing (hot-boning) as opposed to the more conventional methods used in Australia (cold-boning).

Hot-boning is gaining interest because of potential environmental and economical benefits. Hot-boning involves the removal of meat (muscles) from the carcass prior to chilling. The advantages in this is that the only parts of the carcass that are chilled are those that are edible. This reduces the space needed for chilling and means that the space can be used more efficiently. This then has flow on effects for the reduction of energy consumption and associated costs. There is also less weight loss with hot-boning as meat is packaged before chilling as opposed to cold-boning where carcasses are subject to evaporative losses through chilling.

Currently, cold-boning plants utilise trained meat graders to visually assess marbling (intramuscular fat), which is a standard practice. This is a problem in a hot-boning scenario because the fat is not in its solid state and cannot be seen with the naked eye as easily. So.... there has been investigation in my experiment into the use of CT scanning to assess marbling. This idea raised the questions though, can the CT scanner accurately detect the marbling in the meat at different temperatures and is there a solid relationship between MSA Grading (visual assessment), chemical fat analysis and CT analysis?

Whilst the visual grading method is used for chilled carcasses, it is a subjective measurement. This experiment looks at using technology such as CT analysis as an objective measurement of marbling in a hot processing plant situation.

Whilst the results are at a preliminary stage, I am very excited that I will have contributed to an industry project!

In a nutshell, these photos explain what my project was all about. Check them out!

Many hours were spent in the chiller doing temperature trials- best place to be in summer!

Ever had a CT scan? This is the same scanner used for humans!

Certified Australian Angus Beef was used in my experiment!  All I wanted to do was eat it!

This is just one of the thousands of scans that were analysed. You can even see the marbling (dark grey streaking) right away!

What happened to waste not want not?

Food security is on the agenda in agriculture not just in Australia, but around the world. When I started researching this topic, it was interesting to read some of the articles that were looking at the flip side of food production - food wastage!

When you think of food wastage, what do you think of? I know myself, the first thing I think of was when I was a kid, piling up the dessert bowl on Christmas Day after a big lunch, only to realise part-way into the Pavlova that there was no way I could possibly fit it all in. My eyes were far too big for my belly and of course, coming from a family of farmers, I was not to waste a mouthful!

I stumbled across a study in the UK in 2010 that looked at the many aspects of food wastage. Instead of just over indulgence, there were many relevant factors that contributed to wastage. Here are some that I thought were concerning to say the least:

• 49% of respondents didn't understand the meaning of 'best before date' of which 36% of these people were confusing 'best before date' with 'use by date'.
• 75% of respondents were wasting food because of poor home economics skills, that is poor shop planning and recombining leftovers into new meals.
• 60% of respondents found their food was going 'off' - due to not knowing to maintain correct fridge temperature.

These findings raise some very important questions. If we look at food wastage do we start to look at labelling associated wastage in order to slow down the occurrence of a potential food crisis? If so how do we get that message across to our consumers? It certainly makes you start to wonder if we should be addressing inefficient food usage as well as efficient food production?

Rural Science...So you're a vet?

Each year there are hundreds of students that graduate with an agricultural degree. This year, there are as few as 15 rural science students that will graduate from my university.

Some may ask why?
The degree is challenging. I'll be the first to admit it. Sure, it requires some level of intellectual ability, as do all degrees. However, I believe that it is the level passion and dedication to the degree that is what drives students to continue the course.

There are countless occasions that I have been asked whether or not I am going to be a vet. The simple answer is no. However, I do make sure that I take the time to explain to people what rural science is all about - whether they have a background in agriculture or not. I think this is really important. Not only to inform people that may be interested in studying the degree but also so that consumers know that there are qualified people in the agricultural industry that are helping the nation produce food and fibre for them day in and day out.

What is rural science all about?
To put it simply, rural science is a very broad agricultural degree. As the title suggests, it is science based and so there are many scientific principles that are learnt as well as how these can be applied to a farming system as a whole.

