American forestry identity, Bruce Vincent, has been announced as keynote speaker at the Cattle Council of Australia/AgForce policy seminar to be held at Beef 2015 in Rockhampton in May. Source: Beef Central
Mr Vincent’s keynote speech will provide valuable insights for the Australian cattle industry based on his experience regaining consumer support and confidence in the US timber industry.
He is a third generation logger from Montana, USA, a congressional expert and professional speaker who specialises in how industries can respond to changing consumer expectations.
Mr Vincent will outline how, as a global industry leader, Australian cattle producers can lead the community conversation about environmental stewardship and help define the business of agriculture in the eyes of the community by reintroducing consumers to the processes and people who provide their food and fibre.
Moura cattle producer, Michael Mactaggart, who heard Mr Vincent speak during a tour of the US in 2014, said the keynote speaker had a wealth of knowledge to share with the cattle industry about how to better-engage with a modern consumer in order to maintain a ‘social license’ to operate (SLO).
“Mr Vincent is an inspiring speaker with a lot to offer the cattle industry, particularly in regards to giving us another perspective on how we need to be communicating with consumers,” Mr Mactaggart said.
“He has learned many valuable lessons that are very relevant given the state Australian agriculture finds itself in.”
Mr Mactaggart said Mr Vincent was an advocate for leading through consumer education and adopting a culture of positive activism from within industry. He said the keynote speaker would encourage producers to speak up about their ability to be the best stewards of the land.
“For the cattle industry, this means being proactive about communicating our environmental stewardship to an increasingly environmentally conscious consumer that wants to know where and how their food is produced,” Mr Mactaggart said.
“While many cattle producers are starting to understand the importance of SLO, we need to learn more about this to ensure we have a sustainable industry and to help consumers make better decisions based on facts.
“It will be great to get an agricultural perspective from beyond the beef industry.”
Mr Vincent will be joined by a number of industry speakers at the “Beef Beyond 2015 – Meating consumers expectations and our own” seminar in Rockhampton on 5 May 2015.
