HEREFORDS Australia Limited (HAL) has today announced the appointment of respected engagement, capacity building and adoption specialist, Kathleen Allan, as Breed and Business Development Manager, as part of the roll out of the organisation’s new five-year Strategic Plan, and refreshed prioritisation of marketing and promotion, registry and member services, business development and R&D activities.
Ms Allan’s 20-year career in the agriculture industry spans key positions with Meat & Livestock Australia, Sheepmeat Council of Australia, Grains Research and Development Corporation and regulatory, program management and policy roles with the Australian Government.
HAL, Chief Executive Officer, Lisa Sharp, said Ms Allan’s appointment ideally aligned with the organisation’s new five-year road map to clearly demonstrate and communicate Herefords’ outstanding performance across the key profit drivers of beef businesses.
“Kathleen is fiercely passionate about agriculture, advocacy and capacity building and brings many years of experience in producer extension and adoption to the breed,” Ms Sharp said.
“Her strong stakeholder engagement skills will be critical to ensure our research and development outcomes are well communicated and adopted by our members, and to the broader industry, for commercial benefit.
“Kathleen has impressive qualifications in rural science and extensive experience in delivering impactful communication and extension programs for producers, and we are delighted to be welcoming her unique and powerful skill set to our organisation.”
As a fifth-generation Yass district farmer, Ms Allan said she was most excited by the opportunity the new position presented to consolidate her experience and bring a producer lens to the role.
“To be truly successful in developing pathways for R&D extension and adoption, you need to have a strong knowledge of what a producer needs and what will matter on the ground,” Ms Allan said.
“From my own on-farm experience and previous roles, I have a very clear understanding of the commercial profit drivers of the beef and red meat industry.
“My expertise across other ag sectors and comprehensive understanding of consumer insights means I also bring a level of independence and objectivity to the Hereford breed.”
After completing a Bachelor of Rural Science with Honours at the University of New England more than two decades ago, Ms Allan said she was thrilled to return to HAL’s head office at Armidale.
“I feel like I have come full circle in my career and am delighted to have the opportunity to work in the beef industry under Lisa Sharp’s leadership and with the broader Herefords Australia team.
“It is exciting to be part of an organisation, which is on the cusp of implementing a new strategy that has clear and measurable goals for the Hereford breed.
“There will be great opportunities to build member and stakeholder confidence by demonstrating the return on investment from the HAL R&D programs and to build commercial relevance for the industry.”
Ms Sharp said the immediate focus of Ms Allan’s work will be adoption activities for management programs supporting backgrounding and feedlot induction, as well as developing breeding resources for commercial producers.
“Kathleen will also work closely with R&D project managers on various projects including a major initiative to connect eating quality data and commercial carcase records back to Herefords’ performance recording and genetics,” Ms Sharp said.
“We all know the Hereford breed excels across the major drivers of performance and profitability most valued by Australia’s beef sector.
“As we reinvigorate our engagement across the supply chain and deliver on our strategy under a new focused structure, we’re excited to be headed towards the New Year.”