Neroli Brennan: This is Seeds for Success, a show where we have
Neroli Brennan: a good yarn about ag life with producers who are
Neroli Brennan: having a go. On the show, you'll hear from farmers
Neroli Brennan: in New South Wales who are out there battling the
Neroli Brennan: elements, making tough calls, and getting the job done. You'll
Neroli Brennan: get a laugh out of some of their stories and
Neroli Brennan: also pick up some know- how along the way. I'm
Neroli Brennan: your host, Neroli Brennan. Today, we're continuing our chat with
Neroli Brennan: Annie Scott. In the last episode, Annie talked to us
Neroli Brennan: about their farming operations and how their approach and management
Neroli Brennan: has changed over the years through fine- tuning their soil
Neroli Brennan: management and grazing approaches and keeping a structured annual calendar
Neroli Brennan: for key livestock production activities. In today's episode, Annie reflects
Neroli Brennan: on her personal journey with the Angus breed. Beginning in
Neroli Brennan: the 1990s as a youth ambassador, her many years serving
Neroli Brennan: as chairperson of Angus New South Wales and culminating in
Neroli Brennan: the recent World Angus Forum, which only comes to Australia
Neroli Brennan: every 30 years or so, where Annie was recognized with
Neroli Brennan: an industry award for more than 20 years of service
Neroli Brennan: to the Angus breed. You'll also hear Annie share her
Neroli Brennan: personal philosophy of you either win or you learn as
Neroli Brennan: she aims to keep Karoo in the top 20% of
Neroli Brennan: farms. And added to that, her strong desire for the
Neroli Brennan: industry to grow through better mentoring of younger generations and
Neroli Brennan: more positive media coverage to help bridge the growing city
Neroli Brennan: and country divide. Local Land Services senior ag advisor, Lauren
Neroli Brennan: Costin, caught up with Annie following a successful World Angus
Neroli Brennan: Forum to bring you part two of their two- part chat.
Lauren Costin: So I'm curious because I think this is different and
Lauren Costin: not many people have had the World Angus Forum on
Lauren Costin: their property of late, so you were recently involved in
Lauren Costin: the forum, tell us about that, Annie.
Annie Scott: Yeah. That was really exciting and it was really a
Annie Scott: privilege to be involved in the event as it only
Annie Scott: comes to Australia about once every 30 years.
Lauren Costin: Does it? 30 years?
Annie Scott: Yeah. The last time it was in Australia was 1997
Annie Scott: and went full circle on that because in 1997 I
Annie Scott: was the Angus Youth Ambassador and then coming to 2008
Annie Scott: to hosting the event or part of the event. So
Annie Scott: it was a real gratitude moment just saying that we've
Annie Scott: succeeded within the Angus breed. And we were privileged and
Annie Scott: thank Angus Australia for letting us do that as we
Annie Scott: were one of only a few studs that got to
Annie Scott: showcase Angus breed on the tour that lasted about two
Annie Scott: weeks, and it also included an expo in Tamworth, which
Annie Scott: Tony and I attended, and a conference in Brisbane that
Annie Scott: was just world- class. It has been a tremendous event
Annie Scott: and took a lot to organize, obviously, but we enjoyed
Annie Scott: the day with our guests. So yes, it was a
Annie Scott: real privilege.
Lauren Costin: So had people actually come on farm and have a
Lauren Costin: look at your animals and your system here at Karoo?
Annie Scott: Yeah, we did. When we do something, we like to
Annie Scott: do it properly, so we set ourselves a challenge and
Annie Scott: we put on display just over 600 animals, so just
Annie Scott: around a bull shed and the small paddocks that we
Annie Scott: have around here. So it took a lot to get
Annie Scott: those 600 animals in. With that, we produced a catalog.
