The Weekly Grill

In this week's Weekly Grill podcast, host Kerry Lonergan turns up the heat on Queensland lotfeeder Charlie Mort, principal of Mort & Co.   The pair discuss the changing Australian feedlot environment, plans for the construction of Mort & Co's new Central Queensland feedlot near Gogango, market demand for grainfed beef and other topics.   The Weekly Grill is brought to readers and listeners...

Jack Owen is a Victorian sheep-meat producer who used to spend hours thinking about what his neighbours were doing and how successful they were – until he decided to stop thinking and do something about it – so he interviewed over 200 successful farmers and graziers and made notes on how they operated and why they there successful. The result is his personal improvement book, 'You Are Not Your Far...

In this week’s Weekly Grill podcast, host Kerry Lonergan turns up the heat on Wagyu boss Matt McDonagh, discussing the opportunities and challenges facing the Wagyu industry in Australia, where breeders are placing their genetic selection emphasis, and the impact as greater numbers of Wagyu feeders occupy valuable pen space for long periods in Australian feedlots.  

Victorian veterinarian Dr Craig Wood is the new president of the Australian Cattle Vets, a special interst group of the Australian Veterinarians Association. A cattle specialist at Mortlake Vet Clinic, Dr Wood succeeds Broome WA vet, Dr Tracy Sullivan as ACV president. In a wide ranging discussion, Weekly Grill host Kerry Lonergan chats with Dr Wood about the role vets would play in any exotic dis...

Fifth generation retail butcher Michael James operates a successful retail site at the inner southeastern Brisbane suburb of Carina. He also represents independent retailers on the board of the Australian Meat Industry Council. In this Weekly Grill episode, Michael speaks with host Kerry Lonergan about the current domestic retail beef trading environment, where consumers face considerable cost of...

Today's Weekly Grill podcast continues our occasional markets series, with host Kerry Lonergan talking with regular markets commentators RMA's Chris Howie and Ep3's Matt Dalgleish. The looming impact of the US drought on global beef demand over the next two years out of the US and other countries is one of the key focuses in today's update. Slaughter and store cattle supply and demand heading into...

Carbon, industry advocacy and greater need for education in agriculture came into focus during Weekly Grill podcast host, Kerry’s Lonergan’s lengthy chat this week with large scale Queensland beef producer MDH’s Julie McDonald.   Julie wears many hats within the family-owned MDH cattle business. In addition to providing an update on MDH’s cattle operations spread across 14 properties in North, Cen...

ONE in six people in Australia experience food insecurity and hunger on a weekly basis. Now a unique outback initiative has been launched enabling members of the Australian cattle industry to help their city counterparts and raise much needed funds to support those in need. The inaugural 2025 Great Australian Charity Cattle Drive was officially unveiled by Beef Bank director Bim Struss during the...

The long, hot, wet 2023-24 summer saw a marked rise in Three Day Sickness across Australia, including outbreaks in areas as far south as Victoria where it has never before been seen. In those regions, naive herds never previously exposed to BEF were hard-hit, with stock losses reported. Is climate change and warner temperatures behind it, or is it simply natural variation from season to season?  ...

AS part of Beef Central's coverage of this week's Beef 2024 event in Rockhampton, the industry's national exhibition held every three years, we present our special daily podcast series, Trendsetters. Today's fifth episode features former Australian Agricultural Co boardmember, and former MLA chairman David Crombie, reflecting on 200 years of continuous operations for AA Co. The company celebrated...

AS part of Beef Central's coverage of this week's Beef 2024 event in Rockhampton, the industry's national exhibition held every three years, we present our special daily podcast series, Trendsetters. Today's third episode features Zero Net Emissions from Agriculture CRC chief executive, Richard Heath. The ZNE-Ag CRC was brokered by The University of Queensland and the Queensland Department of Agri...

AS part of Beef Central's coverage of this week's Beef 2024 event in Rockhampton, the industry's national exhibition held every three years, we present our special daily podcast series, Trendsetters. Today's second episode features dynamic young New Zealand livestock producer Nancy Crawshaw, who recently received the 2024 Zanda MacDonald award. As part of her employment with Angus Australia, Nancy...

