Recycling can be as simple as Tag with Natalie Bell
“It doesn’t matter who you are or what your background is, everyone can have a go.”
Natalie Bell was living in Sydney when a change in her High School would ultimately ignite a passion for showing cattle that would go on to shape her career.
She loved it so much that she went to Sydney University and studied Agricultural Science with a major in Livestock Production.
Her career so far has taken her along the east coast of Australia to learn all she can related to the red meat industry, farming, and sustainability.
Image supplied by Natalie Bell.
“I just started having a go at everything. And I’ll talk about my experience in Queensland a lot because it was just so pivotal to everything. It was such a good time to learn.”
Her views on the livestock sector, as she describes, have been shaped both as a consumer and a producer.
Today she finds herself in Holbrook, nearly halfway between Sydney and Melbourne and alongside her partner has some big plans for the future. Her partner manages the prime lamb production and they hope to lease their own country one day to run their own sheep and cattle.
So let’s find out just how Natalie’s journey as a Future Young Leader has unfolded so far and what’s in store next.
Q and A:
HOA: What made you apply to be an evokeAG. Future Young Leader?
Natalie: I saw presentations from last year [evokeAG. 2023] of the Future Young Leaders.
Just the way they could communicate their passion I was really envious of, plus they had a platform as a young person.
It’s so hard to explain what you do and why you're so passionate about it. So that’s why I applied.
HOA: What is your project about?
Natalie: Hylo Ag is a start up that aims to help farmers and feedlotters to boost their sustainability credentials by way of recycling livestock ear tags.
Right now, we just put them in the bin. Hylo Ag would like to put them into a box and sent into the Hylo system and passed onto partner recyclers.
It’s resource recovery because we’re grabbing plastic that would have ultimately gone into landfill and helping to process that into a new product.
I used to work in communications between the farm and the supermarket, so it was my job to get everyone together and find a solution.
Knowing what it’s like to be on both sides to find a solution has given me the drive to do the same thing in sustainability.
HOA: What has surprised you about the evokeAG. Future Young Leaders Program so far?
Natalie: It’s a bit of a whirlwind to be honest. We started with a bang, we jumped right in.
I didn’t realise how abstract some of the activities have been but how relevant they are.
They get you thinking so intensely about who you are and what makes you tick.
All of a sudden you have huge revelations about who you are and your journey and you would never have got there without the program.
It’s helped to show me how much my history and experiences influence daily life, largely subconsciously. It’s also helped to develop an initial confidence in the power of sharing that experience with others and conquering fears of judgement and self-doubt.
So it’s been hugely surprising. The revelations are next level.
HOA: What are you hoping to achieve from the evokeAG. Future Young Leaders Program?
Natalie: Really hoping to build brand awareness. evokeAG. Future Young Leaders helps you share your story really succinctly so hopefully this communication can help me build markets and investors.
Long long long term, we could expand beyond just ear tags and develop capability for other plastics. We don't want to pigeon hole ourselves to one material. If we expanded then we could have capability in multiple types of plastic and reduce landfill on farms.
Personally, I am hoping to develop in the sense of sharing my visions. Future Young Leaders really teaches you how important your story is and how to have confidence in that.
Copyright: Matt Beaver
Natalie was selected for the evokeAG. Future Young Leaders Program, “designed to build the capacity of emerging leaders from across Australia, New Zealand and the Asia Pacific while providing a platform to share their key messages, innovations, research, stories, and passions for Australian rural industries and the value chain, to deliver, develop, adopt and export agrifood innovation to the world.”
Future Young Leaders get to showcase their ideas on stage at the conference. But not before they develop and refine their idea through an intense mentoring program and workshopping in the lead up to the event.
We’re excited to be heading to evokeAG. in Perth on February 20-21, 2024. We’ll be spending more time with the Future Young Leaders so keep your eyes, and ears peeled for more.
Listen in on our chat with Natalie at evokeAG in the link below 🎧
Sponsor shoutout:
Our #FutureYoungLeader stories are proudly sponsored by 2024 AgriFutures evokeAG.