Nicola's Notes

04 Jun 2007: Sydney & Keith Aussie Rules “Footy” Match

On Monday morning, I travelled over the Sydney Harbour Bridge for meetings at the head office of Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) in the northern part of the city. My first appointment was with David Thomason, Marketing Manager. David talked me through the department’s Domestic Marketing Strategy which focuses on a five pillar approach. The five include Integrity, Enjoyment, Nutrition, Convenience and Value for Money. The aim is to enhance consumer demand for red meat, ensure positive consumer attitude and enhance trade attitudes within the industry.

Consumer expenditure on red meat in Australia grew in 2006 for the ninth consecutive year to a value of $8.7 billion. The average Australian consumer eats 35kg of beef and 11kg lamb annually and this lamb consumption is among the highest per capita in the world. David confirmed that most domestic lamb advertising campaigns are focused heavily on “pride” coupled with family unity because Australia is famous for producing quality lamb. The MLA has leading lamb campaigns on Mothers Day and Australia Day (summer and autumn) as this spreads consumer demand more evenly - lamb is traditionally demanded in winter and spring.

For beef, the MLA has a ‘Bring out the Beef’ campaign. Titled ‘Surprise the Kids Tonight’, the campaign aims to remind parents of their kids’ love of beef meals. 82% of children recently surveyed by the MLA cited Spaghetti Bolognaise as their all time favourite meal, with tacos, sausages and rissoles popular also. Note that beef predominantly used in these dishes are from the fore-quarter, (cheaper) part of the carcass too. The MLA promotes beef as a quick, convenient, healthy meat to use for mid-week meals in the home, with emphasis on feeding the children.

Without criticizing the equivalent Welsh meat body “Hybu Cig Cymru” too much, I must state how focused the MLA Marketing Department appear in comparison to our red meat marketing department in Wales! Their professionalism, determination and long-term outlook for the development of the domestic market is truly mind-blowing!

Following David, I met Alan Bloxsom, General Manager of Industry Systems and another focused and formidable guy! Allan manages the implementation of assurance schemes and accreditations such as the Livestock Production Assurance (LPA), Meat Standards Australia (MSA) and the National Livestock Identification Scheme (NLIS). NLIS uses machine-readable radio frequency identification devices to identify cattle, either as with a ear tag or rumen bolus/ear tag combination. His department is heavily focused on Research & Development, especially in relation to meat quality, traceability and enhancing international trade under global guidelines.

In the afternoon I spent time with Blair Brice, Project Manager in the Supply Chain Management Department. Originally from Western Australia, Blair is working closely with players throughout the supply chain to improve systems and traceability. At the present time, he is investigating global organic red meat demand as some producers investigate opportunities in this area (Garry Hannigan I am pinpointing you here!!!). He was eager for my thoughts on organic red meat products and consumer perception of this both in the UK and in North and South America.

Following this worthwhile visit to the MLA, Jenny and I enjoyed a leisurely evening in Sydney, partaking in a drink at Sydney’s tallest “Centrepoint Tower” which has a revolving floor with fantastic views of the city. The restaurant was pricey for two very poor Raymond girls so we dined at an Italian Restaurant instead! To my chagrin, our time together in Australia is drawing to an end and I may only see Jen once more in Australia which fills me with sadness.

By Tuesday afternoon I was back at the airport, on another plane and headed for Adelaide. I went from a sunny 22 degrees in Sydney, to a freezing 14 degree rain storm in South Australia which I hated!! I stayed the night at Victor Harbour, Brendon and Robyn’s second home, and travelled back to Akeringa on Wednesday morning whilst analyzing my superb 10-day trip in Queensland and Sydney.

It was great to be reunited with Basil the Kangaroo on my return home! I also enjoyed a beer with the guys on the farm on Wednesday evening, catching up on farm news and being teased for the 29-23 Welsh defeat last weekend! I actually think the guys were happier that England had lost to South Africa, because since the 2003 World Cup, Australians are generally still not great fans of Johnny Wilkinson!

On Thursday and Friday I was office based. I focused on document summarizing from last week, plus delving further into export opportunities and links with supply chain players in South Australia for the Smart Group. It has rained most days which has delighted Brendon, and the downpours have certainly added a splash of deep green to the countryside in a very short space of time.

