Beef2024 was a great success for AMPC, with over a thousand visitors to the stand throughout the event, including more than 70 students every day.
AMPC CEO Chris Taylor says the event demonstrated there is a lot of potential within the red meat processing industry.
“The atmosphere at Beef2024 was one of excitement and optimism. My team and I enjoyed meeting so many people from in and outside industry and we have come back with dozens of new research leads to explore. We were delighted to see nearly 80 people join us for our More to Meat campaign update and networking event, where we shared some interesting new research.”
More to Meat encourages people to speak about the processing industry and showcases the contribution made by red meat processors to regional communities and the national economy.
“Our latest research shows that 57% of Australians support the red meat processing industry, and this rises to 63% in communities with at least one processor.”
Bringing the next generation into industry
One of the highlights of AMPC’s time at Beef 2024 was the launch of a new interactive careers portal.
“We invited a group of about 40 people, including students, to our official launch and gave them the opportunity to use the career portal touchscreen to find out more about jobs and careers, and have conversations with people in different roles in the processing industry. The students were very engaged and interested, and it really demonstrates the value of interactive technology in showcasing our industry to the next generation,” Chris says.
The portal also generated a lot of interest at the stand throughout the week, with many visitors commenting on its ability to present the diversity of the careers that are available.
The tool will soon be available for use by career advisors and red meat processors at career days, field days and other industry events.
In addition to the portal launch, our team members Rebecca Bennett and Lauren Smith spoke to students about their careers and how they got to where they are in red meat processing, as part of the ‘career chats’ program.
AMPC National Carcase Competition
AMPC was proud to be the major partner of the National Beef Carcase Competition, recognising some incredible achievements in meat quality and yield.
AMPC CEO Chris Taylor attended the awards dinner and presented to some of the winners.
“The level of competition was just exceptional, which speaks to the overall quality of the beef industry in Australia,” Chris says.
“In all, 732 carcases were assessed over six months.”
Competition winners:
- AMPC Achievement Award Overall Champion Carcase - Darren Hamblin, Poll Wagyu, Middlemount, processed at JBS Beef City, Toowoomba
- AMPC Achievement Award Reserve Champion Carcase - Paul and Jennifer Harris, Sunland Cattle Co, Ten Mile and Old Bombandy, Balcomba, processed at JBS Beef City, Toowoomba
- AMPC Champion Pen Award Pen of 3 Classes 1-8 - Yambinya Station, Burraboi, NSW, processed by JBS
- AMPC Reserve Champion Pen Award Pen of 3 Classes 1-8 - AS & M Campbell & Son, processed at V & V Walsh, Bunbury, WA
A starring role
In what was an incredibly busy week, Chris Taylor also found time to chat with the team at Beef TV as part of a segment called ‘Superhuman strength- the exciting new technology set to transform the way beef is processed’. The segment was viewed by 9000 people who got to see Chris demonstrate the iron hand. If you missed it, you can find the clip here.