Annie Scott: So we had all those animals in that catalog with
Annie Scott: their breeding, their EBVs, a bit of history on us,
Annie Scott: and I think the guests really enjoyed it and really
Annie Scott: enjoyed that we went to that effort. It was a
Annie Scott: lot of work to pull off such an event, but
Annie Scott: my team is just wonderful and I think, Lauren, the
Annie Scott: eye rolling stopped after about the 100th request of my crazy
Annie Scott: ideas, but they accepted all my wacky and wonderful ideas
Annie Scott: and we pulled off the event. It was definitely a
Annie Scott: team effort and yeah, I thank our team for making
Annie Scott: it the success it was. The people were from 26
Annie Scott: different countries as well as a great mix of Australian
Annie Scott: Angus breeders as well. They were interesting and interested in
Annie Scott: our program. They showed a lot of interest in our
Annie Scott: program while they were here. And also, we did a
Annie Scott: tour led by Gareth around the paddocks who talked about
Annie Scott: our cropping program and our pasture improvements, which they really
Annie Scott: got a lot out of as well. I think the
Annie Scott: biggest difference, I guess, between us and a lot of
Annie Scott: the guests was our scale. They weren't used to the
Annie Scott: scale of our operation and they appreciated what we did.
Annie Scott: And like I said, it was a real privilege and
Annie Scott: just a great honor to host them for the day.
Annie Scott: Like I said, we're probably only one of three studs
Annie Scott: in Australia that actually hosted them while they're on tour.
Annie Scott: So yeah, a massive opportunity and a real gold star
Annie Scott: for Karoo, I think. Yeah, a real pat on the
Annie Scott: back for their effort.
Lauren Costin: No, and I hear a pat on the back for
Lauren Costin: you too with the New South Wales Angus, the Dedication and
Lauren Costin: Service Excellence Award.
Annie Scott: Yeah. That was a bit of a surprise, but thanks, Lauren, for bringing
Annie Scott: this up. It was something that, I guess, I'm really
Annie Scott: proud of in the sense that I guess I love
Annie Scott: this breed and it has played a huge role to
Annie Scott: help me shape who I am today. So going back
Annie Scott: a bit, like I said, I started off in the
Annie Scott: youth program back in the early 90s and I won
Annie Scott: a scholarship and an overseas trip through the youth program.
Annie Scott: I also learned about public speaking and corporate speaking, and
Annie Scott: it built my confidence and helped me with my early
Annie Scott: business management. I then went on to be the chairperson
Annie Scott: of Angus New South Wales and have recently resigned off
Annie Scott: that committee after about 20 years, really just to focus
Annie Scott: on Karoo since the passing of my father, and I
Annie Scott: just wanted to consolidate just a few things I was
Annie Scott: doing and just take a breath, I guess. And yeah,
Annie Scott: Karoo's my life, anyone that knows me, they know that.
Annie Scott: Karoo's my number one. It's who I am, it's who
Annie Scott: my family is. I just want to leave it in
Annie Scott: a better state than what we got it. And not
Annie Scott: saying that John didn't do a good job, I think he
Annie Scott: did an excellent job and John's the reason Karoo is
Annie Scott: as successful as what it is today, but you can
Annie Scott: always make improvements and I think the dedication and service
Annie Scott: to an Excellence Award is a testament to, I guess,
Annie Scott: the improvements that we've made at Karoo and to who
Annie Scott: I am today.
Lauren Costin: That's amazing. Congratulations for that. I think that's pretty great,
Lauren Costin: and I do love your passion and your enthusiasm in what
Lauren Costin: you do. It comes across, I think, for me, every
Lauren Costin: interaction with you, no matter what we're talking about.
Annie Scott: I just love what I do and I love the
Annie Scott: fact that I can do it every day. I love
Annie Scott: the fact that the ag space is such a progressive
Annie Scott: and forward- thinking space. It's always changing. Nothing's dull. There's
Annie Scott: always some technology, something coming up that just can improve
Annie Scott: the success of everyone. And I'm a team player and I
Annie Scott: also just like to involve everyone in what we're doing.
