Cattle Australia is governed by a seven-person Board of Directors, consisting of seven democratically elected Directors. The seven democratically elected Directors of the Cattle Australia Board were elected in December 2022.
The RCC delivers a direct line of communication with producers. It is comprised of 15 directly elected Cattle Australia members from the identified 15 Sub-Regions, plus eight State Farming Organisation (SFO) representatives, and a Chair. You can find out more about the RCC here.
Garry was born and raised on a commercial beef cattle property south of Gloucester in New South Wales. Garry has personal cattle production interests in this region today as well as his corporate role as the Managing Director and CEO of AAM, a business that has a significant focus in continuing to expand beyond our cattle production interests in Central West NSW, near Forbes and Bective Station near Tamworth, NSW.
Garry has over 25 years’ experience in large scale livestock production management within the Australian agribusiness sector. His experience spans across a vast array of areas of the agricultural supply chain and includes managing businesses involved in livestock breeding, growing and finishing, financing of agricultural projects, implementation of precision agriculture practices, investigation and implementation of sustainability and innovation initiatives and developing and operating integrated agricultural businesses.
In 2007, Garry founded the company that today is AAM, commencing the development, operation and management of a portfolio of agricultural assets valued at $887 million and he remains the major shareholder of AAM.
Garry has a unique skill set across multiple facets of the grass-fed cattle production supply chain, from production through to finishing, as well as a unique perspective of the challenges facing all grass-fed producers within Australia through his involvement in the modernisation and development of livestock marketing facilities throughout Victoria, NSW and Queensland.
Adam and his wife Jacynta own and operate a 2500ha beef cattle enterprise in central Queensland, with their two boys Will and Sam.
Adam grew up in Tasmania and has lived and worked in most states and territories in Australia, experiencing livestock positions throughout New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania and southern WA. Following this, Adam spent some ten years in the Northern Territory and Kimberley regions working on and ultimately managing extensive beef cattle operations in the live export sector.
Adam completed an Advanced Dip. Farm Business Management at Marcus Oldham College in 2005 and became a Nuffield Scholar in 2016, studying intensification and diversification of extensive Australian beef cattle operations. Following the completion of his scholarship, Adam served as Nuffield Queensland State Treasurer for two years.
Adam has had the honour of being both a mentee and mentor in the Graham Acton Beef Australia development program where he developed a passion for helping young people achieve in our industry.
Adam’s governance and directorship training include the completion of courses with both AICD and Directors Australia.
Adam has been keenly involved in industry representation as a former member of Cattle Council of Australia Research, Development and Adoption Consultative Committee and Environment Committee, and have recently spent two years as a Director on the Cattle Commodity Board with Agforce QLD.
Adam has actively promoted the grass-fed industry through numerous initiatives and publications with Meat & Livestock Australia, Australian Beef Sustainability Framework, National Farmers Federation and the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef.
Bryce Camm hails from Dalby in Queensland’s Darling Downs region where he oversees his family’s company Camm Agricultural Group; an integrated beef and cropping enterprise with interests across Queensland.
Bryce has been CEO of the group for the past eight years. Prior to that he was the Manager of the group’s award winning Wonga Plains Feedlot for eight years where he oversaw the operation triple in size. Growing up on “Natal Downs” Station in north Queensland Bryce undertook a dual degree in Business Administration and Communications at Bond University and is a graduate of the Australian Rural Leadership Program as well as the Australian Institute of Company Directors Course.
Bryce is currently the Chairman of Beef Australia Ltd and the Immediate Past President of the Australian Lot Feeders Council, as well as a previous Director of the Red Meat Advisory Council.
Nominated by: Peter Hall, Troy Setter, Bryce Camm, David Hill, Adam Coffey
For the past 45 years, David has held rural property management, executive and senior management positions across all mainland states in areas of; beef cattle & sheep breeding, growing and lot feeding, meat retailing, small seed growing, irrigated fodder, and the further processing and exporting of primary products such as meat, grain and fodder.
His export experiences which started in 1989 included a role with Stanbroke Pastoral Company to help develop Stanbroke’ s Live cattle export program. Additionally, David managed the integration of Bottle Tree feedlot grain feeding in the production system while developing and launching their now globally recognised Diamantina beef brand.
David has been in a leadership role at the Lee Family’s, Australian Country Choice group of Companies since 1999 and progressed in that time from General Manager Properties & Livestock to Group Managing Director until stepping back in December 2020 from a full time role to a strategic advisory and board role.
Headquartered in Brisbane and employing over 1,400 staff across 42 operations, Australian Country Choice (ACC) operates Australia’s largest vertically integrated beef supply chain; encompassing cattle breeding, cattle growing and feedlotting to supply its integrated food processing facility in Brisbane that incorporates beef slaughter, beef boning, value-adding and case ready beef packing.
