It has been a long, tough road for many in the grass-fed cattle industry during the past few years.
But 2021 has seen industry fortunes change for the better.
Prices and grass are up, dams and rivers are full, interest rates are down and many producers are certainly riding high on the bullocks' back.
It's an exciting time to be in the cattle industry, and I am definitely keen to see what 2022 will bring.
Possibly the most exciting thing that will happen next year is the continuation of the grass-fed cattle industry representative model restructure.
Now I can appreciate that, for many, this is a topic that is as boring as the proverbial.
But anyone who has an interest in the cattle industry should be excited - and I'll tell you why.
Right now, there is the opportunity to develop a genuine producer representative organisation that can lead our industry - not just for this generation, but for generations to come.
This is a chance to make a representative body that is well resourced and puts our voices front and centre, to meet the changing needs of our industry and lead us into the future.
Now is the time to build something new, with a solid foundation and the backing of government, industry and current representative groups, including state farming organisations.
And if that's not exciting, I don't know what is.
There may be some that say I have a vested interest in the process, given my position on Cattle Council of Australia, and yes, they would be right.
As a producer, parent and industry representative I want more than anything to see this process succeed.
For me, for my children and for everyone else who works tirelessly every day to help get our grass-fed beef onto the plates of people across Australia and around the world.
Of course, there will be the nay-sayers and critics and those who will want to point out that this process has had more starts than Phar Lap.
But as an industry, we need to rise above the misguided comments from detractors and focus on the job at hand.
As producers, we are optimists by nature.
We plan for a future that depends on circumstances beyond our control, when ravaged by drought, immersed in floods, or consumed by fires, we rebuild, restock and carry on.
Now is the time to do the same for our industry.
To build an organisation that will help us do what we are passionate about and will allow all producers to have a voice at a national level.
Let's not get bogged down in the past and dwell on faults, failures and false starts.
Let's look ahead, plan for the future and rebuild, restock and carry on.
To keep up to date with the restructure process register at: restructure@cattlecouncil.com.au
For further information about the restructure process so far go to: http://www.cattlecouncil.com.au/restructure
- Gillian Fennell lives with her family on a remote beef property in outback South Australia and is a board member of the Cattle Council of Australia. You can follow Gillian on Twitter @stationmum101