Western Australia’s Billi Marshall forms part of ‘high calibre’ cohort in prestigious national beef program

She’s a rising star of the WA livestock industry and now Billi Marshall will sharpen her skills further after being selected as the only WA participant in a prestigious leadership program run by Cattle Australia. Ms Marshall — who owns Imperial Bovine Breeding Services in Dongara and is the president of the WA Youth Cattle Association — was one of seven industry professionals selected for Cattle Australia’s 2025 National Beef Leaders program. The Dongara-based professional was singled out for her potential to become part of the next generation of skilled and capable captains of the nation’s $23 billion cattle industry. Cattle Australia chief executive Chris Parker said Ms Marshall was among a high calibre of the cohort that proved the future of the beef industry was in safe hands. “These young people have already proven they are capable, focused and committed to the beef industry and were chosen for their experience in a range of fields, including data management, genomics, animal welfare and mentoring secondary students for careers in agriculture,” he said. “By developing innovative leaders who bring a fresh attitude to new challenges, we are securing a strong and sustainable future for the grass-fed beef industry.” Ms Marshall and the other participants will spend the year taking part in multiple face-to-face sessions, Cattle Australia and government engagement, a regional tour and training in public speaking, policy formation, negotiating and media. Ms Marshall founded Imperial Bovine Breeding Services at the age of 25 after working in broadacre cropping. She quickly gained accreditation as an authorised pregnancy tester, specialising in reproduction, and delivers services including artificial insemination, semen testing and herd management to clients spanning across more than 2500km. In 2023, she pregnancy tested 34,000 head of cattle. Ms Marshall is also an experienced exhibitor and judge of stud cattle and was the 2020 Angus Australia Trans-Tasman Scholarship recipient. Other participants included Queensland’s Hannah Gibb, Timothy Mitchell and Eliza Gray, New South Wales’ Samuel Martin and Hannah Powe and South Australia’s Tom Taheny. They were officially acknowledged at Cattle Australia’s inaugural producer day, Cattle Connect 2024, late last year.