ACC’s cattle property portfolio of around 4 million acres in Queensland & NSW encompasses operations from the Barkly Tableland, CQ coalfields, Carnarvon ranges, Augathella, Blackall, Roma, and Moonie districts of Queensland, with a carrying capacity of 300,000 head. of cattle to support the Company’s 3 feedlots.
Additionally, David represents Agricultural & Cattle industry interests in his role as; Non-Government member Australia Indonesia Red Meat & Cattle Partnership, member SmartSat CRC, member Cattle Australia -Policy Council, member Australian Meat Industry Council -China & Halal Trade Groups, Chair Workplace Health & Safety Queensland -Rural Industry Sector Standing Committee, Deputy Chair Laguna Bay Pastoral investment committee and Board Member lnventia Genetic Technologies (IGT).
Away from work David has a small cattle property in the Mt Kilcoy (Qld) district running Charolais & Charbray breeders to the delight of his four grandchildren.
David wishes to continue into a second term to help build a strong and successful Cattle Australia to represent the interest of all cattle producers
Elke is an experienced non-executive director in the agriculture and customer-owned banking sector with a passion for member-centric organisations. She brings a grower perspective, coupled with her genuine drive to elevate the industry through innovation. She was selected to the National Farmers’ Federation ‘Diversity in Ag Leadership’ 2022, among 12 women nationally.
Elke has a broad background in the agricultural industry as a producer and rural financial coach across regional NSW, challenging business models and production systems for growers across a wide range of commodities. Elke has been a joint owner and director of a broadacre family cattle property at Harden, NSW, since 1993. Cleverdon Ag raises and trades black Angus cattle.
Elke brings a wealth of financial, risk management and governance experience. Her current non-executive director roles include Horticulture Innovation Australia (HIA), Murrumbidgee Health (NSW Health) and SWS Bank (a regional financial institution in NSW).
Some of her many strengths include a strong focus on strategy, risk and a triple bottom line while chairing large-scale audit and risk committees.
Elke is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a Fellow CPA, and holds a Master of Business Administration focused in marketing, finance, business strategy and leadership. Her critical thinking and business acumen after 16 years’ experience as an executive in customer-owned banking and the past eight years as a Rural Financial Coach, makes her an ideal candidate seeking to advance producers’ long-term best interests in a fair and strong supply chain.
George is married with four (4) children, Harry 24, Emma 22, Dave 15 and Tom 13. He also enjoys flying and has his pilot’s license.
George is also a Founding Director of The Wellness House and a Founding Director of ONFARM CO. He has a strong voluntary involvement with his community including as the NSW Rural Fire Services Senior Dept Capt. and Chairman of St Paul’s Carcoar.
James offers a unique range of skills and connections from his experience working within Australia’s resources sector, as well as his perspective running a beef operation around Bridgetown, WA.
Engaging closely across government, communities and industries and various representative bodies, James has played a key role providing reputational management advice and building critical alignment. This culminated with a role James played helping establish the WA LNG Jobs Taskforce that was championed by the WA Premier to improve collaboration across the LNG sector.
More recently, James has been re-building the family farm where over the past five years, they have been adopting new principles to lift stocking rates, reduce weed burden and improve efficiencies.
Also from his farm office desk, James has recently assisted with the establishment of the Asia Natural Gas and Energy Association which represents energy producers, buyers, suppliers and companies across Asia Pacific. ANGEA has been formed to partner with governments and advise them as they develop energy policies to meet their national needs, achieve global climate goals and encourage investment to support social and economic changes vital for a stable and consistent energy transition.
Hailing from a family that has been farming for many hundreds of years, James is firmly of the belief a farmer’s currency is the health of their herds and their land.
Dr Parker is a beef producer, respected veterinarian and the current Chief Executive Officer of Cattle Australia.
A staunch advocate for the Australian grass-fed beef industry on a local, national and global scale, Dr Parker brings to the role immense technical knowledge and a deep understanding of government, policy and trade.
His extensive career has included key leadership roles with great relevance to Australian grass-fed beef production, including most recently as First Assistant Secretary Biosecurity Animal Division and National Animal Disease Preparedness Coordinator within the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF).
At the helm of Cattle Australia since November 2023, Dr Parker’s focus is on working in collaboration with the organisation’s Board and members to be a powerful voice representing grass-fed cattle producers throughout the country.
Ivar joined the Cattle Australia team in August 2023 and brings to the role more than 20 years’ experience in advocating for producers’ interests.
Born in the Netherlands, Ivar studied at Wageningen University and Research Centre and worked as a lobbyist, holding multiple leadership roles in The Hague and Brussels, representing Dutch producers from various commodities at national, European and international levels.
When Ivar arrived in Australia in 2018, the AgForce Cattle Board taught him what it’s like to produce high-quality beef in Australia. Although the Dutch context is different from what farmers are facing and how member farmers organisations are run here in Australia, the key elements of the changing external environment and producers’ interests are very much alike.
