Born and raised in rural NSW, Australia, I never considered a career in agriculture. Raised in a small town, the thing to do was graduate and move to a “bigger” life. I didn’t realize at the time that life would come full circle and I would end up working in the Canadian beef industry – and love every minute of it.
As a (relatively) young person in the industry it can sometimes be difficult to recognize the potential opportunity laid out in front of you. Thankfully, Canadian beef has a dedicated workforce with deep roots, strong connection to the land and a wealth of knowledge, not to mention the wide variety of career paths. In early 2023, a coworker mentioned the Canadian Cattle Young Leaders (CYL) Program and suggested I put my name in the hat.
During the selection process at the 2023 Canadian Beef Industry Conference in Calgary, AB, I wasn’t sure what to expect. At the selections competition, semi-finalists were selected from written applications across Canada and were invited to attend in person where 16 program participants were selected for the upcoming program year. As with any competition, there are unknowns, and roundtable discussions alongside your peers can really raise the stakes and the nerves.
Once I was able to get over the initial intimidation, I was lucky enough to find myself participating in in-depth, forward-thinking discussions about the current state of agriculture and what we hope for the future of our industry. I left the selection day content with the fact that even if I didn’t get selected, I had just participated in high-level ideation with some of the brightest sparks in Canadian beef and real change makers in our world. Inspiring? Absolutely. Driven to do more? Definitely.
At selections, I listened to a variety of areas that CYL’s wanted to focus on – direct to consumer beef marketing, genomics and herd growth, just to name a few. I began to reflect on what I could bring to this industry – especially as a unique individual with a diverse background. I do not currently own cattle and have a professional background in recreational facilitation prior to my transition into agriculture. My area of focus became abundantly clear – “low stress people handling”. With this concept in mind, the time came to be linked with a mentor and begin the working piece of the program. It’s worthy to note that my diverse background and differing opinions were accepted and supported by the Canadian CYL Program. The future of our industry will be defined by innovative thinking, systems and processes – and if your foray into agriculture, or current role in the space, is untraditional, it should not scare you from the application process.
Dr. Michelle Calvo-Lorenzo is the Chief Animal Welfare Officer for Elanco Animal Health and is a leading expert in livestock welfare. I have been paired with her for a nine-month mentorship through the Canadian CYL Program that started in the Fall of 2023. Throughout my mentorship so far, we have been able to discuss the ties between animal and human welfare and how they co-exist. With these concepts in mind, I have begun my journey into developing business consulting to agricultural operations and their workplace culture. REACH Agriculture Strategies will be launching before the end of 2024. Our mission is to empower operations with customized consulting services that cultivate sustainable and resilient cultures, build staff retention and enhance hiring practices.
I wholly credit Dr. Calvo-Lorenzo and the Canadian CYL Program for the push to develop this business and to open my eyes to the opportunities within Canadian beef. To round out my mentorship experience, I will be travelling to the US to visit a variety of agriculture operations and discover various training and management methods with my mentor, who is based in the U.S.
With connections developed in the Canadian CYL Program, I was fortunate to travel to Chiang Mai, Thailand in October 2023 to the Global Agenda for Sustainable Livestock supported by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. In those seven days, I was able to listen to global experts on livestock sustainability and gain a global perspective on animal agriculture. From having coffee with the Minister of Livestock and Fisheries from Tanzania, to comparing beef production with Irish delegates, and a visit to an elephant sanctuary in the Northern Thailand mountains, this was an experience unlike anything I could have imagined when I applied for the Canadian CYL program.
This program has put me in rooms with people that I would not have met otherwise. The connections made in the industry will have effects on my career that I have yet to comprehend. From my small town in rural Australia, to lunch with East African government ministers, this program has had a lasting effect on me, and I am incredibly grateful for the Canadian Cattle Association and the sponsors of the Canadian Cattle Young Leaders program.
Thank you to our Canadian Cattle Young Leaders Platinum Partner, McDonald’s Canada, Foundation Partners, Cargill, MNP, Elanco and New Holland, along with Gold Partners, Farm Credit Canada, RBC Future Launch and Alltech for your incredibly generous sponsorship that makes these opportunities possible!