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STAFF PROFILES

Danny Wilkie - OLM Director Danny Wilkie learnt his first lesson on the power of effective livestock marketing while searching for alternative markets for his own prime cattle operation almost three decades ago.
Tired of having to produce over fat steers in order to attract a premium at the local saleyards, Danny decided to sell direct works and discovered a far more efficient selling system.
In order to keep producing cattle that fitted processor specifications, Danny recognised that he needed to improve his live cattle assessment skills and he enrolled in an assessing school through the University of New England.
Danny says the exposure to live assessment techniques opened up new possibilities including selling cattle on the emerging electronic system, Computer Aided Livestock Marketing (CALM).
In 1987 Danny was certified as a Level 1 (Professional) cattle assessor for CALM and in 1988 he was awarded Level 1 (Professional) status for sheep assessment.
For the next four years, Danny continued to develop his live animal assessment skills through contract assessment for the CALM system, working with a wide range of livestock agents and individual producers throughout Queensland and New South Wales.
By the early 1990s, Danny and Janelle Wilkie were operating a well respected, independent livestock assessment business but felt there was growing demand from producers for objective and reliable marketing services.
OLM was established in 1992 to meet this demand and Danny began providing strategic marketing solutions for a growing client base.
By the mid-1990s group marketing had become an integral part of the OLM business and Danny was acting as the marketing coordinator for the Double B and Border Beef marketing groups.
In more recent years, Danny has worked hard to forge new partnerships, in particular with Australian Country Choice (ACC) and the Banksia Beef alliance.
OLM has been a middle circle supplier with ACC since early 2002 and currently hold a weekly contract to supply cattle direct to slaughter at the ACC Cannon Hill plant.
Danny said these alliances have helped create a solid foundation for OLM.
“We are still experiencing continued growth through word of mouth and recommendations which is how we like our business to grow,” he said.
“I believe OLM has now become widely accepted as a business based on integrity and excellence.”
“I expect that the role for a modern relevant beef marketing operation will be to focus on adding value to our clients sales while at the same time maintaining a very competitive cost structure.”
Over the past twenty years, Danny has also played an active role in the Beef Improvement Association (BIA) of Australia where he served on the executive for 13 years, including four years as National President.
In 2001 Danny received a BIA service award and in 2005 he was presented with a Fellowship of the Beef Improvement Association of Australia.
Danny said he is particularly proud of the work he did through the BIA to support the introduction of a national beef grading system.
“At a time when meat quality issues plagued the beef industry, the BIA was steadfast in its support for Meat Standards Australia (MSA) in the introduction of a grading system based on eating quality,” he said.
“I regard my input into this work as my proudest achievement with the BIA.”

Janelle Wilkie – OLM Administration Manager
After enjoying a successful teaching career that spanned more than three decades, Janelle Wilkie is enjoying new challenges in her role as OLM office manager.
Janelle resigned from full time teaching in 1988 but continued to work on a contractual basis until 2003 when she decided to devote her time exclusively to the OLM office.
Her responsibilities include varied accounting tasks including making payments to clients, invoicing for sales and managing the financial records of the company.
Janelle also provides administrative support for the livestock marketers and liaises with clients on a regular basis.
She said one of the most rewarding aspects of her work with OLM has been learning new skills, particularly in the areas of finance and computing.
“I’ve always felt that my work with OLM is completely different to what I was trained for but I believe my professional training has given me the discipline to learn new skills,” she said.
“I’ve also been able to use my training to pass those skills onto other staff members which has been very important to the business.”
“I’ve really enjoyed watching OLM develop from a very early stage to a successful small business.”
Janelle regularly travels with Danny to visit clients on-farm and attend business functions.
She said these trips provide valuable opportunities to become better acquainted with clients.
“I think it’s really important to get out of the office and meet clients on-farm because it allows me to stay in touch with what’s happening in the business at a grass roots level,” she said.

Andrew Wilkie – OLM Director
A new era began for OLM in 1999 when Andrew Wilkie joined the family business.
With extensive experience working in various sectors of the Australian beef industry, Andrew immediately assumed responsibility for the strategic development of OLM to ensure it continued to focus on the needs of clients.
He was initially responsible for revising the internal systems of the business, a task which coincided with the introduction of the GST.
In 2000, Andrew assumed responsibility for the grain feeding supplier lines and, in more recent years, has taken over the marketing of many of OLM’s northern clients.
Andrew enjoys working with progressive and innovative beef producers of all ages and is passionate about the ability of OLM to deliver positive results for clients.
“I enjoy working with progressive livestock producers who aren’t afraid to do things differently,” he said.
“Marketing cattle is very rewarding when you know you have a client with productive capabilities that match the market you are targeting.”
“I’m very committed to ensuring everything we do is in the best interests of our clients because I believe our business will only grow if our clients’ businesses grow.”
Andrew holds a Bachelor of Agricultural Science and Post Graduate Diploma in Agribusiness from the University of Queensland. He is also a graduate of the RCS Grazing for Profit School and the 2003 Building Rural Leaders Program.
After completing university in 1992, Andrew worked for Computer Aided Livestock Marketing (CALM) Services in Sydney before traveling extensively throughout the US, Canada, UK and eastern Africa.
On his return to Australia he worked for Rural Agricultural Management Limited in Sydney before accepting a position with the Department of Primary Industries as a rangelands production officer based in Alice Springs.
Andrew and his wife Vanessa live in Goondiwindi with their sons, James and Thomas.

Tasha Burling - Administrative Officer
The most recent addition to the OLM team is administration assistant Tasha Burling.

Tasha began working at the OLM office in Goondiwindi in early 2010 and is currently working two days a week.

Together with Janelle, Tasha is responsible for all administration duties including processing livestock sales and client payments, BAS preparation and general administration duties.

“Everyday I am learning new skills and this keeps the job both challenging and interesting.”

A mother to three girls aged from two to six years, Tasha has a long association with the beef industry.

After finishing High School, Tasha completed a Certificate IV in Agriculture at Tocal Agricultural Collage Maitland, NSW. Tasha then worked on a mixed farming enterprise in Western NSW.

Tasha has also worked as a Vetinary Nurse and completed various administration courses through TAFE.

Tasha also completed a Carcass Meat Grading course at TAFE, which has given her an insight as to the aims of OLM.

Prior to having children, Tasha was Office Manager on a local Goondiwindi property. “I was there for four and a half years and I really enjoyed working on a family run farm, which was one of the reasons why I decided to join OLM,” she said.

“I have always had a strong interest in the cattle industry which is one of the reasons that I enjoy working with the OLM team.”

“It’s been a great working with the team at OLM, because the work is interesting and we have a family friendly policy so the work fits in well with family life.”