JBS Australia hosts Great Southern Producer event at Melbourne

Farmers travelled from across southern Australia to attend the 2023 Great Southern Producer events on Friday, which had interactive workshops and industry insights at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre.

JBS Australia chief operating officer Sam McConnell opened the events and spoke about the importance of farmers as part of the supply chain, and the company's workforce.

"At JBS Australia we have 15,000 employees across our whole business and it's not easy to do that daily and run what we run," he said.

"It's great to see the effort that goes into producing the quality livestock that you do.

"Most industry paths have 50-60 per cent turnover but we're at 20pc, and that tells a lot about people and culture."

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The events featured industry updates and workshops, including an Under the Hide session that demonstrated MSA Grading and a live boning of beef and lamb, lamb and beef carcase seminars with chefs, challenges and opportunities in operations, MSA benchmarking and industry insights, and more.

The main industry challenges included closures during the pandemic, housing availability for employees and hiring labour.

Guest speaker Sean Naden, JBS Brooklyn, said the company found opportunity in being able to hire overseas workers.

"We didn't have that labour option pre-COVID, it was something the government did during COVID and today, without that option we would've been on our knees," he said.

"Out of the workforce of 240 people we have there now, 140 of them are Pacific labour."

The workshop included a Preparing for the Future seminar with the JBS global chief sustainability officer Jason Weller, who focused on sustainable and profitable livestock production.

He said a rising population meant there would be growing demand for fossil fuels and animal protein consumption.

"One of the big drivers is the growing concerns about climate, but beyond climate what's happening in our supply chain and what's driving this in the food system?" Mr Weller said.

He said it was important to prioritise soil health by minimising disturbance, maximising cover, integrating livestock, maximising living roots and increasing diversity.

"Sustainability at its core is this concept of conservation," he said.

"Conservation at its root means together we are safeguarding, we are protecting and maintaining."

Mr Weller said regenerative agriculture meant to leave farms and the environment better than it was to pass it on to future generations.

"Agriculture is about better futures," he said.