Lori Creech, Contributing Editor

For a man who has run Australian feedlots for several years and has the respect of people from the top of the corporate agri-business world to the farmer producing the product, you would imagine Troy Setter to be much older than his 28 years. Since the age of 22, fresh out of college, Setter has been guiding feedlots toward success as he stamps his mark in the cattle business.

Setter began working with livestock at a young age, competing in junior heifer shows and hoof to hook competitions. After graduating high school, he spent a year with Twynam Pastoral Company as a jackaroo (laborer), giving him exposure to beef cattle, sheep, prime lambs, wool and cropping, including cotton and rice. After twelve months, he enrolled at the University of New England in Armidale, New South Wales under Twynam’s cadetship program, graduating with a degree in rural science. During his university holidays, Setter worked for Twynam in all facets, from farming to cattle and marketing in the Sydney head office, exposing him to every corner of the production chain within the company. Upon graduation, Setter traveled overseas to the U.S., Canada, Japan and Korea. The first portion of his trip was to compete with the UNE meat-judging team at the Denver Stock Show (where they subsequently took home third place).

“That was probably one of the best things I’ve done – it certainly opened my mind up to the world,” Setter commented.

After Denver, he toured Shorthorn ranches, feedlots and beef research and production facilities as part of his role as Australian Shorthorn Ambassador for the youth exchange program the society operates.

After spending eight months overseas, Setter returned to Australia to work at reopening the Gunnee Feedlot for Twynam near Delungra, NSW. The facility was closed for a couple of years, so Setter’s main job was to oversee rebuilding infrastructure, establish markets, purchase equipment, find customers and, in addition to the 14,000-head feedlot, run a 10,000-acre farm. He was 22.

After three years at Gunnee, Setter moved across to Killara feedlot, which is a joint venture between Elders and Taiwan Sugar. This 20,000-head operation, situated near Quirindi, NSW, has seen Setter at the helm for the past two years. Its cattle are destined for all markets, from domestic butcher and retail to the long-fed Wagyu cattle destined for high-end restaurants in Japan. As you travel up and down the alleys of Killara, one of Australia’s oldest feedlots, you will come across Bos indicus crosses, British and euros to the well-rounded Wagyu at the top. The operation, which includes 2,000 acres of farmland, employs 32 people.

Setter has always been passionate about the livestock industry and found feedlotting to be a natural fit for his interests. “I am able to cover all areas,” he said. “It allows me to be exposed to what’s happening in breeding, sire lines, genetics, bulls that marble, bulls that don’t perform – that kind of stuff. I also see what consumers want in terms of size and cuts and thickness and fats, and the type of meat they’re after.”

Setter has traveled around the globe touring livestock and agri-business operations. He says the United States and Japan have made the largest impact on his perspectives within the industry. He notes that the simplicity of the U.S.’s single grading system and Japan’s attention to detail are two things he has taken strong notice of.

“We need to take a lesson out of [Japan’s] book and look at our quality and presentation and what is acceptable in terms of preparation and presentation of food,” Setter said.

From the U.S., Setter has taken note of objective measuring and benchmarking. “The fact is, we’ve done a great job today, and we’ve got to be able to do that better tomorrow.”

One major difference between Australia and the U.S. is in the grading systems, and Setter believes this is one of Australia’s greatest challenges, from an industry perspective. “It does make it hard for us to develop more of a cuts-based trading system than a full set trading system, and makes it hard for us to compete against the U.S.”

He stressed several times that purebred and commercial operators need to be watching feed efficiencies. While he feels the Australia meat industry has come a long way over the years, he believes that selection criteria based on feed conversion needs to be utilized more often. “We need to maintain that we are providing the customer with a repeatable, high quality eating experience every time. We need to be focusing on breeding cattle that will produce high quality meat and that they produce that meat with less and less feed every year. They need to grow at high rates and improve their conversion efficiency,” Setter emphasized, adding that it’s not just something that benefits the feedlotter, but gains are seen on the producer’s end as well.

A unified front in the industry is what Setter sees as an idealistic future within agri-politics. He’s noted through visits to the United States that the lobbyist groups on Capital Hill truly represent U.S. agriculture as a complete entity. While they may argue and compromise behind closed doors, the image of an industry in turmoil with the effects of BSE is a strong and united one to the general public.

“We’ve got such a fragmented representative system for the red meat industry and for the greater agricultural industries in Australia that we really need to do some refining so we are getting greater efficiencies with limited amount of funds,” Setter said. What he wants is a dominant national voice coming from the best possible producer representatives lobbying for the right reasons.

The Canadian BSE ordeal has not hit the Australian shores, but at this point, has meant a higher demand for the short-fed production of animals on a 100-day feeding regime.

“We have seen prices higher than we had expected them to be. BSE has worried all of us because it is just another bad news story about meat – particularly beef – and it is just not good for anyone,” Setter said.

Enticing young people into agriculture in all capacities and levels is a concern for the industry across the board. “The biggest issues for agriculture in Australia right now are young people wanting to have a principal interest. They want to own land and cattle, but it is so expensive and hard to get up enough capital to get a loan for the size of equity that you need. It Ù is unreasonable for the vast majority of people to get started in agriculture this way.”

Along with the tangible successes of Setter’s career are the accolades of his peers. In 2000 he was awarded an international livestock fellowship. In college, he sat on the Cattlemen’s Union board of directors – he was the youngest person ever to hold this position. In 1999, Setter was Cattlemen’s Union NSW vice president. In 2001, he was awarded the prestigious National Lotfeeder of the Year award. He currently sits as a director of the Australian Beef Industry Foundation.

“We aim to provide training and opportunities for people in the beef industry or wanting to enter the beef industry,” Setter said, adding that they run fundraising activities to provide scholarships for people in the beef industry.

The sheer amount of knowledge that comes from Setter is astounding, considering there are not decades of history behind what he knows. However, his passion for the meat industry is what has guided him this far in an already advanced career for a twentysomething. It’s this same affinity he applies to every aspect of his career and every corner of Killara Feedlot that will continue to guide him through his career in the livestock industry, in whatever capacity he chooses.