Barbara Madden, from Queensland's family-owned Smithfield Cattle Company, has taken over the reins as president of the feedlot industry's peak representative group.
Mrs Madden was elected at the Australian Lot Feeders' Association annual general meeting today, following Bryce Camm's decision to retire after completing his three-year term.
Amanda Moohen was elected treasurer, and Grant Garey and Paul Vogt re-elected as vice presidents.
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Four new individual representatives were also elected to the council: Queenslanders David Bailey representing Australian Country Choice feedlots and Lauren McNally from Stockyard Lot Feeders, Lucy Morris from Lake Preston Feedlot in Western Australia and Andrew Talbot from Killara Feedlot in NSW.
Mrs Madden thanked retiring councillors Tony Batterham and Trevor Hinck for their contribution to the industry.
"The election of four new councillors will positively help us continue to represent the interests of members and innovate and improve the association to help members drive further growth and development in the Australian lot feeding sector," she said.
The AGM was held virtually, wrapping up ALFA's annual conference, SmartBeef Bites and awards night, which were also run online this year.
Mr Camm's president report listed key achievements for the sector and a sustained strong 12-month period, despite the challenging operating environment.
These achievements included announcing major policies such as the ALFA Shade Initiative that encourages all feedlots to make a pledge to provide cattle under their care with access to shade by 2026 and stepping up commitments to antimicrobial stewardship from January 2022.
ALFA, in collaboration with MLA, also launched grainfedbeef.com.au at Beef Australia 2021 to showcase the attributes of the grain-fed beef production system and enable the feedlot industry to better tell its story on how it nourishes cattle, land and communities.
And a new online training, education and careers hub, Feedlot TECH, was launched to showcase feedlot industry careers and provide feedlot operators and individuals better access to training, professional development and career path opportunities.