Beef industry trailblazer Ryan Olive says being named Rabobank Young Beef Ambassador has challenged him to aim higher and to play a bigger game.
Third-generation Brahman breeder, Mr Olive won the award that recognises young, forward-thinking and high-achieving beef producers from a record number of nominations.
“It’s a sort of pinch yourself moment where you go, ‘I actually have done a lot more than what I realise’,” said Mr Olive, 33, from Raglan station in central Queensland.
“It (the award) has made me recognise what is possible and how I can now use it to keep progressing.”
Mr Olive, who is the treasurer of the Young Livestock Exporters Network and executive of the Queensland Livestock Exporters Association, comes from a long line of Brahman producers.
Both sets of grandparents have been involved in the industry and his parents, Andrew and Roxanne, have bred grey Brahmans for 30 years as part of their stud and commercial cattle operation.
Rabobank Australia CEO Peter Knoblanche said Mr Olive’s leadership and vision extended beyond his family’s extensive Brahman operation.
Since 2015, he has developed a live-export facility and feedlot on the Raglan property creating additional markets for beef producers through central Queensland.
“To get both developments off the ground shows how proactive and effective Ryan is as a leader, “Mr Knoblanche said.
“And, with his track-record to date, it will be exciting to see where he is in another 15 years.”
Mr Olive is operations manager of the Raglan cattle-handling facility and feedlot on the family’s 10,000 hectare holdings, south of Rockhampton.
He initiated the development of the live export facility, overseeing the building of a state-of-the-art cattle-handling facility, which has serviced live-export trade from Port Alma since 2018.
“The cattle come in, get weighed and from there they are put into lines according to the buyers’ specifications,” Mr Olive said.
“Quarantine protocols and two veterinary inspections also happen onsite before cattle board the boats.”
According to Mr Olive, the cattle-handling facility has opened another viable market for producers in central Queensland.
“The opportunity was identified with the large volume of good quality heavy cattle in the area,” he said.
“Particularly into Vietnam and China, with the Chinese market predominately chasing premium cuts and cattle that may have done 100 days on grain.”
The facility, which handles cattle bound for China, Indonesia and Vietnam, has greatly reduced freight costs for central Queensland cattle producers with Port Alma just 46km from the Raglan facility.
“There are a lot of people that deliver half or deck lots to Raglan that would otherwise not be viable to truck to Townsville in small numbers,” Mr Olive said.
He said a 1000-head feedlot recently established on the property complemented the cattle-handling facility, with the first consignment of 480 custom-fed cattle entering the system in April 2021.
“We’re in a reasonably good location here,” he said, “And, we’ve got very good access to a lot of saleyards and abattoirs, with three processing facilities within 150km,” he said.
With both operations now up and running, Mr Olive says he is “enjoying the fast-paced nature of live export” and “feedlotting is that natural progression of cattle going through a feeding system”.
He predicts a big future for the beef industry.
“Anything to do with protein is going to be in demand for years to come with a growing population,” Mr Olive said.
“And, the longer Australia can maintain a very good health status, the more we are in a ‘box seat’ in terms of supplying that protein around the world.
“You only have to look at prices cattle are currently trading for. It’s a good indication of the high demand for beef, with that demand driving our price up by some degree in recent times.
“There is a lot of confidence in the industry right now and it’s good to see.”
As part of Mr Olive’s Young Beef Ambassadorship he attended this month’s Rabobank Executive Development Program (EDP).
The EDP is designed to develop the strategic planning mindset and commercial management skills of progressive farmers.
“It was phenomenal,” Mr Olive said.
“That was a very big highlight. It opened my horizons to thinking a bit different, looking at things with a different perspective and being aware of things that are influencing us and our actions.”
Mr Olive said meeting like-minded people was a considerable percentage of the program’s value.
“There was such a diverse range of people from diverse backgrounds,” he said.
“We had people from seedstock production, cattle, lamb, cropping, milk. Even to the likes of orchardists, fruits and nuts and kiwi fruit.
“I can’t ever think of a time when I’ve been in a room with a kiwi fruit farmer, an orchardist and a macadamia farmer.
“It was great to learn from the ’cream of the crop’ and to enjoy their positivity.”
The Rabobank Young Beef Ambassador is presented every three years at Beef Australia in Rockhampton.
