Teresa commenced with NSW Hunter Local Land Services as the Livestock Officer in 2018, after returning home to the family farm west of Merriwa, NSW. As the Livestock officer she provides landholders with technical on farm advice and extension for all aspects of animal production and nutrition. Teresa completed a Bachelor of Rural Science in 2014 and is currently completing a Masters of Science in Agriculture through UNE focused on ruminant nutrition. Teresa also holds a Certificate IV in Woolclassing. Previous to working for the LLS, Teresa worked in national sheep health, welfare & biosecurity policy as well as livestock/ farm management.

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Outside of work Teresa is heavily involved in the family mixed farming (sheep, cattle, horse, cropping) business and runs a Superfine Merino stud, Angle Vale Merinos and commercial first cross flock as well as training & showing the families Australian Stock Horses.

Dr Holly Ludeman is the founder of The Sheep Collective and now a director of the newly-formed parent company The Livestock Collective. Holly is employed as a Corporate Governance and Compliance officer for Emanuel Exports and has worked in the livestock export industry full-time since 2013. Holly completed a Bachelor of Agricultural Science at La Trobe University and a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery at Murdoch University. Holly worked in private practice before moving into the livestock export industry as a veterinarian then transitioning into compliance and corporate roles within live export companies. Holly was awarded the ALEC-Landmark Young Achiever award in 2017 and completed the ARLP Trail: Emerging Leaders Program which inspired The Sheep Collective movement. Holly is involved in the livestock production sector to help get it right and because she thinks more can be achieved from the inside than standing back and criticising. To Holly, getting it right means; driving best practices in animal welfare through highly trained people in all parts of the supply chain; embracing innovation and technology, and engaging with all stakeholders and industry to ensure transparency.

Amelia Nolan is the Events Manager for The Livestock Collective and has been with the company for over a year. Her role includes travelling all over Australia to deliver professional development and supply chain capacity building workshops. Originally hailing from a property in regional Victoria, just a stone’s throw from South Australia, Amelia completed her Agricultural Science degree at Murdoch University, Western Australia with a particular focus on sheep, wool and client service skills. Amelia has been recognised for her leadership through various awards and scholarships, most recently a Semi-finalist 2021 7News Young Achiever in Agriculture. Amelia is also the recipient of the Australian Wool Education Trust Undergraduate Scholarship and was nominated to attend the Future Leaders Program run by Grain Producers Australia in 2019. She has experience across many agricultural supply chains all over Australia which has also taken her overseas. Now based in Western Australia, this hasn’t stopped Amelia from creating a national name for herself.

Roberts’ career has been intertwined with sheep, in fact before he began working in the sheep & wool industry in an advisory role, growing up the family farm (a prime lamb & wool producing business) was essentially an apprenticeship for the career that has evolved.

My journey led to a number of years in woolsheds as a shearer and wool classer, before joining Elders as District Wool Manager based in Hamilton, known then as the “Wool Capital of the World”.
 

This was a seminal event, with experience across all types of sheep expanding, and providing advice to sheep producers a critical element in the daily activities of the role. Coupled with growing up on a sheep farm, this experience gave Robert a wide breadth of understanding of the sheep industry with an emphasis on efficient production. The principle areas covered breeding, productivity, harvesting, wool preparation, marketing & sales.

Starting the Mecardo business in 1996 allowed Robert to expand his experience to all corners of the country, and to further build relationships within the sheep industry. 

Robert says, “The opportunity to act as a board member of SPA is an important step in contributing experience and enthusiasm to address the challenges the sheep industry faces into the future."

Dan Brier is the General Manager of Beef and Lamb New Zealand Genetics. Dan grew up on sheep and beef properties in Coromandel and the Northern King Country before training as a veterinarian. He started his working career as a large animal vet in Te Awamutu, followed by a role in Gisborne as a sheep and beef veterinarian. After 6 years as a vet, Dan and his family began sheep and beef farming near Te Awamutu. In 2013, he started a role at Landcorp/Pamu overseeing the organisation’s northern and eastern North Island sheep and beef properties. Dan is also the B+LNZ Farming Excellence team leader – a role which encompasses research, sector capability, the Future Farm programme, product development and extension design.

“As a farmer and vet, I see genetics and farm systems as key to our farming success and, in the complex world ahead, they will only become more important. I’m looking forward to working with the B+LNZ Genetics team and breeders to ensure commercial farmers have the tools they need to make good decisions for their farming operations.” – Dan

Steven Barr has been part of, lead & trained sales teams for large, medium & small Veterinary Pharmaceutical companies in Australia through out his career. He has managed sales territories promoting, providing product support and selling vaccines, parasiticides and antibiotics to sheep & cattle producers, rural retailers and Veterinarians. It is this practical experience that has shaped his leadership journey and passion for enabling others to develop themselves & the teams they are part of.

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Steven has delivered emerging leader programs in his down to earth manner. In his spare time he runs a small farm including beef, sheep, chickens, bees and horticulture, with which he has established and markets as a boutique brand of high quality local produce.

Melissa coordinates leadership training and development for the sheep industry through her role as Industry Leadership Manager at SPA.

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She has launched the SPA Leadersheep Network to accelerate the development of current and future leaders to ensure strong leadership for the long-term success of the Australian sheep industry. Melissa also works closely with SPA staff, board and policy committees to provide opportunities to enhance the leadership capability of the organisation.

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Melissa is an experienced agribusiness and community development professional, having delivered training and events for over 15 years. Before joining SPA in April 2018, her main projects were in leadership, community development and engagement, as well as ag-finance and agricultural research, development and adoption.

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She began her career as a Red Meat Industry Development Officer at the Department of Primary Industries in Bendigo, Victoria, delivering educational activities to producers and supply chains in the southern beef and sheep industries. She also led state and national development projects to improve productivity, profitability and quality for the red meat industry and consumers.

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Melissa is inspired to influence and empower rural and regional leaders through challenging people to grow and develop themselves, their community and their business.