Red meat industry to train new group of ambassadors

The red meat industry is looking for its next group of ambassadors to upskill in an effort to champion producers and agriculture across the community.

Expressions of interest are now open for Meat & Livestock Australia’s (MLA) Ambassadors for the Red Meat Industry training program, with four workshops set to be held between November 2024 and May 2025.

The program equips passionate people within the red meat industry with the confidence and skills to engage with people outside of agriculture. In addition, they also learn the skills required to tell their own authentic stories on why they love working in the Australian red meat industry.

Victorian mixed farmer Jamie Pepper, Tahara, became a Red Meat Ambassador in December 2022 after completing a workshop at Bendigo.

He said he valued the opportunity to upskill in areas such as social media and media interviews.

“Learning to use social media to help tell the story of my ‘why’ was a big takeaway for me from the program,” Mr Pepper said.

“Another learning curve was the mock media interviews we did. It was just dynamite in terms of learning what happens if an interviewer asks a couple of tricky questions, how to get back on topic, preparing speaking points and other key aspects of preparation.

“I’ve done quite a few interviews now and I always think back to the mock interview from the training we did just to prepare.”

MLA Group Manager - Community Communications and Events, Samantha Jamieson, said there had been solid demand from the industry for the Ambassadors program.

“The program is now in its fourth year, with 425 people from across Australia having received professional training in community engagement, communication through media and social media, and building trust with consumers,” Ms Jamieson said.

“Since the program’s inception, we have been blown away by the amount of interest from people across the red meat supply chain who want to be able to effectively tell the great story of Australian red meat production.”

Ms Jamieson said those who complete the program would join a wider alumni network of likeminded industry champions.

Editor's note: Natasha Lobban completed MLA's Ambassadors for the Red Meat Industry training program in 2022.