Annie Scott: And I think Karoo speaks for itself that it's a family
Annie Scott: operation. We still have consultants, like we said, outside and
Annie Scott: all those are considered as part of the business. And
Annie Scott: I think relationships form a great part of a successful
Annie Scott: business, and I think we've got great relationships right through
Annie Scott: to our agents at Elders Emms Mooney and just Emerge
Annie Scott: Ag that provide the consultants for our agronomy and our
Annie Scott: vet consultant and other people that come on and do
Annie Scott: different things throughout the year. I just think that makes
Annie Scott: us who we are and as successful as who we are.
Lauren Costin: The next step is like, well, what's next? What's happening
Lauren Costin: in the next 5- 10 years? Anything particular that you
Lauren Costin: came to get your teeth into? Any challenges or opportunity?
Annie Scott: Where's the crystal ball, Lauren?
Lauren Costin: I don't have any skin in the game on this one.
Annie Scott: Yeah, no. So I'm a half- glass- full kind of person, so I
Annie Scott: love a challenge. I guess our biggest challenge, and it's pretty
Annie Scott: obvious, is the weather. That really determines what we can
Annie Scott: and can't do throughout the seasons. And also, I always
Annie Scott: say that rain makes a farmer look smart. You can
Annie Scott: have really bad pastures, but after rain, it turns green,
Annie Scott: everyone thinks you've got a heap of feed, but if
Annie Scott: you look at that dry matter per hectare, it's still
Annie Scott: not very good. Yeah, so challenges are the weather. Unfortunately,
Annie Scott: I think the government is becoming a big challenge that farmers
Annie Scott: need to take into account now more than ever, and
Annie Scott: that's a really hard space to navigate, so I think
Annie Scott: that's something that we'll have to look a bit more
Annie Scott: in the sense of the challenges that they are putting
Annie Scott: forward for us. Like we've talked about, pests and weeds
Annie Scott: are always a challenge at certain times of the year, and that
Annie Scott: goes with the seasons as well as what the weather
Annie Scott: throws at us. And turning to opportunities, I guess working
Annie Scott: the ag space provides a great lifestyle and it's a
Annie Scott: wonderful place to raise, we've got one son, Riley, he's
Annie Scott: a young man now in his late teens, but I
Annie Scott: just see it as a great way giving back and
Annie Scott: hopefully I give back to this industry and I just
Annie Scott: love what I do. As far as crew is concerned,
Annie Scott: we have plenty of opportunities to fine- tune our breeding
Annie Scott: program and our pastures and cropping program. And I guess
Annie Scott: that comes with accessing more knowledge as it becomes available.
Annie Scott: And just any opportunities that arise in the short term
Annie Scott: and long term, we'll take them and grass them and
Annie Scott: move on and take that extra step. And I think
Annie Scott: if we can do that, and this 1% is just so important,
Annie Scott: a bigger percentage is also important, but if we can
Annie Scott: just improve those one percenters day in, day out, that
Annie Scott: goes ahead in leaps and bounds to improve our programs,
Annie Scott: our cropping programs, our pasture programs, and our breeding objectives.
Annie Scott: If we can just improve on those, I think when
Annie Scott: the opportunities arise, I think that gets us forward ahead
Annie Scott: of others. I'm not saying I'm better than anyone else,
Annie Scott: by no means, but I'm just saying that education and
Annie Scott: taking those opportunities is what gets us a bit further ahead.
Lauren Costin: I was recently involved with the LLS farm planning workshop
Lauren Costin: that we had, and I think a fair bit of
Lauren Costin: time on that first day was just around setting up
Lauren Costin: a vision and objectives for the business. And I keep
Lauren Costin: coming back to that with a lot of people that
Lauren Costin: we talk to just about general inquiries and things like
Lauren Costin: that. I think it's really good to have that sit
Lauren Costin: down and make a clear focus on where you're going
Lauren Costin: and how you're going to get there. And that sort
Lauren Costin: of clarifies things for you along the road and makes
Lauren Costin: sure that you are on your eventual aim. You can
Lauren Costin: have short and long- term goals and things like that,
Lauren Costin: but yeah, I think that structure is really helpful with
Lauren Costin: that seasonal variability that you really don't have any control over.
