Herefords Australia Ltd. Chairman’s Report 2025

It is my pleasure to present the Chairman’s Report for Herefords Australia Ltd. 2025 was a year of consolidation, progress, and renewal for our organisation. Guided by the 2022‒2027 Strategic Plan, the Board and management have continued to strengthen the financial, operational, and reputational foundations of Herefords Australia, in what in many parts has been a tough year both in seasonality and market fluctuations. Reduced joining cow/heifer numbers has seen focussed seedstock herds have success in what can only be seen long-term as a solid platform for growth. The overall outcomes achieved this year reflect a shared commitment across our members, staff, and Board to position the Hereford breed as a leader in sustainable, profitable beef production, which go hand in hand.

Marketing- ‘A Call to Arms!’

This is a call for all members to get on board and deliver a consistent message, as we as Hereford breeders are in a prime position to take advantage of modern market drivers absolutely aligned with the existing strengths of the Hereford breed. No matter what your personal views are in regards to ‘Net-Zero’ or other geo-political drivers, the fact is the customer is wanting a positive environmental story told for the food and particularly the beef they are consuming. The number one driver for a positive sustainable story is reducing days to slaughter. That is, the less time on the planet, the less emissions/resources used to produce that kilogram of beef. You will see the word ‘Sustainable’ aligned with our consistent professional marketing messaging. Sustainability which is that reduced days to slaughter metric, is perfectly aligned with Herefords, sustainability is a summary of our inherent strengths. Growth, feed conversion, fertility, longevity whilst having exceptional MSA grading outcomes. This messaging needs to be ‘hammered’ at every available opportunity by all members, then we will be placed in pole position as industry recognises the number one driver for our industry messaging and growth in beef consumption is reduced days to slaughter.

We have the relative genetic population volume for sustained genetic growth. We have the outcomes for both on farm profitability and meat-eating quality for our breed to be the breed of choice for the modern sustainable beef industry. We have the opportunity to position ourselves to the point where every Bos-Indicus infused female in appropriate regions of Northern Australia has a whiteface. We have the opportunity where every black cow in the south has a whiteface. This is achievable, by selling our message consistently backed by real world outcomes and embracing everything the industry requires for profitability and science backed outcomes.

Governance and Leadership

During the year, the Board worked collaboratively to ensure a clear focus on governance, accountability, and the delivery of tangible outcomes for members. Herefords Australia through whole collaboration is a modern streamlined organisation that now has the foundations for an extremely successful service delivery organisation. I would like to acknowledge the ongoing professionalism of our directors, who bring a broad range of industry and business expertise to the table. Their dedication to the breed and the organisation has ensured that key policy and operational decisions have been made with long-term stability and member success in mind.

We welcomed Mr Hamish Chandler as CEO, who brings deep experience in genetics, research, and leadership. Hamish has the professional respect of staff, the Board and the wider beef industry to further strengthen our reputation and branding efforts. The Board has full confidence in his ability to enhance stability and continue delivering on our strategic priorities.

Financial and Operational Performance.

Herefords Australia remains in a sound financial position, despite unfounded member murmurings, we delivered a profit in the last financial year, not seen at the organisation for many years. During the year, the organisation undertook a review of its inventory and membership fee structure, ensuring that our pricing is equitable, transparent, and sustainable. Improvements to DNA testing processes, including direct-to-laboratory submissions and renewed partnership agreements with Neogen, have streamlined operations and reduced turnaround times for members. The organisation has also successfully transitioned its financial systems to Xero, creating greater efficiency and accountability in financial reporting and audit readiness. More importantly we listened to members and you would have seen the improvements made in invoicing and general billing services. We continue to invest in technology, data management, and staff capability ̶ all essential to delivering high-quality services to members.

Youth, Members, and Community

A vibrant and engaged membership remains central to our success. The Herefords Australia Youth Expo, held in Canberra in July 2025, drew record participation from young breeders across the nation. Along with the Youth Expo and traditional Youth events we have seen the recently formulated ‘Future Leaders & Breeders’ initiative go from strength to strength with a sold out event attended by young commercially aligned participants from all over the country. The goals of the ‘Future Leaders & Breeders’ forums is to target and engage with young (18-45y/o) industry participants that are currently forging careers in the beef industry at a commercial level. This initiative engages these young people and encourages them to become involved in the Hereford community that may have previously felt left out as they had no interest in the show ring or traditional Youth Heifer Show programs. Another call to arms for members- you all have bull clients that have sons/daughters/managers/employees that have an interest in the Hereford breed that haven’t been previously involved with Herefords Australia. Why not look at purchasing tickets for your clients to attend? Remember these are the future bull buyers driving up your driveway and not the driveways of other breeds! These events continue to build the next generation of leaders, ensuring the long-term future of the breed and the organisation. The Board also acknowledges the vital contribution of volunteers, and event partners, whose passion and commitment underpin every success story in the Hereford community.

Acknowledgements

On behalf of the Board, I extend my sincere appreciation to all members, staff, and industry partners for their commitment and contribution throughout the year. Thank you to our major partners, including Bendigo Bank Agribusiness, StockCo, Neogen, Auctionsplus, Harris Farm Markets, ACM Agri and Zoetis and others who support our events and research programs. Special thanks also goes to my fellow directors for their support, insight, and stewardship of the breed. In particular the vice chairman Mr Ian Durkin, the role of Chairman is very much a dual role between myself and Ian. His commitment, guidance and council certainly doesn’t go unrecognised.

Outlook

As we look to 2026 and beyond, Herefords Australia is well positioned to deliver on its strategic goals. Our focus remains on continuous improvement, financial strength, and ensuring that the Hereford breed grows its proud reputation for performance, profitability, and sustainability across the beef industry. The future for Herefords is bright, with all our members support and buy-in, it will be built on messaging, data, quality, and the passion of our people.

Marc Greening- Chairman Herefords Australia Ltd.