On The Road To Better Livestock Performance With Austasia’s Liam Grantham
On The Road To Better Livestock Performance With Austasia’s Liam Grantham
Beneath the Brim: Liam Grantham
From rural Victoria to New Mexico, Liam Grantham’s journey in agriculture has taken him both interstate and overseas - all in the pursuit of achieving enhanced livestock results for producers. With years of industry experience, Liam continues to travel extensively to provide Austasia clients with deeper industry insights and dedicated, hands-on support.
“What I enjoy most is the challenge of sales - coming into someone’s operation and being met with scepticism, presenting the data and research, winning over the decision makers and then seeing the product deliver exactly what we said it would,” says Liam. “Ultimately, it’s about helping the customer make more money, I really enjoy that dance.”
Liam’s passion for sales is fueled by the opportunity to work with genuine, down-to-earth people everyday. He strives to build long-lasting relationships with people who deeply care about their livestock, families and community.
“One of the things I really love about this industry is the people,” says Liam. “People off the land are genuine - they’ve got a real love for what they do.
“They’re family-oriented, they’ve got strong values and they care deeply about their animals and their community. There’s no industry quite like it.”
As the Southern Business Manager at Austasia, Liam plays a key role in supporting a diverse range of clients across Southern NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. Working with feedlots, large-scale diaries, high-performance cattle studs and intensive lamb feedlots, Liam is responsible for providing tailored nutritional solutions for his clients.
“I recently visited a lamb feedlot in Victoria that was experiencing issues with lameness,” says Liam. “I recommended using ZinMet 50 at a double rate for 14 days to address the problem.”
“I talked the staff through what they can expect to see, why the product does what it does and how to add it to their mix. I then recommended transitioning to the standard rate once the animals have returned to baseline health to maintain their hoof health and get the animals performing again.
Liam combines his strong product knowledge with hands-on support to tackle livestock health challenges across various production systems. From addressing urgent issues to recommending long-term nutritional strategies, Liam’s approach not only builds strong client relationships but often leads to new business opportunities.
“We recently began working with a really innovative business in the automation space,” says Liam. “They are the first operation in Australia to use a fully automated dosing system for Beef Culture.
“With this innovative technology, it ensures the correct amounts of Beef Culture are being applied to every kilogram of feed in every batch to improve animal health and increase performance."
Liam enjoys the places his work takes him, especially when he has the opportunity to travel to the United States. Some of his career highlights include visiting the Global Animal Products team in Texas, Texas A & M University, Texas Tech University, the iconic 6666’s Ranch and the Clayton Livestock Research Centre.
“The Clayton Livestock Research Centre is relatively famous and began operations in 1978 and has provided over 40 years of research to the industry,’ says Liam. “We were there to weigh fat cattle at the end of a ZinMet study comparing cattle fed with ZinMet to those fed with straight Zinc Sulphate.
“The ZinMet cattle weighed heavier, with less gut and respiratory issues, which was very pleasing to see."
Attending industry events, both in Australia and internationally, is something Liam acknowledges as being highly important. In Liam’s opinion, two of the best industry events he’s attended include “SmartBeef” at Killara Feedlot in NSW and the Plains Nutrition Conference in San Antonio, TX.
“The Plains Conference (PNC) is a very professional, high level event that brings together some of the best minds in the feedlot and animal health sectors - from university researchers to industry leaders - all focused on advancing cattle performance and nutrition efficiency,” says Liam.
“Research and data are a huge part of what we do, and staying at the coalface of beef cattle nutrition keeps us sharp and ensures we can deliver real value to our customers.”
Liam believes that Austasia contributes significantly to the future of agriculture by providing innovative nutrition products that support animal health, enhance productivity and deliver real results for producers.
“At the end of the day, we don’t have a massive portfolio with a million different products,” says Liam. “What we offer the Australian livestock industry is 3-4 proven products with real data and real research. They really work and consistently make our clients’ money.”
From these travels, Liam’s biggest advice to people starting in the agricultural industry is to work on building relationships and genuinely immerse themselves within the industry.
“Get out there and get experience,” says Liam. “Education matters but real world experience and being a good person will take you further in this industry.”
When he’s not on the road, Liam enjoys relaxing at home in North East Victoria with his wife, son and two golden retrievers. Fishing along the Murray River and fly-fishing in the Victorian high country are two of Liam’s favourite hobbies, as well as visiting the local wineries.
As a passionate Essendon supporter, he also makes regular trips to the MCG to cheer on the Bombers!
