CALF_News_October_November_2019

50 CALF News • October | November 2019 • www.calfnews.net  Tell us why you read CALF News ! Go to our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/calfnews R ecollections BY BETTY JO GIGOT PUBLISHER What could be more exacting than those statements at any industry meet- ing you and I have attended through the years. Those particular statements, however, comprised the beginning of my first story on the Australian Lot Feeders’ Association (ALFA) meeting in the November 1992 CALF News . My observations at the time were that cattle feeders and cattle feeding were the same the world over. Fast forward almost 27 years and many adventures later, my recollections of three different trips, lasting a month each, are still some of the highlights of my life. Each of those tours started in Sydney, Australia, a vibrant sophisticated city reminiscent of San Francisco. On my first trip, within two hours of landing there, I was being feted with scotch and steaks at an elegant steakhouse sporting dark wood, red leather booths and a very attentive restaurateur. Needless to say, after an 18-hour flight, I was probably not the most wide-awake customer he ever had, but the meal was delicious. As far as cities are concerned, I could have stayed forever, after, on my third trip, I spent a week in Brisbane. The coast there is brilliant and hospitality unsurpassed. Who could forget a dinner menu where the steaks are identified by the ranch they came from, the breed and the age of the animal and the name of the person you can contact if you have a compliment or a complaint? The lady next to me ordered a steak from a 5-year-old critter and then insisted that I try a bite. A grass fed 5-year-old beef animal is not something you want to write home about. As lovely as the Gold Coast was and elegant the events held during the ALFA convention, I made the Northern Territory my home away from home very quickly. During my first trip Down Under, I gave the banquet speech at the convention and, afterward, my dinner companion asked about my plans for the rest of the trip. I told him I have another week and had planned to make it up as I went along. He insisted that I should see the Outback, so the next morning there I was on an airplane, flying to Alice Springs. The only way I can describe Australia’s interior is that it looks like Monument Valley without the monu- ments. It is simply a huge, red desert. Remember, Australia is the same size as the United States with a population of Los Angeles, most of whom are living on the coasts. Alice Springs sits exactly in the middle of the country. The sign says the town, Tennant Creek, is just 316 miles away. From Tennant Creek, it is 419 miles north to Katherine and then 221 more to the coastal city of Darwin – only 956 miles. To the south, the coastline, with a few towns in between, is 1,028 miles to Adelaide. The town’s claim to fame came in World War II when the military came to Alice and, with a threat from the Japanese landing on the coast, thousands of Australians evacuated to Alice. The town itself is fascinating. With a population in those days of around 14,000, it boasted a casino, signs designating camel crossings, and was the home of the Royal Doctors of the Air and the School of the Air. If you every want to get away from it all, Alice Springs would be a safe bet. NEXT TIME: LIFE ON THE STATIONS.  “Listen carefully to what your customers are saying and provide for their needs.” “The bottom line is: The industry must embrace change in order to survive.” “Under no circumstances must we rest on our laurels.” “We must maximize our opportunities in the marketplace if we are to survive.”