Summer Angus: Angus Youth member creates social network in WA

Miss Marshall who attended her first Angus Youth National Roundup at Toowoomba, Qld, last year, was the fortunate recipient of the 2020 Angus Australia Trans-Tasman Exchange.

She currently works as a breeding technician at BOS Vet and Rural, WA, a position she has held for the past two years.

"My role includes the management of all donor females at our embryo collection facility, along with implementing all necessary protocoling and programming for embryo collection and export logistics." Miss Marshall said.

The COVID-19 pandemic meant Miss Marshall was separated from her family and friends, which she said was an exceedingly difficult experience.

"My parents live 900km away, and when the intrastate borders where put in place I was restricted from seeing my family for six months," she said.

"What really got my attention during the global crisis, was the normality of a farmer's life and work regime.

"They didn't whinge about not being able to go out for coffee or being told to sit at home because they all kept working; and this for me really highlighted the isolation associated with agriculture."

With the aim of doing something about this, Miss Marshall decided to create the social networking platform AdvocateAG for the midwest of Western Australia, that has rapidly evolved since it launched through Facebook in August.

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"My goal is to host events, both online and social gatherings, to simply provide opportunities for those working in agriculture to get off the farm for an afternoon and catch up, network, meet people, and most importantly, take care of our mental health," Miss Marshall said.

She hopes it grows and develops into a sustaining platform for communication and social engagement for those living and working in regional Western Australia.

Miss Marshall's Trans-Tasman scholarship trip was booked for June 2020 but her plans came to an abrupt stop due to COVID-19.

"My plans included making it to both North and South Islands, attending multiple bull sales, to visit New Zealand's two reproductive centres, and as many stud tours as I could fit in," she said.

"Unfortunately, the waiting continues to see how the COVID restrictions evolve, but I have high hopes of making the trip happen in May 2021."

Miss Marshall believes the Angus exchange program is an unbelievable opportunity to experience and learn different producers methods and ideologies.

She aims to take her own preferences when it comes to beef production and the opinions of clients and producers she has met throughout the western state, and compare these with the preferences of breeders from across New Zealand.

"Working in reproduction I get the exposure of handling imported semen used in local AI or embryo programs, often using bulls from NZ, but never really knowing how that animal looks or performs in the flesh," she said.

"Since gaining our accreditation to export, BOS Vet and Rural dispatched our first shipment of embryos collected on centre to NZ earlier this year and I am incredibly excited to have a chance to see just where they ended up."

Miss Marshall has the goal of being a positive advocate for agriculture, and to promote the industry and educate others.

"I believe societies across the world are losing sight of the most detrimental factor regarding our survival, and that is where food comes from," she said.

"With the average age of farmers in Australia still being over 50 years of age, I want to work to create a greater interest and involvement between those in the city and those in regional areas.

"I think more needs to be done to encourage young Australians to build careers within the agricultural industry, and to provide the evidence and support proving that you don't have to come from a farming background to do it.

She hopes to grow her career with a strong focus on reproduction and nutrition, and was invited to judge the 2020 IGA Perth Royal Show before it was cancelled.