Dr Beth Woods has had one of those extraordinary careers that not only has crossed industries and international borders, but social conventions. Not only was she the first female extension officer in Queensland’s Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, she was the first female Rhode scholar to be announced, Queensland’s first female Director General of the Department of Agriculture and the first female Professor at University of Queensland’s Gatton campus. Now, Dr Woods is a self- employed agricultural consultant, working on everything from foreign food security to chairing the policy council for the Cattle Council of Australia and mentoring a number of up and coming producers in the Australian cattle industry.