As part of Beef Central's coverage of this week's Beef 2024 event in Rockhampton, the industry's national exhibition held every three years, we present our special daily podcast series, Trendsetters. Setting the scene in today's first episode is Cattle Australia chairman, Garry Edwards. Speaking as the three-yearly industry event opened this morning, Mr Edwards said Cattle Australia had been worki...

Today’s Weekly Grill podcast turns to the important topic of mental health in the bush, with contributions from Dolly’s Dream general manager Sally McSweeny and neuro science specialist Dr Simone Shaw. Dolly’s Dream was created by NT couple Kate and Tick Everett following the loss of their 14-year-old daughter, Dolly, to suicide, after ongoing bullying. They have been tirelessly working since then...

Driven by favourable weather across eastern Australia, and growing international beef demand, the 2024 cattle market has some strong underpinnings for the 12 months ahead. Today's Weekly Grill podcast continues our occasional markets series, with host Kerry Lonergan talking with regular markets commentators RMA's Chris Howie and Ep3's Matt Dalgleish. The looming impact of the US drought on global...

Weekly Grill podcast host Kerry Lonergan this week turns up the heat on Darwin-based rural property valuer Frank Peacocke, discussing the outlook for land values in the Northern Territory and Kimberley region, alternate landuse with the region's emerging farming sector, carbon opportunities and other issues.

As part of our series relating to AA Co's 200-year anniversary this year, today's Weekly Grill episode sees host Kerry Lonergan chatting with former AA Co senior manager Geoff Wagstaff, who worked with the company for almost 30 years, from 1979.   Here's some of Geoff's recollections of early company operations. Click here to view Beef Centrals' earlier story on AA Co's genetics history   The Week...

On the eve of the annual Inter-Collegiate Meat Judging northern conference in Rockhampton next week, Weekly Grill podcast host Kerry Lonergan chats with ICMJ chairman Peter McGilchrist, on how the education body came into being, what purpose it currently serves for the beef and sheepmeat industry, and who has been part of the program over the years   The Weekly Grill is brought to readers and list...

Former NFF President Brent Finlay came out of the paddock two decades ago to tackle agricultural representation including local, state, commodity, national and World Farm Organisation roles. Passionate about Australia's greatest industry  - agriculture - its people, its communities and its products, he is seeking support from across the sector and the rural community for landmark reforms to Austra...

With the countdown to the Australian beef industry's paramount event, Beef 2024, now down to seven weeks, podcast host Kerry Lonergan this week chats with event chairman Bryce Camm. More than 100,000 Australian and international meat and livestock industry stakeholders are expected to pass through the Rocky Showgrounds for the six-day event. How are preparations going? What's new for 2024? How can...

Weekly Grill podcast host Kerry Lonergan this week chats with John Seccombe, Northern NSW beef producer and chairman of the Northern Co-operative Meat Co processing business at Casino. Operating since 1933, NCMC is recognised in Australia and globally as an industry leader in red meat processing, and along with WAMMCo in Western Australia, is one of only two cooperatively-structed red meat process...

Weekly Grill podcast host Kerry Lonergan this week chats with Michael Lee - Group manager for Science and Innovation at Meat & Livestock Australia.    In this role he provides strategic direction and leadership to MLA’s Science & Innovation team with the scope of work including food safety, processing efficiencies, automation, digital agriculture, objective measurement, food innovation, me...

Weekly Grill host, Kerry Lonergan this week catches up with Cattle Australia chief executive, Dr Chris Parker. Among other topics, the pair discuss the grassfed cattle levy, carbon and methane, biosecurity, skilled labour shortages, sustainability … and more.    

With Wednesday’s Indonesian national election victory being claimed by the Gerindra party’s Prabowo Subianto, attention will now focus on the prospects for 2024 live cattle import permits to be issued, following lengthy delays.   In this week’s Weekly Grill podcast, host Kerry Lonergan talks with Darwin based live exporter Patrick Underwood from Australian Cattle Enterprises, discussing the permit...