Annie Scott: Yeah. And I think that's a thing. I think with the opportunities and
Annie Scott: to have something successful, it's probably best, and we do
Annie Scott: this, we try and focus on the things that we
Annie Scott: can control. Things that we can't control, while we worry
Annie Scott: about them and we spend a bit of time on them,
Annie Scott: they're noise in the background. If you focus on the
Annie Scott: things that you can control, that will get you that
Annie Scott: next step and that leads you to that next thing
Annie Scott: that you've got to do. So focusing your business on
Annie Scott: something that you can control will improve your business.
Lauren Costin: There's a lot of news and I guess a little
Lauren Costin: bit of that outside noise around that carbon scenario. Have
Lauren Costin: you guys, as a business at Karoo, thought about your
Lauren Costin: position on that and how you're going to tackle it
Lauren Costin: if you are going to tackle it at all?
Annie Scott: We are sitting on the sideline for this one for
Annie Scott: the minute, Lauren. Well, we do take in that noise
Annie Scott: and we've talked to our agronomists about it. We do
Annie Scott: a carbon plan. What do we do? We're just sitting
Annie Scott: on the fence at the moment just waiting for a
Annie Scott: bit more structure and a bit more confidence or determination in
Annie Scott: what is actual fact and what is fiction in the
Annie Scott: sense of, what do we need to do, I guess,
Annie Scott: to put in place a carbon plan? But it's so
Annie Scott: blurred at the minute. So if there was something that
Annie Scott: was a plan of attack that was written down that
Annie Scott: was fact, and this is what you have to do
Annie Scott: to achieve this, we need to do this to achieve a
Annie Scott: certain point in that plan to tick it off, sure,
Annie Scott: we'd do that. But in saying that, there's probably things
Annie Scott: that we are doing in the noise of we plant
Annie Scott: trees every year, we don't overgraze. If you looked at
Annie Scott: our stocking rate, it probably doesn't look pretty on paper,
Annie Scott: but we are a profitable business because of that. The stud business
Annie Scott: is a bit different. It takes up a bit more
Annie Scott: area per hectare to run to achieve what we achieve.
Annie Scott: But we are doing things in that carbon space like
Annie Scott: that, waterways, we don't erode, all that sort of stuff,
Annie Scott: troughs and all that. We try and concrete around those
Annie Scott: so they're not eroded around and stuff like that. So
Annie Scott: we do do stuff I guess in that noisy space
Annie Scott: intentionally or unintentionally to then help us when it becomes
Annie Scott: an issue that we have to do to achieve something
Annie Scott: or if we need to do it to achieve something better. We've sort
Annie Scott: of got a bit of stuff in the background that
Annie Scott: we've already got, and especially in our soil test if
Annie Scott: you want to go back to that, with that, it
Annie Scott: does actually show dry matter and all that within the
Annie Scott: soil, and we're achieving way beyond the targets there so
Annie Scott: far anyway. So if we had to put a formal
Annie Scott: plan in place-
Lauren Costin: You'd have the numbers.
Annie Scott: Yeah, it wouldn't take a lot for us to actually
Annie Scott: formalize it, I guess. So while it's not a priority
Annie Scott: for us, yeah, it is one of those noisings that's
Annie Scott: happening in the background. Yeah, that's just ticking along at
Annie Scott: its own pace. When we need to up that pace,
Annie Scott: well, then I guess that's another challenge for me, and
Annie Scott: that's where we go. We target that challenge and we
Annie Scott: execute it to the best of our ability and try
Annie Scott: and be in that top 25%. That's where we like
Annie Scott: to sit. We like to sit in that top 25%
Annie Scott: of farms just so that we know that we're up
Annie Scott: there. Like I said, I'm not the best, but we're
Annie Scott: always willing to learn and try and get into the
Annie Scott: top 20% if we can, but we're happy to sit
Annie Scott: at the top 25% of farms.