By Saturday I was having another new experience, this time a local Australian Rules Football derby between our local town of “Keith” and rival team “Border Districts”. This was the first time I had been to the Keith AFL ground and I was amazed by the supporter numbers and passion both on and off the pitch! I had a great afternoon watching the Keith senior team, which included Ryan Smart (Brendon’s son) and Jason (one of the farm guys) thrashing Border Districts 182-30! Each goal kick is worth six points and the game is a lot like Gaelic football with fast pace, brutal tackling and long kicking. I watched the match with Robyn and Ryan’s girlfriend Jo and the whole event reminded me of Saturday afternoons at Narberth or Whitland rugby fields watching local games with Janet, Nerys or John. I also joined the guys from the farm, including Ian, in the bar afterwards for a few more beers! Ian and I left the club at 6.30 and drove back to the farm with a huge pizza to watch Wales verses the Wallabies in their second rugby union match of two here in Australia.

As with Ken up in Queensland last Saturday night, Ian also experienced another side of Nicola Raymond’s character during the 80 minute match and with a second defeat brought more despair! Although Wales lost 31-0, I did have an enjoyable evening with Ian and I want to thank him for his hospitality plus patience as I stormed around his house somewhat tempestuous after the game! I often wish I didn’t care so much about Wales losing rugby games but I guess without passion I would be a fairly boring girlie!

As a result of the heavy social frolicking on Saturday, yesterday was quieter but Ken and his daughter Maddie came over to the house for a beef casserole dinner last night. It was somewhat rewarding to cook for someone other than me and I hope they are both still alive and kicking this morning as a result of my efforts! We chatted, played Chess and watched TV and it was a typically relaxed, snug, Sunday evening.

30 May 2007: A Birthday Bash in Queensland!

Trying to condense all last weeks’ fun and frolics into a suitable summary without you all falling asleep has been tough! It was the most enjoyable, fulfilling, educational, unforgettable week that I barely know how to start!

I left Akeringa last Monday and travelled across to Adelaide where I met Ken Solly, an agribusiness consultant. Ken does work for Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) and had been asked to travel to Queensland to an MLA Lamb Forum as speaker on “Cost of Production” and suggested I join him. On Monday night we went to the home of David Anderson, a friend of Ken’s, in Adelaide for dinner. Us three enjoyed premium lamb, fabulous conversation and good South Australian wines!

Ken and I flew to Brisbane on Tuesday morning, the capital of Queensland and the third largest city in Australia. Queensland is renowned as Australia’s “Sunshine State”, is situated in the north-eastern part of the country and has a tropical climate. It is blessed with a superb coast which includes the Great Barrier Reef, and also has rainforests and endless outback land too. The population in Queensland is nearly 4 million, over double that of South Australia and it was started as a penal colony in 1824. By 1859 it became independent to its neighbouring state of New South Wales. White settlers here were initially met with strong Aboriginal resistance which inevitably was a bit futile with all the rich minerals and good eastern farm land available! Much of the state inland and to the north is still empty, flat and dry due to the climate conditions. Queensland barely goes under 20 degrees in this state and only rains in the summer months of December to March.

Ken and I hired a car and took off inland passing some of the Great Dividing Range, a vast mountainous area of sheep and cattle grazing country. We arrived at the 6,000 population town of Goondiwindi, famously known as the home of a popular race horse called “Gynsynd” and now also famous as the location of Nicola Raymond’s latest Birthday bash!!!! Goondiwindi is fairly basic, but has all the amenities and character of a country town including a picturesque main street. We checked into a motel where we joined numerous MLA staff and forum speakers for an evening meal. I sat next to two Department of Primary Industry staff, Guy Newell, Extension Officer and Jill Aisthorpe, a grassland specialist for producers working throughout the state.

Wednesday dawned and the scary realism that I was yet another year older but not too much wiser!! I was shocked but delighted to receive a birthday basket of fruit and champagne from mum and dad and a gift from Jenny delivered to my motel room at 7.30am!! I also received birthday cards from Christine and Uncle Mansel and Aunty Ros. I was certain no one knew where I was staying, so this came as a very confusing surprise, and as a result I want to thank Jenny for being a sneaky but thoughtful cousin and friend, and Ken for disclosing our motel’s address to her!

