Tasmanian red meat industry leader Brett Hall has been chosen to take part in next year’s prestigious Australian Rural Leadership Foundation (ARLF) program.

It involves more than eight weeks of training around Australia and overseas over a period of 17 months from next May.

Mr Hall, who runs Angus cattle, merino sheep and grows cereal crops on his midlands property Montlea and Bronte property in the southern highlands, will be one of about 35 participants in the program.

One of Tasmania’s leading lights in rural politics, the late John Allwright, a former president of the National Farmers’ Federation, was one of the founders of the program in 1992.

It was established to respond to the emerging challenges for rural, regional and remote Australia. It has been successful in creating a network of leaders with commitment, strategic thinking and negotiating skills at national and international level.

Mr Hall is chair of the TFGA Meat Council, chair of the Southern Australia Meat Research Council, a member of the Red Meat Targets Committee, the Tasmanian National Livestock Identification System Advisory Committee and a trustee of the Tasmanian Beef Industry Trust.

He said today he was motivated to apply for the program because of the increasingly complex role that farmers have in public life in their dealings with governments, lobbyists and the media

“These days there are simply too many issues for individuals to tackle alone,” he said. “We need to collaborate with other organisations to address the increasing range of issues and to provide maximum benefit to our membership.

“We need representation from people who are motivated, well-trained and strategic in their thinking so that we can adapt quickly to change. Farmers need to get involved to make change from within, rather than just identify what is wrong with the current situation.”

Mr Hall said food security was looming as the big issue yet it was not uppermost in the thoughts of most people or governments.

“Our challenge is to raise the awareness of the problem and put in place the framework that will be needed to solve the situation,” he said.

TFGA chief executive Jan Davis said people such as Brett Hall served as an inspiration to other young farmers to seize the opportunity to improve their skills and their sense of social responsibility in order to make a difference.
Brett Hall, Jan Davis http://www.tfga.com.au/