Lauren Costin: I've got a final question. If you could do one
Lauren Costin: thing to change anything in Australian ag, what would it
Lauren Costin: be? I'm talking about things outside of your control.
Annie Scott: I find this question really hard because I love the
Annie Scott: ag industry space and it's been very kind to me.
Annie Scott: So to help make it better, I think we need
Annie Scott: to focus on the younger generation and give them all
Annie Scott: the mentoring you can. The better mentors you have, I
Annie Scott: think will make this ag space a bit better and
Annie Scott: fill in the bigger picture. The other thing I guess
Annie Scott: I would love to see, and it's probably a bit left- of-
Annie Scott: center, and it doesn't actually have to do with a sign
Annie Scott: within ag or a specific ag thing to make it
Annie Scott: better, but the bigger picture, I'd love to see mainstream
Annie Scott: media highlight positive things that we do within the industry.
Annie Scott: The media is really good at highlighting floods, fires, and
Annie Scott: droughts, but not so good at highlighting things that we
Annie Scott: do good on a regular basis. And whether that became
Annie Scott: something where we could slide into that prime time TV
Annie Scott: once a week and just have a really quick good
Annie Scott: positive story, I think that would make ag a better
Annie Scott: space within the noise of life.
Lauren Costin: And perceived a little bit differently by the wider community
Lauren Costin: who are predominantly city- based.
Annie Scott: Yeah, city- based. And I think that's something that's really
Annie Scott: becoming evident. The city- country divide, unfortunately, I think is
Annie Scott: becoming wider. The gap's getting wider, it's not closing in.
Annie Scott: And I think one of those things is because family
Annie Scott: farms are getting smaller within the ag space, so city
Annie Scott: people don't have that school holidays where they'd come out
Annie Scott: to grandpa's farm or whatever. That's just not happening as
Annie Scott: much as what it used to. And I think within
Annie Scott: the ag space, that's why we need to mentor the
Annie Scott: young ones. And I think on a positive, again, glass- half-
Annie Scott: full person that I am, mentors are really important and
Annie Scott: I've been lucky to have really good mentors to get
Annie Scott: me to where I am. And I guess my biggest
Annie Scott: mentor, obviously, anyone that knows me well, would be my
Annie Scott: father, John, or was my father, John. So that has
Annie Scott: been a real challenge for me, I guess, to reset
Annie Scott: on not having John around, but when I make a
Annie Scott: decision, I always stop and think, " What would John do?
Annie Scott: What would be his perspective on making this situation better?
Annie Scott: Or how can I change it to make it a
Annie Scott: better situation?" And that's why I say, you win or
Annie Scott: you learn, you never lose. You win or you learn.
Annie Scott: And that's something that, I guess, I take and really
Annie Scott: focus on a lot in our decision- making for Karoo.
Lauren Costin: I think that's a beautiful way of ending, Annie. And
Lauren Costin: I think that's a good thing to have in your
Lauren Costin: mind every day, really.
Annie Scott: Yeah, it is.
Lauren Costin: I just had a wonderful time. Thank you so much
Lauren Costin: for being part of our podcast and being so open,
Lauren Costin: and I really appreciate all your thoughts and opening up your
Lauren Costin: business like this. So yeah, thank you very much.
Annie Scott: Thanks, Lauren. It was a pleasure and I hope someone
Annie Scott: gets something out of it. Thank you.
Neroli Brennan: This episode of Seeds for Success is supported by the
Neroli Brennan: Australian government through funding from the Natural Heritage Trust under
Neroli Brennan: the Climate Smart Agriculture Program, and delivered by Local Land
Neroli Brennan: Services, a member of the Commonwealth Regional Delivery Partners panel.
Neroli Brennan: Thanks for listening. This podcast was brought to you by
Neroli Brennan: Central West Local Land Services. Local Land Services delivers advice
Neroli Brennan: and support to farmers, landholders, and the community across New
Neroli Brennan: South Wales. To learn more, you can find us online
Neroli Brennan: by searching for Central West Local Land Services. If you'd
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