The MLA Lamb Forum started at 9.00am, we had 11 speakers and I marvelled at the experience, knowledge and professionalism of the entire event. The Sheepmeat Council of Australia was running the program in conjunction with the MLA and their Chairman Chris Groves was superb overseeing the schedule. We had speakers on market access, cost of production, animal nutrition, grazing management, processor requirements, genetics and marketing. By 4.30pm I was mentally exhausted but energised with everything I had learnt.

From the forum to the pub at breakneck speed for an evening of further discussion and networking! This was coupled with consumption of steak plus wine, wine and more wine! I was delighted to get calls from mum, dad and Gran and numerous text messages. During all this, I even had time to absorb the “State of Origin Rugby League” derby! This contest is carried out by the best players from the two states of New South Wales and Queensland and the teams play the best of three for a trophy. Queensland won and the locals at the pub were noisily delighted! There was a good crowd of us enjoying the evening including Stephen Feighan from the MLA (Robert Parker - as I understand it, you know Stephen quite well!!!)

Our evening was a late one and Ken confirmed to me on Thursday morning that it was the first time in his life he had been asked to leave not one, but three pubs in an evening!!! This is as a result of the ungodly late-night drinking hours and this is what happens when socialising with me! It was a memorable birthday at Goondiwindi and thanks to everyone for cards, emails and text messages as it was truly appreciated.

On Thursday morning, Ken led a “Cost of Production” workshop for the Department of Primary Industries so I stayed in my bed resting an almighty headache! By early afternoon we were travelling again, this time to Wyella Beef Feedlot, owned by Oakey Holdings. Oakey was established in 1988 and is a subsidiary of Nippon Meat Packers, the largest meat distributor in Japan. Wyella feedlot is the largest feedlot in Australia with 55,000 head of cattle on an intensive, grain finishing system with product specifically for the Japanese market.

The Whyalla property covers around 5,800 hectares, produces an 85% grain feed with straw and molasses for all cattle, plus each animal consumes 40 litres of water per head per day! The breeds are mainly British crosses with a few Wagyu. 2500 cattle per week are leaving this feedlot for slaughter which is a 200km distance away. All cattle are tagged under the National Livestock Identification Scheme and arrive at the feedlot at 12 months and are slaughtered at 16-18 months with maximum 0-4 teeth.

To put the size of this business in perspective, the current value of cattle at the feedlot is $55 million, current grain-feed on site is to a value of $21 million and all machinery and equipment would probably bring the total value to over $100 million dollars!!!

Current pressures on the feedlot include the high value of the Australian dollar, high grain prices in Australia following drought, labour, health and safety management, high store cattle prices and haulage costs. Couple this with Japanese retail beef primal prices currently less than prices in Australia and it paints a somewhat tough picture.

From Wyella, we travelled north to Toowoomba, a large town on the top of a volcano on the Great Dividing Range and with a population of 90,000. This town has breathtaking views of valleys below, is known as a garden city and has some grand stately buildings. We were met by friends of Ken’s called Graham and Barbara Betts. Graham is a sprayer technology specialist and he and his wife travel across Australia in a huge caravan visiting producers and improving and advising on spraying systems. The four of us had dinner at a Thai Restaurant and it was another superb evening!

After a tour of Toowoomba on Friday morning with Graham, Ken and I drove back to Brisbane and visited Symbio Alliance, the largest agrifood laboratory in Queensland, handling 3000 food samples per week. We met Peter Horchner, a friend of Kens’ who is a Director at Symbio. Peter’s role includes consultancy services and training courses for businesses such as Aldi Supermarkets and Topcut, one of the largest meat manufacturers in Australia. I was pleased to be given the chance to ask Peter questions to assist with my Nuffield Study and my work for the Smart Group.

By Friday night we were north of Brisbane at the Sunshine Coast and the town of Noosa, a fabulous coastal resort with tropical vegetation, beautiful beach and endless hotels, inclusive resorts and boutique shops! This 50,000 population town is stunning and renowned as one of Australia’s best coastal locations. Even though its winter here in Australia, the weather was hot and the town was crowded with tourists!

