Cattle Australia announces next generation of beef industry leaders

Emerging leaders from across Australia's cattle industry have been selected to shape the sector's future through Cattle Australia's prestigious development program.

Left to Right: Lewis Crothers, Mia Doering, Larry Farquhar, Tyla Comerford, Liam Mowbray, Teegan Lawrence, Ben Reardon

The next generation of leaders within the cattle industry have been revealed as part of the Young Beef Leaders program.

Cattle Australia chief executive Will Evans said as a policy organisation they wanted to educate promising individuals on policy, government and taxation.

“We want to familiarise them with it as early as possible so that when they do get to the point of stepping onto a board or a committee in the future they’re already good to go,” Mr Evans said.

Alumni of the 2024 program, Hannah Gibbs, said the program took them through everything needed to navigate all levels of leadership from boards to government.

“There’s a lot of leadership programs out there, whereas I think what Cattle Australia were trying to do is really dive down into the nitty-gritty,” Ms Gibbs said.

Another alumni, Eliza Grey, said the program was a great launch pad to expand their network and figure out the strengths and weaknesses as a leader.

“It also really helps young people find their voice and understand how you can advocate for producers in the regions,” Ms Grey said.

Meet the next generation of young beef leaders of 2025.

LARRY FARQUHAR

Fifth-generation producer on a property northeast of Rolleston in Central Queensland, Larry Farquhar currently serves as the Central Zone director for the Droughtmaster Stud Breeders Society as well as a member on the board.

Mr Farquhar said the future of the industry looks very bright due to the hard work done behind the scenes.

“It’s really important that the next generation don’t sit idle, we look for other opportunities and we build on the hard work that’s been done for us,” he said.

LIAM MOWBRAY

First generation breeder, Liam Mowbray, is a research and development specialist at Angus Australia.

Mr Mowbray’s expertise has helped shape the direction of genetic research and development across the beef industry.

Thinking about the future of the industry, Mr Mowbray said he was incredibly optimistic about the future of the industry and interested in how the industry would tackle certain challenges.

“There are some challenges that need to be looked at broadly speaking, things like biosecurity risks to the nation as a large export country and the sustainability of the industry,” Mr Mowbray said.

TYLA COMERFORD

Tyla Comerford is a central sales representative based at StockLive, an online selling platform.

Ms Comerford’s background is in the seedstock sector, beef export trade, pastoral operations and the broader beef supply chain.

Growing up on a mixed farming enterprise in Dubbo, NSW, her endeavour to learn as much as she could about the beef industry saw her travelling to the Pilbara, New Zealand and America.

Ms Comerford said the beef industry was the only industry she could see herself in and it was an excellent pathway for anyone wanting to join.

“The cattle industry is so broad and diverse, there’s so many avenues you can go down,” Ms Comerford said.

MIA DOERING

Mia Doering is the safety and wellness business partner at Consolidated Pastoral Company.

Born within a generational farming enterprise, Ms Doering grew up in Tansey, Queensland.

She completed her degree in Agribusiness and Sustainable Agriculture remotely while working on cattle stations in the Kimberley.

Ms Doering said the future was really exciting, being in the unknown space.

“That’s why it’s so important to involve young people in the conversation and be able to adapt to current issues i.e. the political landscape, climate issues and building a stronger safer workforce in our industry,” Ms Doering said.

LEWIS CROTHERS

Lewis Crothers is a cattle producer located in the New England region of northern NSW.

Mr Crothers went into the industry later in life after joining the Australian Army straight out of school and served for 15 years.

Mr Crothers said his experience in defence really helped with communicating policy knowledge and experience down to producers down on the farms.

“Communicating is really important and I suppose leadership is also just as important, you’re always going to need advocates in our industry,” Mr Crothers said.

Mr Crothers said economic, environmental and social sustainability are a major focus for the future.

BEN REARDON

Ben Reardon is currently serving as assistant manager for Hewitt Foods

After spending ten years in the northern beef industry at the Narwietooma aggregation in Alice Springs, Mr Reardon just recently moved to Central Queensland.

Mr Reardon said he had definitely seen the AG industry evolve over the 10 years he has been involved.

“We’re getting more and more school leavers which is presenting a management challenge for the northern beef industry as far as we’re losing a lot of experience at the top end,” Mr Reardon said.

“I think that’s why we’ve seen such a lift in those graduate programs.”

Originally published as Cattle Australia announces next generation of beef industry leaders