In this week’s episode of What’s Your Beef, beef industry stalwart Don Heatley reflects on family, industry representation, the power of networks and dealing with absolute devastation. Don Heatley has spent decades advocating for the beef industry and representing beef producers across the world.

His passion for the beef industry stems from a childhood spent in the paddocks of his family’s North Queensland beef operation. The drive to venture into the world of agripolitics was ignited by a talkback radio session on live export- a topic that didn’t relate to his business, but certainly did to his industry. Not all his interactions have been positive - nothing could have prepared him for the extremely personal interactions with growers, politicians and industry he faced following the Australian Government’s decision to halt live export trading in 2011 when he was serving as chair of MLA.