Praise for resilient producers

I thought about the many things I could write about - hot topics such as biosecurity, mandatory electronic identification (EID) for sheep and goats, the proposed indigenous voice to parliament, the bullying that is rife in agricultural representative bodies, international trade, the general rubbish state of the services and infrastructure in regional areas or the effects of flooding on many rural communities - and I thought to myself "nah that's boring - not to mention incredibly depressing".

So, I decided to sit at my computer and tap away and see what randomly comes out.

Which means that when my editor sends me an email to check if I'm on-track and ready to submit something by the due date and I cheerily reply "no worries", it really means that she should be full of worries because I literally have no idea what's going to come out and I haven't even started writing yet.

Which is OK because, like most farmers, I operate best under pressure.

But, seriously, I think that all producers should step back, look at the year that was and give themselves an enormous pat on the back for not only surviving, but thriving in one of the most extreme years we have ever encountered.

Many producers were ripped out of drought and plunged - pardon the pun - directly into massive flooding.

The resilience and fortitude of these farmers made me proud to be in the same industry as them.

And while some struggled to find the higher, dryer ground, many of us are still looking to the skies wondering when our turn will come.

But that's Australia for you - a massive country that can have the very best and the very worst of climatic conditions, often on the same day.

For me, the biggest and best achievement of 2022 was the grassfed cattle industry coming together and deciding that it wanted more from its peak industry body and making the positive changes to see that happen.

We were told that it couldn't happen, that it would never work and that the state farming organisations would never support it.

Well guess what? They were wrong and I was right.

Those who recognised that change could only mean good things for their members stepped up and supported Cattle Council of Australia in doing the right thing.

I will forever be proud of transforming an outdated, cumbersome structure into a modern, agile and truly representative industry body.

And when the Cattle Australia board was elected - so talented, so passionate, so high quality - I swooned, I tell you.

I almost died with the sheer joy of seeing my industry deliver such a great cohort of leaders.

So, that's it everybody.

I've selfishly used this column as an opportunity to write a personal message of thanks to everyone who takes the time to read what I write.

I pride myself on being a communicator, a networker and a person who shares and cares.

I'm OK if you don't agree with me.

But what I do care about are the conversations I start, the thoughts that are shared and, hopefully, the understanding that is gained on both sides of the fence.

I'm incredibly lucky to have been given a platform to do that and forever grateful to the readers who choose to pick up a paper, or log on to the app and see what I have to say.

I hope that you've enjoyed my thoughts as much as I have enjoyed sharing them with you.

Here's to a safe, happy and profitable New Year.

May your seasons be good and your prices remain high - unless it's inputs of course, let's keep them low to ensure good gross margins.