What could be better than getting a Hemsworth to pop by for a visit? Well, according to a very clever regional tourism manager in the Central West of NSW, the biggest win is the community spirit after the entire town supported the campaign to Get Chris Hemsworth to Cowra.
By her own admission, Cara Peek wears many hats, but her drive and determination to create opportunities and equality for Aboriginal people in remote Australia will no doubt leave a legacy for generations to come.
The foundations of a data-driven business were forming as soon as Tom Bull left university. Taking a job with USA Lamb company, Superior Farms, Tom recognised the importance of analysing meat quality and yields to underpin farm profitability.
Cassie Prowse may be one of the most interacted with people at AuctionsPlus, but even for the most regular of users, you mightn’t know much about Cass. Cass is our Social Media Coordinator and is an integral part of the marketing team.
Welcome to AuctionsPlus! It’s our mission to help rural businesses and communities to thrive and our staff are incredibly passionate about ensuring that we can help you achieve that. This guide is set up to help you sell for the very first time. Note: This guide assumes you have a registered account. If you need to set up your account, please find more information HERE.
It all started with a few recycled jars filled with homemade and seasonal food at the local farmers’ market. Give it a few years and a lot of figuring out and Cherie Hausler had a range of products being sold by the pallet load to hundreds of stores across Australia. Did we mention there’s also a tv show?
Growing up on a cattle backgrounding operation in New South Wales, James Guest never had any doubt his future lay in the agricultural world - he just had to find out where.
Every now and then a sale comes along like no other. For more than fifty years, the vendor has been rescuing items from clearing sales, saving them from the scrap pile and in itself archiving a piece of history.
As a keen amateur sportsman, Hamish Cooke knows what it’s like to be disciplined and work hard, but he reflects that it was immediately after finishing his Year 12 exams and heading to a mate’s farm for harvest that he learnt what an honest, hard-day of work was like.
Stepping through the gates of BackTrack for the first time, every kid hears something that both shocks and soothes them - you can’t get kicked out of BackTrack. The program is transforming the lives of regional youth across the country with the sole purpose of keeping kids alive, out of jail and achieving their hopes and dreams.
Greater access to market information is now here In the 2021 Financial Year, there were more than 814,000 cattle and 4.43 million sheep offered through AuctionsPlus. As the largest livestock marketplace in Australia, the opportunity to assist our customers with greater analysis and easier to understand insights is important to us.
As a rural reporter with the ABC in Brisbane in the 1980s, Kerry Lonergan knew if he ever got the chance to launch a country program for country people, he’d grab it. There’d be none of the well-trodden stories of weary farmers battling drought or the government either, rather a showcase of the cleverness, hard work and optimism of our country’s primary producers. Finally, in 1991 that opportunity arose and today we still know this program to be Landline.
Memories of delicious, wholesome food from Grandma’s kitchen is the ethos behind one couple’s business, but it’s also driving a bigger mission to engage the wider community in a back-to-basics approach to food and living.
From her kitchen table on a Queensland cattle property, Claire Dunne set out to uncover the stories of women on the land - just like herself. In reflection, she admits she may have been a naive 23-year-old producing a slightly rough around the edges product, but as tennis great Arther Ashe urges, she was starting where she was, using what she had, doing what she could.
Did you know Agricultural Shows Australia is celebrating 20 years of the National Rural Ambassador Award? To celebrate, we've been catching up with the 19 individuals who have held the prestigious title since 2001. Find out where the talented winners are today.
From CEO of the Australian Wagyu Association to broadacre cropping farmer and now a motherhood coach, there is very little that Benita Bensch hasn’t done - but she has left an indelible mark on the agriculture industry.
Set amongst a stunning, century-old homestead and lush, wedding-ready gardens in the Scenic Rim is Towri Sheep Cheeses, run by mother and daughter duo Carolyn and Dallas Davidson - a pair of multi-generational sheep farmers who have transformed their breathtaking property into a purpose-built sheep dairy.
Welcome to AuctionsPlus! It’s our mission to help rural businesses and communities to thrive and our staff are incredibly passionate about ensuring that we can help you achieve that. This guide is set up to help you purchase for the very first time. Note: This guide assumes you have a registered account and have completed buyer training online. If you need to set up your account, please find more information HERE.
