Summary of the episode:

In this episode of The Angus Table, host Scott Wright sits down with Tim Brittain from New Zealand for a wide-ranging conversation about global Angus leadership, brand building, and consumer focus.

Tim shares his remarkable journey from growing up in Auckland with no farming background to establishing Storth Oaks Angus, serving as Secretary General of the World Angus Secretariat for eight years, founding and chairing Angus Pure (New Zealand's first large-scale Angus beef brand), instigating Angus Pro and navigating the transition to Angus Australia registration, and becoming Reserve Grand Champion in BBQ competition.

They discuss why Angus is a brand that must be protected, the importance of never losing sight of the consumer, managing the World Angus Secretariat through COVID, and Sir Keith Holyoake's wisdom: "Live as though you'll die tomorrow, but farm as though you'll live forever."

So pull up a chair at the Angus Table for insights from one of the breed's most accomplished international leaders.

Key topics covered:

1. How Tim's journey began from Auckland city to agricultural university
2. The evolution of Storth Oaks Angus from 37 stud cows at a 1991 sale to the seed stock operation they run today
3. Why Tim's breeding philosophy emphasises maternal attributes, performance recording, genomics, and carcass quality
4. Tim’s agripolitical career progression from the deer industry to New Zealand Meat Board and ultimately Angus leadership
5. About the World Angus Secretariat and Tim’s experience serving as Secretary General
6. Tim’s role in building the Angus brand, including the origins of Angus Pure, New Zealand's first large-scale Angus beef brand
7. How the McDonald's Angus program created a paradigm shift in consumer awareness
8. The impact of Angus Pure, such as tangible premium for producers and catalyst for major meat companies
9. How Angus Pro formed and why the group chose to register with Angus Australia
10. The challenges facing the World Angus Secretariat with rapid European expansion
11. Why measuring business outcomes at events like Beef Australia matters for the industry
12. The importance of protecting Angus as a brand, not just a breed
13. How Tim became Reserve Grand Champion BBQ competitor with Storth Oaks Smokers
14. The power of customer focus in agriculture and why Tim believes more farmers need to remember this
15. What Sir Keith Holyoake taught about sustainability: "Farm as though you'll live forever"

Pull quotes:

"We are looking for strong maternal attributes, we have always put a lot of emphasis on performance… And to put a lot of emphasis on carcass quality because at the end of the day, without the consumer, there's no industry. That's a real driver for...

In this episode of The Angus Table, host Scott Wright sits down with Simon Irwin, CEO of Beef Australia, for a fascinating conversation about running the Southern Hemisphere's premier agricultural event.

Simon shares his remarkable journey from stock agent trainee through 30 years with News Corp managing regional publications across Australia, to becoming CEO of an event that attracts 120,000 people from 34 countries and delivers $110 million economic impact to Central Queensland.

They discuss the Beef 1988 bicentennial origins, the critical three-year interval that keeps content fresh, why Beef Australia measures economic impact but not business done (changing for Beef 2027), the human X-factor in an AI world, and why reading both The Guardian and News Corp keeps algorithms from pigeonholing perspectives.

So pull up a chair at the Angus Table for an inside look at what it takes to run Australia's most significant beef industry gathering.

Key topics covered:

1. How Simon's diverse career path—from stock agent to News Corp executive—prepared him for leading Beef Australia
2. Why the three-year event interval is critical to Beef Australia's ongoing success and relevance
3. The evolution from grassroots committee to professional corporate governance structure
4. How Beef Australia has achieved national and international reach with representation from 34 countries
5. The accommodation challenge limiting international growth and creative solutions being explored
6. Why Beef Australia positions itself "of the industry, not in the industry"
7. The economic impact of $110 million to Central Queensland and why measuring business done matters for 2027
8. The importance of preserving institutional knowledge by maintaining core staff between events
9. How hard lessons learned (like the portable toilet disaster!) improve future event delivery
10. Why managing pressure requires perspective and understanding what truly matters
11. The human X-factor in an AI-dominated world, the ethics of AI development and concerns about stolen intellectual property in machine learning
12. How reading across the political spectrum prevents algorithmic echo chambers and maintains balance
13. The power of listening twice as much as you talk to understand diverse businesses and perspectives
14. What's changing for Beef 2027: new tech precinct, nose-to-tail focus, and making meat the hero
15. Why Angus as both a breed and a brand has been "really spectacular" in Simon's view
16. The results of 30 years of work in breed plan, MSA, and industry standards on beef pricing and quality

Pull quotes:

"Beef 88 was so successful they did it again in '91, then '94, and it's just kept going…if something's on...

In this episode of The Angus Table, host Scott Wright sits down with Marg Will, founder of OSS Advisory, for a wide-ranging conversation about organic certification, sustainability, and fighting for fair farmer pricing.

Marg shares her remarkable journey from literally falling out of an avocado tree into organic certification 25 years ago, witnessing factory pollution destroy her family farm and Lake Cowan's ecosystem as a teenager, and building OSS Advisory into a business that has transitioned over 15 million hectares globally to organic production.

They discuss the consistent 35% premium organic beef producers achieve, how Central Australian producers added $7 million in the first three years of an MLA project, speaking at the UN meat standardisation committee, and the critical difference between organic as "price maker not price taker,".

Marg and Scott discuss truth in labeling and consumer rights, the backlash against ultra-processed foods, and why the beef sector needs to understand they're part of the food industry with responsibility beyond the saleyard gate.

So pull up a chair at the Angus Table for a thought-provoking conversation about values, markets, and the future of sustainable beef production.

Contact details:

OSS Advisory (formerly Organic Systems): https://oss-advisory.com/

This podcast is proudly brought to you by Angus Australia https://www.angusaustralia.com.au/

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CREDITS:

Host: Scott Wright, CEO. Get in touch via email ceo@angusaustralia.com.au

Producer: Mel Strasburg mel.strasburg@angusaustralia.com.au

Audio editing and post-production: Ellen Ronalds Keene at https://perkdigital.com.au