Ivar strives to make a difference in people’s lives and his prime motivation for working at Cattle Australia is to get the best outcomes for members by leading the way on matters that impact producers.
Corinne joined Cattle Australia’s predecessor, Cattle Council, in 2018 as Policy Officer and secretariat to the Marketing, Market Access and Trade consultative committee.
Growing up in Canberra, Corinne’s first foray into agriculture was through extended family’s farms (with mixed enterprises including wool, sheep meat and cattle production) in the Southern Tablelands of NSW which sparked her interest in the livestock sector.
In developing a strong interest in the sector, she went on to complete a Bachelor of Arts at The University of Sydney and joined the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) in 2008.
During her time at NFF, she worked in a number of different portfolio areas that had carriage of issues of national significant including trade, natural resource management, water management, drought management, climate change, farm business development, rural affairs and telecommunications.
Corinne has extensive experience advocating for Australian agriculture across a wide range of policy areas with particular interest and expertise in trade policy.
In 2021, Corinne moved into the Policy Manager, Trade and Marketing role and was instrumental in the development and implementation of the Cattle Council Policy Council.
Katelyn joined the Cattle Australia team in early December 2023, after a range of roles within the livestock sector.
Most recently, Katelyn spent three years with Meat & Livestock Australia in a range of positions including eating quality, producer adoption and environmental markets and sustainability.
Katelyn hails from the sheep and wheatbelt region of Western Australia where her family still farm today, running a mixed broadacre cropping and Merino sheep business.
Katelyn has always had a strong interest in the livestock industry and over the past five years has developed a stronger interest in the sustainability of the industry, with a particular focus on ensuring future generations will have the opportunity to produce high quality protein to feed the world and be stewards for the land they manage.
Katelyn looks after one of the most fluid and fast paced portfolios at Cattle Australia, as the sustainability space is rapidly evolving, as is the science to support it.
In her time with Cattle Australia, Katelyn hopes to support the beef industry to capitilise on its unique position to be part of the greater solution to Australia’s climate challenges.
Through the support of the Sustainable Resilient Beef Systems Working Group, Katelyn will facilitate Cattle Australia’s priority to deliver a sustainable future that is profitable, productive and rewards beef producers for the environmental work they undertake.
Katelyn looks forward to further engaging with beef producers and continuing to find ways to deliver value and impact for the industry in the sustainability and environment space.
Mike Darby assists Cattle Australia in the areas of biosecurity and animal health, principally working with CA’s Biosecurity Working Group which includes CA representatives and numerous other industry experts from across the grass-fed supply chain.
Mike has represented the organisation externally on: the NFF Farming Systems Committee; the LSD AUSVETPLAN Writing Group; the LSD AUSVETPLAN Exercise Group; the FMD AUSVETPLAN Writing Group; the AUSVETPLAN NASOP Writing Group; and the AUSVETPLAN Valuation and Compensation Writing Group.
He is also an active member on the National Biosecurity Strategy Implement Committee (NIC) and the Animal Plan and National Arbovirus Monitoring Program steering committees.
Prior to assisting CA, Mike provided assistance to the Commonwealth’s Department of Agriculture and the National Drought and Flood Agency, as well as a range of other peak industry bodies and industry service providers.
Mike has also spent much time working for organisations based in the US assisting the US Grains Council, the Californian Department of Food and Agriculture, the Californian Farm Bureau and US Soybean Export Council. Mike has delivered projects in Australia, the US, New Zealand, Singapore and the Philippines – principally in livestock feeding and the biofuel production. Mike spent 12 years with the USDA (Foreign Agricultural Service) as an analyst drafting reports on agricultural production, trade and policy developments.
Mike holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (UWS) and a Master‘s of Management in Industry Policy (ANU).
Mike currently owns and manages two small holdings in southern NSW, producing beef and lamb. Mike is a Rural Fire Service volunteer.
A passionate advocate for agriculture, particularly the cattle industry, Sam is responsible for expanding CA’s network and engagement.
Hailing from rural New South Wales and currently calling Forbes home, Sam’s extensive background in the seedstock industry equips him with a diverse skill set acquired from hands-on experience in show cattle, commercial and stud operations, bovine reproduction, and livestock marketing.
Outside of work, Sam indulges in various sports, including rugby union, waterskiing, and golf, but his heart lies in the cattle show ring, where he can be found leading, judging, and fitting show cattle at local and royal shows.
In his ‘spare time’, Sam hosts a beef cattle podcast, delving into industry insights and interviewing experts worldwide.
Sam believes giving back to the industry he loves is extremely important, and he is committed to nurturing the next generation of agricultural leaders and ensuring the industry’s long-term sustainability.
Sara has a long history of agricultural representation in Northern Australia.
Hailing from Rockhampton, QLD, Sara has built strong relationships with grass-fed producers; local, state and federal government; industry groups; small businesses; community organisations; and media over many years.
