Livestock exporter Kari Moffat named young achiever of the year

Queenslander Kari Moffat has been named winner of the 2021 Livestock Exporter Young Achiever of the Year Award.

Ms Moffat is an executive board member of the Queensland Livestock Exporters Association, chair of the Young Livestock Exporters Network, and animal welfare assurance manager for AUSTREX.

She received the accolade — which is awarded by the Australian Livestock Exporters’ Council and Nutrien Ag Solutions — at a virtual meeting of ALEC members yesterday.

ALEC chief executive Mark Harvey-Sutton said Ms Moffat had made a significant contribution to the live export industry in a relatively short time.

“Kari’s passion for ensuring the sustainability of the live export trade has overflowed into many industry projects and she has worked hard to advocate for the important place young, passionate professionals play in the future of our industry,” he said.

“As an industry it is important to give recognition to the exceptional young achievers, their commitment to innovation, leadership, and to world-leading practices.”

Ms Moffat’s involvement in the industry started in 2014 when she seized the opportunity to board a live export vessel bound for Indonesia.

Still a student at the time, she deferred her agribusiness studies at Geelong’s Marcus Oldham College and embarked on a two year journey, sailing full time as a head stockwoman and overseeing 15 voyages between Northern Australia and South-East Asia.

AUSTREX chief executive Tom Slaughter said Ms Moffat had made an “immense impact” on the Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System (ESCAS).

“I have been heavily involved with ESCAS since its implementation and I have not seen an individual who has been able to identify, address and implement projects to enable enduring change for what is a challenging segment of the supply chain,” he said.

“Kari operates with a level of passion for the industry that rarely comes along. Her commitment to fostering and channelling the energy of the younger livestock export community has been an astonishing achievement.

“With people like Kari in the industry, it’s safe to say we will be in safe hands.”

Nutrien Ag Solutions west region livestock manager Leon Giglia, who sat on the judging panel, said he was impressed by the calibre of nominees this year.

“Each nominee demonstrated a strong passion and commitment for what they do, and they are an assurance of how promising the future is within the live export industry,” he said.