Bridging the knowledge gap for hobby farmers

South-east Queensland small producer and MLA Red Meat Ambassador, Amanda Burchmann, is working towards bridging the knowledge gaps between smaller producers, hobby farmers and the industry. Her goal is to help ensure that compliance regulations are being adhered to Australia-wide, no matter the size of the operation, to protect the reputation of the entire red meat industry.

A true passion

Amanda’s love for the red meat industry started at a young age. Growing up in south-east Queensland, she was involved in droving cattle through the droughts and helping on her grandparents’ property, before her family purchased their own property just outside of Warwick. Amanda was always eager to ride in the passenger seat of her dad’s truck as he made the trek to transport livestock across Queensland and northern NSW.

“I used to fight my brother to go in the truck with dad,” she said.

“The business predominantly transported cattle and sheep. I remember doing trips to Longreach, Winton and Richmond and then heading to the sales or abattoir.

“One of the best things about getting to do this was seeing how the animals were looked after during transport and seeing the passion and pride that the producers took when getting their livestock ready for market.”

Amanda has had a love for the industry from a young age.

Although Amanda stepped away from the industry for 15 years, she realised agriculture was where her passion truly lied, and she eventually returned with her own family breeding and trading livestock business.

In doing this, Amanda realised there was a knowledge gap between small producers, hobby farmers and the rest of the supply chain. From that point, she made it her mission to help small producers and hobby farmers gain a common understanding around compliance, traceability and biosecurity.

They don’t know what they don’t know

Amanda remembers carrying around the NVD book with her grandad when transporting their own stock, but at the time she didn’t understand what it was, or how much goes on behind the scenes.

“When I came back into the industry in the early 2020s, I could see a gap in compliance and industry-standard knowledge from smaller producers and hobby farmers. Some are simply not aware of the regulations.

“It’s not as simple as it may seem, and I’m seeing many small producers and hobby farmers risking the red meat industry because they simply just don’t know what the steps are but have a dream of owning their own land and livestock.”

Amanda said one of her favourite quotes to go by when talking about this gap in knowledge is ‘they don’t know what they don’t know’.

“I want to come in and help bridge that gap between small producers, hobby farmers and the rest of supply chain, because I found, even for myself, that once I re-entered the industry there were challenges, particularly around traceability and biosecurity.”

Amanda has founded her own business, JAB Agri Solutions  which she hopes will help small producers and hobby farmers manage their record-keeping, compliance (NLIS, eNVD and LPA), and biosecurity management through education and having access to a simple data management tool. Amanda is confident that these tools and resources will bridge the gap in knowledge which currently exists.

Becoming a voice for the industry

To improve her communication skills, Amanda attended a recent MLA Red Meat Ambassador program workshop with the hopes of learning how to handle the tougher conversations online or in-person with people in and outside of the industry.

“I loved the role-playing exercise. I think we were all nervous to get up and have a go, but it helped me practice what to do and say in situations that I’m faced with in real life,” Amanda said.

She’s already put those skills into action, including identifying those who don’t want to hear other opinions and those who are open to it.

“You want to spend time with those who are willing to listen and let go of those who don’t want to hear about it,” she said.

A better understanding of MLA and the industry

Amanda also stressed how her understanding of the industry bodies and councils has deepened after attending the workshop.

“I didn’t fully understand what MLA’s role within the industry was before attending the workshop. I was one of those people who thought they should be doing more to change legislation, for example.

“I now understand the structure of the peak bodies and councils and where MLA sits among them.

“MLA’s focus is on research and marketing, as well as helping producers to adopt different and new practices which are based on the research they are undertaking.”

‘Producer’ is a profession

After completing the workshop, Amanda also said she views her ‘label’ of producer differently.

“I thought to myself, you know what? I am in the livestock industry, and I am a professional.”

She said sometimes she feels judgement for being ‘just a producer’.

“Our industry plays a major part in the Australian economy, and we all have a professional role in the industry to keep it going, to continue its success. Being part of that is something that I am really proud of.”

To find out more about the MLA’s Red Meat Ambassador program click here