CEO Update December

We have made it to the end of 2025, and we are all looking forward to stopping for a few days to relax with family and friends for Christmas. It has been a very busy end to the year, and I would like to thank the Herefords Australia staff for all of their hard work over the course of the year. The team really has gone above and beyond expectations to keep delivering a quality service to members over recent months. We are excited to have two new staff members on board and being able to do more support for members in the coming year.

The have been many highlights for the year, the key events that come to mind include the World Hereford conference and Young Breeders Competition in the US, the Future Leaders and Breeders study tour, success at the Lardner Park steer trial, placings in the RNA Paddock to Palate competition and winning the Champion of Champions at the Ekka to name just a few.

To me the real success stories have come from how well Hereford cattle have been able to deliver on industry needs. I have been at every cooperator herd kill across the year and have seen firsthand every animal in every consignment not just meet minimum MSA grading requirements but grade in the top half of industry, with average performance in the top 25% of industry. We have also seen a Hereford producer win the Most Outstanding MSA Non-feedlot Band 2 award for Queensland providing further evidence of the breeds ability to exceed industry benchmarks.

We have importantly seen examples of Hereford cattle selling very well in commercial sales. The most recent example is the last Leongatha store sale for the year where weaner Hereford steers sold at an average of 591c/kg to gross $2,250 per head. This was 32c/kg better than Angus steers in the same weight category.

There are many good news stories out there about Hereford cattle and the benefits of running them. I encourage all members to share these stories to help grow market share for the breed.

On behalf of all the staff at Herefords Australia, I would like to wish you all a safe and Merry Christmas and I look forward to working with you to ensure a prosperous New Year for the Hereford breed.

Kind regards,

Hamish Chandler