Red meat producers and industry representatives joined Meat & Livestock Australia’s (MLA) 2022 Annual General Meeting (AGM), held in-person in Sydney and virtually on the 24th of November 2022. The hybrid meeting format has broadened the accessibility of the meeting among MLA’s membership.
The formal proceedings of the AGM included consideration of MLA’s accounts and the election of three Directors to the Board.
MLA members voted to elect three Directors to the MLA Board (see biographies below):
- Mr John Lloyd re-elected to the MLA Board, receiving 95.85% votes in favour. Mr Lloyd has been on the Board since 2019 and has a deep understanding of the red meat industry and the RDC sector. He is a former CEO of Horticulture Innovation Australia.
- Ms Tess Herbert elected to the MLA Board, receiving 97.76% votes in favour. Ms Herbert runs a farming business in central west NSW and is a former President of the Australian Lot Feeders Association.
- Mr Jack Holden elected to the MLA Board, receiving 92.42% votes in favour. Mr Holden is a sustainability practitioner with over twenty-five years’ experience in agriculture and natural systems and is General Manager – Sustainability for the Asia Pacific Region of Fonterra Group.
The MLA Board is a skills-based Board. Directors have complementary skills to make important decisions for the long-term benefit of the red meat and livestock industry.
MLA Chair Alan Beckett provided the AGM with an overview of the industry over the last 12 months – a period with numerous challenges but also exceptional positivity.
“Our thoughts are with all producers who are affected by the devastating floods across the country.
“Cattle, sheep and goat producers are strong-willed and versatile, and we would like to thank their hard work over the next 12 months, they truly inspire the work we do at MLA,” said Mr Beckett.
MLA Managing Director Jason Strong said Australia’s red meat industry had experienced generally good conditions in 2022 and the outlook remained very positive.
“Seasonal conditions have vastly improved from recent years, and the flooding and record rainfall has created significant challenges for many producers,” he said. “But overall, the conditions are vastly improved from recent years of drought and the herd and flock is rebuilding.
“Prices have been strong and there is a burgeoning demand for Australian red meat from around the world. Our industry has an incredible reputation for delivering on eating quality, traceability, sustainability, food safety and taste.”
Mr Strong said the industry was also on the front with biosecurity, which had been a major issue in the spotlight in 2022.
“Exotic disease incursions have always been a concern for our industry, but their proximity in Indonesia highlighted the risk this year,” Mr Strong said. “MLA has been proactive in working with industry to communicate the issues with industry and the public.
“We are also working on a range of practical steps to ensure Australia is prepared and that we can assist Indonesia with the outbreak. The Australian Government has also ramped up the border control response.
“For these diseases, it is a case of being ‘alert, not alarmed’,” Mr Strong said.
Mr Beckett thanked the members for their participation in the 2022 AGM.
 John Lloyd
Qualifications: BSc, MBA
Mr Lloyd, with his family runs a small agricultural enterprise at Borenore, near Orange, NSW. He has a deep understanding of red meat industry dynamics, knowledge and connections across the agri-food ecosystem including the RDC sector, government and research providers. Mr Lloyd has led and created new funding models that have catered for longer term strategic issues such as export markets, biosecurity, health and nutrition, pollination, major pests, intensive farming systems and urban greening as well as accessing broader and non-traditional sources of investment. Mr Lloyd has also completed the Company Directors course with the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is the former CEO of Horticulture Innovation Australia/HAL, leading both organisations over a nine-year period of significant growth, change and transition. Mr Lloyd is a Council Member of Charles Sturt University, a director of Wine Australia, Grains & Legumes Nutrition Council, Menari Business Solutions Pty Ltd and Meat & Livestock Australia Limited, Chair of the Research & Development Investment Committee and a member of the Audit, Finance and Risk Committee.
Previous roles:
Mr Lloyd has broad experience across the Australian agribusiness sector with previous roles in senior leadership positions including Managing Director of Case IH/New Holland ANZ; General Manager of Commercial Incitec Pivot; and General Manager of Merchandise Wesfarmers Dalgety.
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 Tess Herbert
Qualifications: B. A, Grad Dip Ed, M. Litt, Grad. Cert. Rural Leadership, Masters in Agribusiness, GAICD, ARLF
Ms Herbert owns and manages a sixth-generation family farming businesses in the central west of New South Wales. The operations consist of a cattle feedlot, lamb and wool production and crops, silage, and hay production. She spends most of her time in her office at the feedlot in its daily operations managing compliance, finances, and human resources for the family business. Ms Herbert has a particular long-standing interest in red meat sustainability initiatives and the integrity systems that underpin Australian red meat production.
Previous roles:
Ms Herbert was previously the President of the Australian Lot Feeders Association, a director of the Red Meat Advisory Council, (RMAC) and chaired the Australian Beef Sustainability Framework Steering Group. She was also a board member for Central Tablelands Local Land Services and chaired the Red Meat Panel.
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 Jack Holden
Qualifications: B Env Mgt, M Public Policy & Mgt; MAICD
Mr Holden is a sustainability practitioner with over twenty-five years’ experience in agriculture and natural systems. He has worked in government, consulting and industry roles and is currently the General Manager - Sustainability for the Asia Pacific Region of Fonterra Group. Since joining Fonterra in 2011, he has worked with farmers on a full range of farm sustainability issues, most notably on innovations to provide solutions for sustainability issues in livestock farming. Mr Holden is also Deputy Chair of the Australian Dairy Sustainability Framework, President of the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) and a member of the Victorian Agriculture and Climate Change Council. Mr Holden is also a Director of Greenfleet Australia.
Previous roles:
Mr Holden was previously a sustainable agriculture extension officer in Western Victoria and was the inaugural Coordinator of the Southern Otway Landcare Network. He became a climate policy analyst in the Greenhouse Policy unit of Victorian Government and then joined KPMG’s Climate Change and Sustainability advisory practice.
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