The 13^th Stockman School and Conference held at Aldam, Free State, 13-15 October 2021 again proof to deliver upon expectations. Any farmer and or service provider interested in a broader view of the livestock sector would with no doubt benefit from attending the Stockman School. Various excellent presentations were made, amongst others by Mr Ramasodi (Director General Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Land Reform), while several country market studies were presented by Mr Gerhard van der Burgh (RSA -BFAP), Prof Helmke von Bach (Namibia-UNAM), Ms Lygia Pimentel (Brazil -AgriFatto), Mr Jason Strong (Australia –MLA), and Dr Dong Wang (China – China Marketing Solutions). Several supportive presentations by a Namibian delegation on the advantages of the country’s Farm Assured Namibian Meat Scheme, a minimum standards and individual traceability scheme and of accessing lucrative international markets which over time lead to increased monetary value to the primary producer were appreciated. Attendance of practical afternoon sessions and presentations on topics of genetics, animal identification, breeding, and nutrition proof to be indispensable to the proactive southern African livestock farmer. The message however is clear, industry role players need to make a financial contribution to ensure the future wellbeing themselves within the southern African meat industry.