The Australian Beef Industry Foundation (ABIF) has bestowed its 2019 Howard Yelland Beef Industry Award on Beef Central’s founders and publishers, Jon Condon and James Nason.
The award was presented during the NAB Agribusiness Industry Dinner at Marcus Oldham College last night, marking the graduation of 39 fine young industry stakeholders from across Australia from Marcus Oldham’s 2019 Rural Leadership Program.
James Nason and Jon Condon left long careers in agricultural print media to launch the Beef Central industry news and information website in 2011. Since then the network has expanded to include the grains, wool, lamb, rural property, stud stock and ag-tech industries.
The ABIF has made the Howard Yelland award each year since 1987. Previous recipients have come from a wide spectrum of industry activity, including progressive and example-setting beef producers, meat and livestock science, industry leadership and stewardship, ag economics and consultancy and supply chain management. Just some of the 35 previous winners have included the late Graeme Acton, David Crombie, Robin Hart, the late Zanda McDonald, David Blackmore, Drs John Thompson and Dave Pethick, David McKinna, Rod Polkinghorne, John Websterand Don Story.
An acknowledgement of national industry significance, the Howard Yelland Beef Industry Award is named after Howard W Yelland, a pioneer in the industry through his championing of objective selection and performance-recording in cattle.
Marcus Oldham Rural Leadership Program NAB Industry Dinner 2019
The award seeks to recognise individuals who have given service to the beef industry ‘above and beyond’ what would be considered a normal role.
Selection criteria include:
- Extent of contribution to the Australian beef industry
- Recognition of this contribution both nationally and internationally
- Leadership role as change agents
- Contribution above and beyond normal role in the industry
In profiling this year’s award recipients, ABIF said that Messrs Condon and Nason were recognised for their provision of accurate and timely industry news and market intelligence for the beef industry through the electronic media.
The citation for this year’s award read:
“This award jointly recognises the insight and innovation in developing an online presence for news and commentary on our industry, and the extensions of it across the supply chain; and promoting open debate on topics of importance to the continued growth of many businesses active in red meat production.
“Through their initiative in developing and implementing the online information platform, Beef Central, James Nason and Jon Condon have ensured that access to relevant and timely information that assists in decision-making in both beef herds and red meat markets in Australia is a reality.”
“The Beef Central online news platform overcomes the tyranny of distance, providing timely and accurate information relating to the meat and livestock industry, to allow all industry stakeholders to make better and more informed business management decisions.” the dinner audience was told.
“Beef Central is well recognised as a reliable and unbiased source of information, both nationally and internationally, providing the basis for sound decision-making within the beef industry – exactly the same attributes that made Howard Yelland a leader in his field 108 years ago.”
“James Nason and Jon Condon have demonstrated a significant contribution to the Australian beef industry, are leaders in their role as change-agents, and have contributed above and beyond a normal role in this industry.”
The pair was nominated for the 2019 award by prominent Victorian seed stock producer, Don Lawson.
About Howard Yelland
Howard Yelland’s Glentrevor Hereford stud was among the first beef herds in Australia to make selection and breeding decisions based on performance. He started objective selection in the early 1900’s, began weighing cattle in 1910 and his family started recording and selecting on the results in 1960. Howard Yelland would truck bulls to the local rail siding to use the railway weigh bridge to measure animal growth rates. All records were calculated and recorded manually and decisions for mating groups made on this data, a far cry from the vast data base of information which now underpins the objective selection of beef cattle in this country and around the world.
About the Australian Beef Industry Foundation
The Australian Beef Industry Foundation (ABIF) is an independent industry organisation committed to investing in young people, education and information to develop a beef industry that is highly profitable, sustainable and supportive of rural communities and their needs.
ABIF is committed to investing in young people, education and information to arrest the exodus of people and therefore key skills from the industry, and attracting and retaining people in the industry ABIF is a stable, independent and innovative organisation that is growing rapidly through strong relationships with industry supporters and investors.
Article originally published on Beef Central
Rural Leadership Program