Ken had arranged for us to stay at the home of his friend Jan Richards. Jan was in New Zealand but she’d left us her keys for the weekend, and I must say this house was unbelievably unique! Situated in the middle of a dense tropical forest, it had three separate divisions - a master bedroom section, a guest bedroom section and the central section which included a kitchen, living room, bathroom and fantastic veranda with seating and a hammock! After the travelling and meetings over four days, Ken and I enjoyed our tranquil environment and summarized our week over more wine!

Early Saturday morning I was drinking continual tea, catching up on my journal and relaxing on the veranda amid endless trees, wildlife and stillness! Ken and I travelled into the local town of Eumundi where there was a large open market. Endless stalls sold everything from didgeridoos to clothes and the atmosphere was fantastic. I was amazed by the visitor numbers, and not being a retail enthusiast, I was happy to sit and watch people and listen to a Caribbean Calypso Steel Band playing groovy tunes!

In the afternoon we went to Noosa where we viewed the sunning beach and did a coastal walk watching surfers, fishermen plus tourists on the beach. It was all very idyllic and a lovely way to spend a Saturday afternoon! By 7.30pm, we were back at the house, settled on the sofa with wine, eagerly awaiting the rugby union match between my beloved Wales and the Wallabies! I think Ken saw a totally new side to my character throughout the 80 minute derby and I was sunned into silence with our last-minute defeat. It was so frustrating when Wales had led the match up to the 61st minute and at one point we were 17-0 up!! I am sure that my howl could be heard miles away but more wine eventually numbed my fury!

On Sunday Ken and I headed back to Brisbane Airport and Ken flew back to Adelaide and I flew down to Sydney. I thoroughly enjoyed my Queensland trip, and I want to thank Ken profusely for a fantastic, educational, enjoyable experience.

On the plane I was fortunate to obtain a window seat which meant I saw superb views of Brisbane city as we took off, and Sydney Harbour an hour or so later. It is such an exciting experience to see the Harbour Bridge, Opera House and Bondi Beach with the sun shinning brightly as you are coming in to land at Sydney Airport!

I checked into a motel in the Central Business District and headed across to Bondi Beach to meet up with Jenny at her flat. It was fantastic to see her again as well as Louise, Rob and Aiden and we had a great evening catching up on gossip. Louise and Rob have now completed their work for firms in the city and were leaving to travel up the East Coast on Monday morning. They are doing “surf camp” this week as well as travelling through Brisbane and Cairns. I hope they enjoy the experience and have a good time! Jenny is staying on in Sydney for an additional week before she travels up to meet them. As it was the end of a Sydney/Bondi era, we reminisced over the four months based at Bondi. I also felt a part of the history because I had stayed at the flat on their sofa during February and March and partied with them!

I had an early night on Sunday after a busy week in Queensland. Monday was to be a full day of meetings at the MLA Head Office which I was very excited about! I hope everyone is well, and fingers crossed for a Welsh win against the Wallabies this coming Saturday, otherwise I will be devastated (again!)

20 May 2007 – Farming, Shopping and preparation for Queensland

Last Monday morning I was fully focused on the creation of an extensive market research report for Brendon and the Smart Group. I have spent weeks gathering data, visiting players in the supply chain and obtaining individual opinions on the red meat sector in South Australia. Some opinions have been strong, some have been amusing, and some have been downright bizarre! As a result, I was ready to express my own thoughts and hopefully assist the Smart Group in developing value-adding options.

Or at least that’s what I thought I would be doing! In contrast, by 2pm Monday afternoon I was standing in the farmyard surrounded by lambs, with a Vitamin B12 injection in one hand, and a Glanvac 6-in-1 vaccine in another and ready for action!

The farm was short-staffed this week so I was drafted in to assist Brett and Jason, two guys who specialise in the livestock sectors of the farm, with flock work! And what an efficient assembly line we had! This farm has an excellent rotating 6-lamb cradle where lambs are strapped-in at our standing level! This made the process effortless as Jason locked lambs in and castrated males with rubber rings, I injected twice, and Brett took their tails off - but not with a standard rubber ring! Oh no!!! Here they have a boiling hot gas clamp and just cut the tail off effortlessly! It is an incredibly quick process but the piteous bleating of one or two lambs was tough for even me, this hardy farmers’ daughter to hear! Plus I was occasionally getting splattered in blood!