As a grazier, pilot, interior designer, business owner and mother of four, a day in the life of Yolande Woods is never dull - whether she is completing a colour consultation or talking all things grain production. A bush pilot living on the banks of the Macintyre River in Goondiwindi, Yolande has also combined her skills of design and aviation to create sleek and tailored aviation products that fit her feminine sense of style for her new brand, Aerohart.
Belinda Rasheed is no ordinary agricultural woman. From Jillaroo to head stockman to manager in the wilds of the NT while simultaneously owning and designing for online fashion house Longrass Style, she is a trailblazer for women on the land. Here’s her story.
Somewhere in one of the most far-flung regions of remote Australia, a man celebrated Christmas with his family last year. Ordinary? Far from it. Just a few weeks earlier, buried beneath the weight of depression, the idea he’d still be around to see in the season seemed unfathomable. Then he met Mary O’Brien.
The Australian Wagyu Industry has been known for its innovation and progressive ways of looking to enhance the sector. The Australian Wagyu Association (AWA) has recently kicked off their newest initiative the Progeny Test Program, we took the opportunity to sit down with AWA CEO, Dr Matt McDonagh to find out more about the Wagyu industry and the upcoming semen tender.
The team at Buy From the Bush continue to go from strength to strength, giving a hand up to businesses and people right across our rural communities. Buy From the Bush have just launched a new national pitch competition for rural entrepreneurs and bush businesses, ‘Buy From The Bush – Big Break’.
Spring has well and truly sprung and we're keen to see what it's looking like in your backyard! 🌞 We're running #APlusSpring - an Instagram photo competition where you can show us the parts of spring that you love, and you'll go in the running to win 1 of 3 AWESOME prizes!
The October long weekend usually marks the time where the population of the Hunter Valley town of Dungog (NSW) doubles. Beginning in 2018, Sculpture on the Farm, brings together sculptors, the local Dungog community and the wider public.
The humble breadtag may seem small and insignificant, thrown away without a second thought when the last slice of bread is pulled from the bag. But this tiny piece of plastic is having an unexpected impact and the multinational corporations are starting to pay attention.
Emma Ayliffe is an expert multi-tasker. When the recently crowned Young Farmer of the Year isn’t working her day-job as an agronomist, she’s developing her social media app Yacker, inspiring generations through public speaking, or helping her partner run their 688-hectare fledgling farm at Lake Cargelligo in Central West New South Wales.
Nick Mignanelli is a young man on a mission. The third generation dairy farmer has some simple but profound goals; produce happy, healthy cows, ensure every gate swings with no help from baling twine, and find a wife and raise a family. He’s not opposed to bringing in the help of Farmer Wants a Wife for the latter either. Watch this space.
Growing up on an outback sheep and cattle station, Dr Ellen Litchfield has observed how a green paradise can transform into swathes of bare ground and billowing dust at the whim of Mother Nature.
In 1983 Jim Callinan was handed a microphone to announce his very first open campdraft at the Murrurundi Showground. Almost 40 years on and the legendary local voice of horse sports doesn’t plan on loosening his grip on the microphone anytime soon - in fact, he says he’s just coming into his peak.
As an eager six-year-old wanting a tangible piece of the family stud business – her own cow – Megan Kent was given a steer. This only fuelled a young girl’s passion for cattle and at just 20-years-old Megan walked away from her first bull sale with more than $100,000 in her back pocket.
Ross Harmer spent his childhood enchanted by the stories his drover father would recount for him. Tales of adventures, mateship and mishaps shaped his youth. Ross, now aged in his 60s, is an equally captivating storyteller in his own right, sharing the history and stories of rural Australia through West Wyalong Movies.
Right now there’s 10,000 people driving around Aussie farms checking water. That’s 40,000 tires, a massive carbon output and sadly, a high chance of a farm accident occurring. We’ll do it all over again tomorrow, the next day and beyond.
As you're probably aware, The Rural Women's Award is an annual award program that celebrates and showcases women in leadership roles across rural and regional communities. Female leaders who want to create impact, innovate and make a difference to rural and regional Australia are encouraged to apply.