There has been many hours spent in laboratories learning about biochemical and physiological processes of animals as well as phenology of plants and crops. We have been on many field trips across the region and have been exposed to many different farming operations in areas such as:

• Horticulture (Fruit & Vegetable Production)
• Viticulture (Wine Production)
• Cropping - Grains & Fibre Production
• Pasture Production
• Beef & Lamb Production
• Wool Production
• Sugar Production
• Intensive animal systems such as Poultry and Beef Production

Below is just a snapshot of some of the things we have learnt about or been involved in:

What keeps these cattle happy? We have learnt about pasture production and utilisation in the New England.

This little chicken was part of an animal nutrition trial looking at different diets for broilers.

There is a fascinating world that exists underneath the surface of the soil.

Do you take sugar with your coffee? This is just one of the interesting industries that we learn about!

We learn about farming systems as a whole. Starting from the soil, to the plants, to the animal production systems, through to meat processing or crop harvesting and finally, the economics of the whole system. I think the key to all of this is being able to solve problems that exist on-farm. Unlike other industries, our clients/patients (i.e. animals and plants) cannot communicate with us, so we need to be able to use our problem solving skills to find the solutions to problems.

What can you do with a rural science degree?

As graduates, there are opportunities to pursuit careers in plant and animal production such as agronomy, animal and plant genetics, beef and lamb production, wool production, animal nutrition, intensive animal production such as poultry and pork and finally research in all of these areas....the list goes on and on! I think that the most exciting thing of all is that there could be jobs in this industry that do not even exist yet!!

Agriculture - a world of opportunity!

Agriculture is an industry that I have always been passionate about and certainly proud to be a part of. In the four years I have had studying a Bachelor of Rural Science at university, I have certainly come across many opportunities that are not only available to students, but to people looking for a career in agriculture as well as people who are already working in the industry. I anticipate these opportunities to become greater as Australian agriculture expands in years to come.

I am at a very exciting time in my life, where I will soon be wrapping up my studies here at the University of New England and I will be facing agriculture head on -with the industry being my chosen career path. I believe that those in my generation who are starting out a career in agriculture are entering the industry at a very exciting time!

My focus within the agricultural industry is centred around beef production and the beef meat industry. My enthusiasm for the industry has stemmed from my family, who are beef producers and butchers on the Mid North Coast of NSW. I have been exposed to agriculture from a very young age and fortunately I have found an industry that I am very passionate about.

Never too early to learn to ride a horse. Right?

There are many opportunities within agriculture for those that are thinking of considering entering the industry as a career path. I myself have taken opportunities to further my career prospects and have found that agriculture can take people many, many places!

One of the places agriculture took me was to the Sydney Royal Easter Show as a State Finalist in The Land Sydney Royal Showgirl Competition in 2010. Watch this space for future blogs about this great experience!

About to ride around the Main Arena in style at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, 2010.

Recently, I applied for the Angus Youth Kansas State University Scholarship. When I saw this advertised, I immediately thought of the wonderful opportunities that there are in agriculture and that this would be a fantastic scholarship to further my knowledge of a major beef player in the world.

Fortunately, I have been selected as one of the top three finalists! The scholarship offers a fantastic opportunity for a beef cattle enthusiast to study for a semester at Kansas State University. To me, it would mean being able to learn first-hand about the American beef industry and of course, beef production on a mass scale. I also see it as a great opportunity to network and build relationships with people involved in the beef industry in the United States.

As part of the selection process I am commencing a blog that will give readers an insight into the mind of a university student that is very excited about entering a career in agriculture. I hope to share this passion by being an advocate for agriculture and sharing with you what it really is about agriculture that makes me tick!

Keep an eye out for my blog as I will be sharing some great ag experiences that I have had thus far, as well as exciting articles or facts that make me all warm and fuzzy about the agricultural industry!