All this also gave me an opportunity to get to know Jason and Brett better and vice-versa. There were also so many memories from home it was surreal! For example, on Tuesday I was in boots, jeans, a waterproof coat and baseball cap as it rained all morning. I can confirm there is nothing more familiar to home than the feeling of rain running down your neck whilst injecting wet lambs in the mud!!!

We three completed this process for 1900 lambs, every morning for 4 days. By Thursday as we neared completion, it wasn’t just rain we were competing with! Thunder and lightening started which sent the dogs scurrying for cover, and in addition we had huge “golf-ball equivalent” hailstones! Plus it was over 20 degrees so talk about extremes! But I loved every minute and didn’t realise how much I had been missing practical farm work.

In addition to injecting lambs, another of the farm guys, Ian, had started spraying the cropping land prior to seeding. Brendon invested in a new John Deere 4720 Sprayer this year and so I took a trip with Ian to field “6B” to see the process in motion. I was so glad I made the effort to see this operation as it is something else!

Ian was spraying a herbicide called bonus-credit hammer, a lot like round-up, to canola, oat and barley cereal land. He had an application rate of 67 litres per hectare but the biggest shock was the spraying process! This sprayer works on a satellite system not unlike the satellite navigation systems for cars. You just program it to line itself up along the field and it automatically drives up and down the field steering itself in the correct position! This may not be surprising to you arable farmers in the UK and Australia but it shocked the hell out of me! It is literally one step away from total “man-free” land work!

I told Ian I hoped he wouldn’t be “surplus to requirements” with all this new technology and maybe he should invest a small TV in the cab as limited concentration seemed necessary! Anyhow, all this farm work also meant that no only did I enjoy a few additional beers with the guys on Friday evening, I could actually identify with a lot more of the general farm production that gets discussed!

As a result of all this, my market research report was somewhat impeded, but I am relieved to confirm it has now been completed and has been circulated to the Board. I am delighted that I have produced a detailed account of the red meat sector and I hope my recommendations are useful for the business with value-added options.

On Saturday, as a result of some cash credited into my UK current account owing to another flippin birthday approaching (thanks to those who have been very kind!) I went shopping! A shock, I know, but I was getting a bit desperate!!! Anyone who remotely knows me knows that I absolutely despise retail shopping as I have neither the patience or enthusiasm to “buy-stuff”! However, as a result of birthday money, a need for warmer clothes as the temperature drops for winter, and complete and utter boredom with the few clothes I have continually worn since I left the UK last October, I simply had to endure it! I also HAD to buy shoes. This comes as I realise I am getting increasingly getting funny looks from people still seeing me in open sandals with frost-bitten toes in the middle of the Australian winter!

And today it is Sunday and I am excitedly preparing for a 5-day trip to the north-eastern Australian state of Queensland, leaving Adelaide airport on Tuesday morning. I have been asked to join Ken Solly, a great friend and mentor who is speaking at the forthcoming Meat & Livestock Australia “Know & Grow with Lamb” Forum. As well as a full day at this forum (on my birthday no less!), Ken is also running a training session on Thursday for the Department of Primary Industries staff on how to deliver “Cost of Production” workshops for Australian lamb producers. We are also visiting independent retail businesses, gourmet butchers shops and “Whyalla”, the largest beef feedlot in Australia!!!! We are also meeting a friend of Ken’s based at “Noosa Heads”, one of Australia’s most beautiful and popular tourist destinations - life gets tough!

So no doubt next weeks email will be fairly extensive with having absorbed so much new information, new faces and places. From Queensland I am flying down to Sydney for 2 days for meetings with Meat & Livestock Australia at their head office. This also gives me a great opportunity to catch up with my cousin Jenny, who has just officially finished work in Sydney and is ready to travel up the east coast as a Welsh girlie tourist!

Now, everyone please listen to me! Please refrain from posting thousand-pound cheques, crates of champagne or even investing in new cars for my birthday, as there really is no need!!!

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