There’s a rich, indelible history to family farms. It’s intertwined with our local communities, woven over hundreds of years. Generations, ideas and individuals move forward together with our rural towns to sustain them long into the future. So what happens when the family farm comes to a crashing halt?
It was late into the night as Andrea Cross’ husband was still cutting out hundreds of personalised timber table decorations that she joked it was a miracle she’s still married. The woman on a mission was out to pull off an event to remember and one that would bring in enough dollars to be able to host the Grand Annual Horsham Show in September 2021.
For many farming families ‘they’ll have to carry me out of here in a box’ is a familiar refrain. Farms are passed down from generation to generation and with it, a way of life that becomes an entrenched identity. But what happens in the years between when the farm becomes too much to handle but the will to stay is greater?
The first time his local council asked Neil Druce to submit a DA he scratched his head in confusion. Why would he need a district attorney? The self described ‘farm’ boy from Junee, Victoria chuckles at the memory now. These days he operates one of Australia’s best-known regional tourism attractions and it’s clear he’s now well-versed in Development Applications.
The Peter Westblade Scholarship honours the legacy of Peter Westblade, a man known for his far-sighted, innovative and successful stud, as an inspiring sheep classer, and a mentor to many.
Growing up on a farm in Mudgee, New South Wales, Madie Hamilton knew a farming career wouldn’t be for her - but a career in agriculture still appealed. There’s no denying farming’s a tough gig and yet it’s a life that leaves an indelible mark. These days Madie’s found her niche helping beef farmers across the country produce the best beef in the world through her role as General Manager of Communications and Engagement at the representative body for grain fed beef producers, Australian Lot Feeders’ Association (ALFA).
Have you ever had an idea about how we could make our online platform even better? Quite often, the best ideas come from people just like you who use our system every day... which is why we introduced the Ideas Portal - an online tool that allows our community members to put forward suggestions for our online platform.
The curtain should be drawing to a close on what would have been an incredible celebration of everything agriculture in the heart of Brisbane. Despite the organisers best efforts, the uncertainty of Covid meant that at the eleventh hour the Ekka did not go ahead, for the second year in a row.
We get the feeling that if you got the chance to sit down for a yarn with Bill Keene, it wouldn’t be long before you’d be swept up in a life filled with adventure, bush characters and plenty of hard work. Now aged in his 70s, Bill’s still not one to sit idle. He’s turned a lifelong love of leatherwork into a business, crafting bespoke bushman’s belts from his home in Bathurst, NSW, with wife Belinda by his side.
Maigan Robertson had her heart set on becoming a doctor for as long as she could remember. Inspired by her GP grandfather, Maigan earned top HSC marks to score an early entry acceptance into medicine at Wollongong University in 2019. Her lifelong dream was so close. But then she couldn’t bring herself to leave the saleyards.
The low-tech responsibility of teaching her children’s School of the Air curriculum from her kitchen table on her cattle property near the tiny town of Alpha in Queensland was enough to bring Kristy Sparrow’s internet to a crawl. Throw in trying to run a business at the same time and she might as well forget about checking the banking or completing her BAS. She wasn’t content to let that be the case.
It’s been a year of success so far for the Australian beef industry, record high prices, improving seasonal conditions and a strong demand for quality genetics all supporting the sentiment that it’s a great time to be in the industry.
While many of our great great grandparents would have unwrapped a nice set of pots and pans on their wedding day, one family welcomed a gift that would evolve into one of Australia’s most sought after Angus genetics - Te Mania Angus.
In Australia, just three percent of the shearing industry is made up of women. Eryn Smith is a novice female shearer from the Victorian Highlands and she wants to see more women joining the industry. Eryn Smith began shearing four years ago when she was offered a go on the handpiece while working in a shed in Ivanhoe, NSW, and she’s never looked back. She’s just been offered her first full time permanent shearing contract in Victoria.
Most farming properties are steeped in family history, handed down from one generation to the next, but first-generation producers Adam and Jacynta Coffey have shown what it takes to build a modern legacy on the land – and what makes their success all the more impressive is that they didn’t buy a well-established enterprise.
Imagine this. An Aussie bloke walks into a country pub and orders a water - and no-one bats an eyelid. That’s the day Shanna Whan will know she’s achieved her life’s goal.
