About the Collaboration
OBE Organic is proud to be Australia’s oldest and most trusted organic beef marketing company: a company established and owned by family farmers. Our family farmers are united by a shared respect for the environment and their animals, and a commitment to produce the best possible organic beef. Our business was founded in the late 1990’s in Australia’s heartland, the Channel Country and we are committed to showcasing the places and people who make our certified organic beef so unique.
We’re excited to launch a new collaboration with Skye Loveday, a truck driver from Quilpie, in Western Queensland. This collaboration will showcase Skye and her Father Dick Loveday’s role in transporting our certified organic livestock from cattle stations in outback Australia to processing on the east coast of Australia.
Image Credits
Trucks over the Cooper – Roxy Weston RLR Photography | Facebook
Skye Loveday next to truck – Lyndon Mechielson
About Skye Loveday
Skye is a truck driver with a multi-combination license. She is a motor bike mechanic by trade and has started her diesel mechanic apprenticeship. This year she has driven over 150,000 kms moving certified organic cattle from stations in South Australia and Queensland. Skye and her Father Dick have two trucks and multiple trailers, meaning they can move livestock in multiple combinations, from a Triple, to a Double and down to a B Double. Skye’s two young children, Lincoln and Leyla go to school in Quilpie and sometimes accompany her on the road. In her spare time, Skye enjoys horse riding and motorbike riding with her kids. Loveday Transport operate a certified organic spelling yard in Quilpie which serves as a staging post for livestock as they move east for processing.
Loveday Transport sources all its trailers from Haulmark in Brisbane, a name trusted in the cattle industry since the late 1960s. Haulmark’s extensive range includes side and rear loading options and the Road Train Thru Loading system, designed to make cattle transport safer and more efficient.
Loveday Transport covers around 400,000 km each year, hauling certified organic livestock from outback stations to East Coast processing facilities. The fleet goes through more than 200 tyres annually, keeping Skye’s son Lincoln busy with plenty of work.
Loveday Transport moves hundreds of head of certified organic livestock each week for the OBE Organic supply chain. They also run a certified organic spelling yard in Quilpie, a key stop for cattle moving east for processing. Earlier this year, Managing Director Dalene Wray visited Dick and Skye there to say g’day.
Livestock truck drivers like Skye Loveday play a vital role in Australia’s agricultural industry, moving animals safely from farms to markets and processors. With strict regulations to follow, their priority is always animal welfare, ensuring stock are transported with minimal stress and discomfort.
Livestock truck driving is a specialised field within the transport industry, demanding skill and care. Drivers spend long hours on the road in all conditions, ensuring animals are moved safely and efficiently across vast distances.
TradeMutt is a social enterprise workwear company by tradies for tradies. They make funky, eye-catching workwear designed to start conversations about mental health making an invisible issue impossible to ignore.
Belonging to those who have lived and worked in Birdsville and reserved only for those who have achieved at least one year of unbroken service. Another wall is reserved for those who have since passed but left their mark on the community.
Australia is a world leader in livestock identification and traceability, with strict regulations governing movement and sale. This system not only safeguards animal welfare but also makes Australian beef safer and more competitive in global markets.
Many people like Dick Loveday can be recognised from afar by the shape of their hat. In this photo, Dick’s not bogged, he’s just taking a break!
Skye Loveday is a multi-combination licensed truck driver who covers over 150,000 km a year transporting certified organic cattle across South Australia and Queensland. Alongside her father Dick, she operates two trucks with multiple trailer setups, from Triples to B Doubles.
Most of the livestock moved by Skye are Poll Hereford genetics. These animals do well in the arid environment of outback Australia.
Photographed by Rhonda Heslin, Skye is seen driving a triple road train empty into Adria Downs Station, west of Birdsville. On the return trip to Quilpie, the trailers will carry around 120 head of cattle, weighing about 61 tonnes in total.