Meet Your Climate Mate Grace
Posted on February 18th, 2025
You could say Grace has taken to her role as Climate Mate for the Fitzroy like a hurricane. Her latest monthly climate outlook was a hit so we thought it was about time we formally introduced her!
Grace Wickson is CQ’s Climate Mate, an FBA Land Management Officer, plus a self-proclaimed ‘yapper’ and shopaholic.
The Climate Mate Program is run by the Northern Australia Climate Program (NACP), a group funded by the University of Southern Queensland. ‘Climate Mates’— are individuals selected for their knowledge of the industry and their capacity to network and communicate with producers in key red meat regions. There are a range of Climate Mates across the country, and they’re set out to help land managers stay informed and ahead of the game when it comes to the weather.
“I never thought I’d go in the ‘weather girl’ direction but I love it now and I feel like it’s been a great opportunity to make it my own and develop it into something interesting,” Grace said.
“I love that it allows me to have a niche in my role and connect with land managers. Sometimes when I send out the email with the climate outlook, I’ll get an email back from land managers telling me what changes they were able to make based on the forecast to prepare themselves and it just makes my day to know I’m helping to make those changes.”
It’s not just Climate Mate that was a slight curve ball to Grace’s life plans. Grace’s plans to chase a career in Ag also came as a surprise to her and her family.
“The usual term I get is Towny, I didn’t grow up on the land and had very minimal connections to ag. I grew up in Gympie then moved down the Brisbane for high school and uni. Getting into ag was a bit of a random jump. I was always a big dreamer but never had a clear career path in mind until the holidays before Grade 10 when my mum introduced me to McLeod’s daughters. We binge-watched it all holidays and I just went “ok”, I know exactly what I want to do with my life. I want to work in ag, I want to be Claire McLeod,” Grace laughed.
“My mum was a bit shocked and thought it was probably a crazy idea but I went through with it. I remember going to my school guidance counselor with a uni information pamphlet for a Bachelor of Agriculture Business… keeping in mind there were no ag subjects at my school, I wasn’t even studying science. So, I left everyone a bit gobsmacked at the time. Fast forward, I graduated high school in 2019, had a gap year, then started my degree at the University of Queensland.”
Grace found her feet quickly after graduating and started working on a showjumping stud and then as an account manager at an agricultural PR agency.
“The PR agency did a lot of marketing and social media for Beef2024. The highlight was running around like a headless chook filming reels and capturing content. It was great to get that experience under my belt so early in my career,” said Grace.
Grace is now thriving as one of FBA’s Land Management Officers learning more about the industry and infecting everyone with her charm. When asked about the secret behind her boundless energy in her current roles, Grace attributes it to the following:
1. I tell myself I get to wake up and go to a job I adore and work with people that inspire me every day.
2. I create a playlist that makes me feel good and hype me up. (Grace’s list includes things like Hannah Montanna and ACDC).
3. I live every single day unapologetically me.
To stay up to date with Grace’s monthly climate outlooks sign up for her email newsletter.
“By signing up to my monthly climate outlooks you’re taking the first step to making things easier on yourself when it comes to making management decisions based on the weather forecasts. Even if you’re not in Ag it’s a great way to stay up to date and learn something new,” said Grace.