Tess and Jake Eaglesham are a true embodiment of their favourite saying; if you’re waiting for the right time to do something, it’s probably too late. Last year saw them welcome their first baby, hold down full time jobs, and survive many a COVID lockdown. For most people, that might be enough on their plate, but the couple from the Riverina region in New South Wales threw themselves in the deep end and launched their dream - Riverina Gin.
It’s a still winter's morning and the fog has engulfed Woko Station near Gloucester in NSW, the sound of the water trickling through the property’s creek that divides the station is only intermittently interrupted by the bellows of the cattle grazing in the paddocks nearby.
There aren’t many things more meaningful than a handwritten letter. For Mea Campbell, the founder of profit-for-purpose organisation, Connected AU, the ceremonious act of opening an envelope, sparked an idea that could offer a solution to Australia’s loneliness epidemic.
1986 can be remembered for some incredibly historical events, The Oprah Winfrey show launched in the United States, Dire Straits recorded the largest ever open-air concert in Tassie, Mad Cow Disease was first detected in the UK and for us, July of 1986 marked the day where AuctionsPlus became more than just an idea, in those days it was CALM by name, but certainly not by nature.
We are excited to announce the winners from our June #MyAPlusDay photo competition. It was wonderful to see amazing photography throughout the competition capturing rural and regional Australia. Thank you to everyone who shared their #MyAPlusDay photos and stories! With the competition so high and over 650 entries, it was a very difficult decision to narrow it down to three winners.
They say to keep your work and personal life separate but for one husband and wife team, the two could not be more intertwined - and they wouldn’t have it any other way.
As Maree Duncombe surveys her beloved Charbray herd on Conondale Station, a 930-hectare property in the Queensland Sunshine Coast Hinterland, she knows both her parents are looking down on her.
Goat meat may not be up there with lamb, beef and chicken on Australian menus, but if Linda McKenzie has her way it will soon become mainstream in boutique restaurants. Linda’s mission is far bigger than elevating goat meat onto the plates of Australians, she also has goals to educate the new wave of tree-changers entering the agriculture industry.
Skye Manson once failed a job interview so spectacularly her future boss didn’t need to sugarcoat it. Instead, he gave her another shot and she spent the next decade travelling the countryside sharing the stories of rural Australians for the ABC. Today she’s clocked up a 15 year long career in the media and is the founder of Manson + Company, a podcast production business she runs from a little 1900’s converted outhouse on her farm in Gunning, NSW.
If there’s anyone blessed with a good set of pipes, it’s Paul Dooley. The renowned seedstock auctioneer says he got lucky with a voice that doesn’t crumble under pressure but plenty of hard work and dedication hasn’t hurt either.
At 30 years old Shannon Speight is just a spring chicken by the agricultural industry’s standards but when it comes to the tech world, she jokes she might already be a little over the hill. Fortunately, she and co-founder Emma Black, 32, are more than holding their own with the 20-somethings after officially launching Black Box Co in March 2020.
Resilience and pivoting are two words we have all heard a lot in the past year. If there is one rural woman who has embraced them, it is Kat Porter who is on the road to making a tiny New South Wales village the “heart of the highway” despite the setbacks that have crossed her path.
After making a shift from the South Island of New Zealand to the North Island, Twin Oaks Angus Stud is thriving by taking a modern approach to breeding.
“After five generations of Maungahina, our goal still remains the same today; To breed and sell quality genetics that stand the test of time, yield high returns and dominate in our client's program” – Bruce McKenzie
Katie Lewis When Tessa Cameron was growing up she didn’t see women at the saleyards. Today, along with fellow livestock assessor Katie Lewis, she says she’s seeing the number of women in the industry rise tenfold every year.
“What up farm?!” is a catchphrase that is, well, catching on and coined by West Wimmera farmer Mark Merrett whose video commentary of everyday farm life is capturing the attention of people across Australia.
When she was five years old Nina House’s parents scraped together every penny they had and bought the second worst block in the district. That was 38 years ago and the House family is now the second longest owners of Fortuna in the Desert Uplands Bioregion of Western Queensland.
