PROMINENT former WA agribusiness and livestock identity Gerald Wetherall has returned to the rural industry with Westcoast Wool & Livestock, appointed to the position of State livestock manager with the burgeoning, privately-owned local company.
Mr Wetherall has been the owner/director of the Elders Wetherall Real Estate franchise at Bayswater in Perth the past 11 years, running the business with his wife, Suzanne.
Prior to that he notched 20 years with the Elders network in South Australia and WA, in the latter stages holding high-profile branch and regional manager positions and continuing his role as a lead auctioneer at Geraldton, Northam and Katanning.
Mr Wetherall said he was excited by his career move back into agriculture with Westcoast Wool & Livestock and coinciding with the promising outlook for livestock commodities.
“I have had a strong interest to return to the industry and a real affinity for livestock – and it’s especially exciting with the current market conditions,’’ Mr Wetherall said.
“It is very exciting times for anyone involved in agriculture, particularly with sheep and wool, but also with the good returns for cattle.
“Wool is at levels that people haven’t seen and there is continued strong demand for protein.’’
Mr Wetherall said he understood the current concerns over live sheep exports and hoped the issues could be resolved for the benefit of the industry.
He is now looking forward to building on the already strong success achieved by Westcoast Wool & Livestock in its short history.
“It’s very exciting. I believe I can add value to what is a diverse, growing business,” he said.
“Across wool and livestock, there is a lot of upturn and massive opportunity to expand the business.”
Mr Wetherall said in the early stages he was looking forward to greeting producers and members of the processing industry with the Statewide Westcoast livestock team.
“People across the agriculture industry are fantastic and it will be great to rekindle some relationships,” he said.
Westcoast Wool & Livestock director Brad Faithfull welcomed the appointment and said Mr Wetherall was a valuable addition to the business.
“Gerald has strong experience, a thorough understanding of all livestock products, real estate, clearing sales and other products, and is very well networked across WA’s agricultural areas,’’ Mr Faithfull said.
“He has an outstanding profile in the WA agriculture industry and his high quality skills will assist further growth of the Westcoast business.
“We are very excited to have a lot of youth in the Westcoast team and Gerald will help provide great guidance for our younger wool and livestock personnel.’’