Meet the SSG: Barb Madden

Caption: Barb Madden, Sustainability Steering Group.

We spoke with Barb Madden, ABSF Sustainability Steering Group member, President of the Australian Lot Feeders’ Association and integral team member of her family’s Smithfield Cattle Company about opportunities, challenges and her love of the beef industry.

What is your background and experience? 

Born and raised on a property in the picturesque South Burnett region of Queensland, I have grown up with an acute awareness of the skills and personal attributes required to be a successful beef producer.  An accountant by trade, and having worked for many years assisting farming families improve their business planning, wealth creation and tax minimisation, in the late nineties, I decided to apply my skillset to my own family’s feedlot business.  At the time I returned home, we had 3,000 head of cattle on feed and over the past 23 years we have grown to a 38,500 head capacity.

I am also the current President of the Australian Lot Feeders’ Association.

How did you become involved in sustainability? 

By virtue of being born into an inter-generational beef producing and feedlot-focused family, sustainability lies at the very core of what we do.  Our unwavering dedication to the care for our cattle, land and communities forms the very cornerstone of every decision we make.  We place our cattle comfort, health and wellbeing above all else.  The cattle come first and we have implemented many strategies to ensure this occurs, every single day.  A few of our initiatives include: commitment to 100 per cent shaded pens, reduced stocking densities providing extra space for cattle to live and play, tailored Wagyu care including specialised bedding programs, hoof trimming treatments and daily gentle exercise routines.  

How has your experience in the lot feeding sector, and your professional training, positioned you to contribute to the ABSF and to the sustainability of the beef industry?

Through my decades of experience in the lot feeding sector, coupled with my background in corporate finance, these skills have dovetailed nicely into promoting a culture of dedication to detail whilst upholding the highest possible professionalism.  It also highlights our industry relies on a vast array of skillsets for its success and it is only through diversity of skills and ideas can we grow together as a sustainable industry.  

Why is sustainability so important to the Australian red meat sector?

The Australian red meat sector has the very noble role of producing first class protein to feed families around the world.  To maintain our reputation as a clean, green, safe producer of red meat, we need to ensure we are upholding the highest possible standards of care for our animals, land and people.   

Why is sustainability so important to you?

Ensuring our industry thrives into the future, is a priority for the work I do. Continual reflection on our industry systems and practices to ensure best practice and the highest possible care for our animals is imperative.  I want to ensure the amazing role cattle have played over the millennia in building the very communities we enjoy today, is recognised and celebrated.

What are our greatest opportunities?

Our industry is dynamic, forward focused and resilient. Also, collaboration across industry, technology and innovation and our ability to master the art of personal storytelling.