Six years ago David and Jill Raff shipped their entire Angus operation from the mainland to King Island. Today, they’re packing their bags again but this time the cattle are staying put. The Raff’s are heading back to Queensland and after nearly 60 years in the agricultural industry, David’s ready for his next adventure - retirement.
Every week across Instagram we get a behind-the-scenes look at a day in the life of an Aussie in ag. Cattle dogs herding up livestock... family life on the farm... After being inspired by all the amazing rural photography, we've decided to run an Instagram competition called #MyAPlusDay!
Eight years ago Alice Mabin walked into a camera shop and asked for the best equipment money could buy. Was she a professional photographer? Not even close. In fact, she’d never even owned a camera. She boldly declared to the store owner she’d be a professional in no time and walked out the door armed with her new purchase, leaving him with a bemused smile on his face.
Austin Grace lives by the motto ‘you can work as hard as you want during the day but it’s what you do in your own time that sets you apart.’ The wise philosophy is paying off after he was recently awarded the Peter Westblade Scholarship.
Eight years ago Aticia (Teesh) Grey admits she didn’t know the first thing about working dogs. A loyal blue cattle dog was her only canine companion and the nippy heeler wasn’t going to hold up in the yards. Teesh knew there was something missing when it came to stock handling on her Pilbara, WA cattle station and she set out to find it.
If you see Teeah Bungey riding down the streets of Sydney one day with the Mounted Police, you’ll know she’s finally giving her teenage career musings a crack. It’s unlikely though - the market operator for AuctionsPlus is living the agricultural dreams she’s had since she was a child.
Rural life awakens in front of Georgie Mann’s camera lens, a storytelling device that’s turning the focus towards inland Australia instead of just the sandy white beaches so often portrayed in tourism brochures.
Last week at Beef Australia, a successful outcome saw Sharon Atkinson of Wairuna Brahmans sell bull Wairuna Zulu to Alex Tzioutzias of Orea Brahmans at Baralaba. The bull was held in our Inaugural Beef Australia stud cattle Sale at Beef Week.
In 2020 as the coronavirus turned the world on its head, one Western Queensland family was left scrambling. Beef producers Karen and Dan Penfold had spent a year educating and building a relationship with their first international wholesaler, hoping this was going to offer their family the financial security needed for the next generation.
Managing Director for John Deere Luke Chandler caught up with Ed Gannon from The Weekly Times to discuss the optimistic outlook on the agricultural industry.
At Beef Australia, AuctionsPlus hosted the Next Generation Forum where key industry representatives and future leaders came together to unpack how to make your start and leave your mark in the Beef industry.
On the final day of The Beef Brekkie Show we are discussing 'Investment in Agriculture' with David Goodfellow - General Manager of CBRE, Bruce King - CEO of Regional Investment Corporation & Kerry McGowan - General Manager, Commonwealth Bank Regional & Agribusiness QLD.
Ed Gannon from The Weekly Times caught up with the Managing Director and CEO Mark Allison from Elders to discuss the current position in Australia Agriculture. Mark further talks about the direction of the beef sector and how to support the industry.
From Echuca NSW, Daniel Barrett was selected as our unsigned artist to perform throughout the week at Beef Australia. “For the first time ever I was really nervous before I got to the venue, but once I settled in and realised what my job was it was easy… It has been amazing nothing short of amazing" Daniel says.
Managing director of Nutrien Ag Solutions Rob Clayton caught up with James Wagstaff from the Weekly Times to discuss the future outlooks on the beef industry post the pandemic.
James Wagstaff from The Weekly Times catches up with Head of Agribusiness at ANZ Mark Bennett at Beef Australia. Mark discusses the challenges and opportunities for the future of agriculture and what direction he sees the industry moving towards.
Matt Dalgleish from Thomas Elders Markets caught up with James Wagstaff from The Weekly Times at Beef Australia to discuss the current state of the Australian Beef Industry, what changes he expects to see in current cattle prices and his predictions for where the industry will be in the next 3 years.
Today on The Beef Brekkie Show Oli is joined by Luke Evans - a cattle manager for a large family-owned operation in Northern Australia, and Rozzie O'Reilly - operations manager for Lambpro where they discuss 'making your start and leaving your mark in the industry'.
