All Australians enjoy the world class food and fibre grown right here in Australia. But some know very little about the farmers and workers who put food on their tables.
National Agriculture Day is celebrated each year on the third Friday in November. The theme for this year is “Grow You Good Thing”
The major agricultural industry in the Glen Innes Severn area is beef cattle production which employs almost 9% of our population. At a recent Business Chamber meeting Keith Howe, CEO of Rangers Valley Station, gave some insights into the running of this enterprise. Rangers Valley is the third largest feedlot in Australia employing 75 team members, the majority of which live in Glen Innes and surrounding areas. There are others from Rangers Valley Station in Warwick and Brisbane as well as having people on the road talking to suppliers of feeder cattle.
Rangers Valley adds value to 40,000 head of beef cattle in a feedlot as well as farming and backgrounding operations. They work closely with 200 cattle producers to ensure that the DNA, breeding and weaning processes are optimised to ensure optimum performance in the feedlot environment. Working with distributors to determine market demand, Ranger Valley works through the supply chain to ensure the quantity and quality of their product meets customer requirements. Customers are across the globe, with the business selling into Japan, England and the USA as well as within Australia.
Other significant agricultural pursuits in our area include: sheep for prime lamb production and fine wool, honey – there are approximately 40 apiarists in our area – goats, forage producers and horticulture such as pumpkins, beans and broccoli, maize and oats.
Grow you Good Thing!
