Beef ambition a driving energy

Verity Price, Crookwell, a project officer for the Cattle Council of Australia, says she is ready to represent her fellow Showgirls and some of the interests they presented from their local communities of Zone 3 when she hits the ground running at Sydney Royal beginning April 6. 

Verity’s passion and respect for those who spend their lives working on the land came early in life, and at the age of 12 she began showing cattle with Ken and Liz Ikin, Cloverlee Poll Herefords, Bannister.

Verity says this fuelled a fire, that continued to grow as she developed further, to understand more about Australian agriculture and in particular, the beef industry.

Armagh Poll Herefords was registered by Verity in 2014 with the help of her parents Phil and Nicolie Price. 

In 2015 Verity interned at the Cattle Council of Australia in Canberra and hasn’t looked back. 

For seven years Verity has travelled domestically and internationally to develop her understanding of Australia’s role in supplying what she explains as the high quality beef that we are renowned for in both domestic and export markets. 

Her ambition now is to assist in developing a self-sustainable domestic beef industry and educate producers about the value quality assurance programs can have on increasing profitability and productivity of their business.

“I believe in the past producers have lacked an understanding of industry programs and their function within the industry and how consumers reflect upon a producer’s practices,” Verity said. “My aim is to reduce this gap.” 

Other Zone 3 finalists were Cooma Showgirl Teresa Sutton, Ebony Apps, Bega Showgirl; Rebecca Weal, Boorowa Showgirl; Hanna Darmody, Bungendore Showgirl; Vanessa Gates, Cobargo Showgirl; Katelin Donovan, Eurobodalla District Showgirl; Erin McDonald representing Goulburn Show Society, Nimmitabel Showgirl Shannon Payton-McDonald, and Rachel Porter, Queanbeyan Showgirl.