It's Day 3 of The Beef Brekkie Show and our guests this morning are Olivia Lawson from Paringa Livestock Genetics and Western Australian producer Geoff Pearson who are both on the Cattle Council of Australia. In this chat, we are looking to gain a different perspective on the challenges and opportunities that currently face the Beef Industry by speaking directly to those who live and breathe it every day - the producers.
National Farmers Federation President Fiona Simson caught up with James Wagstaff from The Weekly Times at Beef Australia to discuss leadership, sustainability and innovation within the beef industry.
CEO of Regional Investment Corporation Bruce King caught up with James Wagstaff of The Weekly Times at the AuctionsPlus stand while at Beef 2021 to chat about how the AgriStarter Loan might help benefit farm businesses by improving resilience, profitability or provide a long-term option for succession planning.
On Day 2 of The Beef Brekkie Show we are joined by Ryan Olive - Rabobank Young Beef Ambassador Award Winner, Anna Speer - Director of Agribusiness Australia & Charlie Perry - Chair of the Australian Wagyu Association.
Chief Executive of Telstra Andy Penn is excited to be in Rockhampton at Beef Week for the opportunity to invest a further $150 million in a range of reasonable improvements over the next 12 months. In addition to that Telstra has announced a $200 million co-investment fund, to extend mobile coverage across rural Australia.
Livestock Editor from The Weekly Times Maddie Stuchbery caught up with the founder of the Butcher Girl Alison Meagher. The inspiration behind Butcher Girl Alison stemmed from Alison's motivation to educate and promote Australian beef while working alongside chefs to develop recipes using secondary cuts.
Producer and Deputy Mayor of Charters Towers Sonia Bennetto talks about the sustainability of the cattle industry and the growth into the future. With exciting times ahead for beef and the primary production in Australia, Sonia comments on how beef is a key economic pillar for her region in North QLD, where leveraging on very strong cattle prices and an increase in positivity from the sector can show growth and investment.
Livestock Editor from The Weekly Times Maddie Stuchbery caught up with Charlie Perry from Trent Bridge Wagyu who spoke about the challenges and opportunities that the industry and in particular producers are facing.
Today we were delighted to chat with Ruby Canning from Outcross, who is also a judge here at Beef Australia. Ruby is excited to be judging not only at an event that is so renowned but also alongside her dad. “It's one of those events that you dream of as a young girl to judge at beef and to be judging with my dad is even more special.”
On Monday, some of the AuctionsPlus team had the pleasure of meeting Prime Minister Scott Morrison during his visit to Beef Australia. Angus Street (CEO), Hugh Courts (Stud Operations) and Ell Simpson (Integrity Manager) are a part of the Beef Connections Program - which aims to connect mentors and mentor partners to grow future industry leaders in the agriculture industry.
AuctionsPlus has teamed up with The Weekly Times to bring you The Beef Brekkie Show during Beef Australia 2021. Presented live from the AuctionsPlus pavilion, The Beef Brekkie show will host various industry leaders with Day 1 kicking off with Jason Strong - Director of Meat & Livestock Australia, David Hill - Director of Cattle Council of Australia & Angus Street - CEO of AuctionsPlus.
The Hon David Littleproud MP - Minister for Agriculture - caught up with James Wagstaff from The Weekly Times at the AuctionsPlus pavilion during Beef Week to discuss the challenges the Beef industry has faced in recent years and how we can get the next generation of farmers to gain a sustainable footing in the industry.
James Wagstaff from The Weekly Times caught up with Michael Vacy-Lyle, Group Executive of Commonwealth Bank Business Banking at Beef Australia to discuss how Australian businesses have weathered the COVID storm and the role Agriculture has played in the Australian economy.
With Beef Week right around the corner, we caught up with Jim and Jackie Wedge to discuss the Inaugural Beef Australia Stud Cattle and Genetics Auction being held in Rockhampton next week. Jim and Jackie run a customer focused Angus and Charolais stud breeding operation known as Ascot Cattle Co, located in Warwick, QLD.
Farmers across the country are heading into their nearest town once a week but it’s not for a beer. Instead, they’re busting out the exercise gear and dropping a few lunges and squats as part of the popular Active Farmers initiative.
Auctions
Results