ADF Australian Dairy Farmers : Changing of the guard

As you may have heard, David Basham stood aside as ADF President last week for a period of three months. His decision to run for the Seat of Finniss in the South Australian State Government came about quite suddenly, we wish him every success with his campaign.

Another announcement was the appointment of Terry Richardson to act in the role of ADF President. Terry Richardson jointly operates a dairy farm with his family in Deans Marsh, south west Victoria, where he has lived since 2004 and has a 550-milking herd.

Terry was appointed as an Australian Dairy Farmers Business Director in November 2015 and was the logical choice for acting President due to his background and experience.

Holding several positions in the dairy industry, both in New Zealand and Australia, he was a director of Kiwi Co-operative Dairies for seven years as well as a dairy consultant with Agriculture New Zealand. After moving to Australia, he joined his local UDV branch and was later appointed to the South West Regional Extension Committee. He was previously Chairman of Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Company and has been a director of the company for eight years, a role he still holds.

There has been some talk in media circles that Terrys position at the Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Company is a potential conflict of interest.

The ADF Board asked Terry to act as the ADF President during the period of leave David has taken from the ADF Board. Members of Boards of most organisations can occasionally have circumstances where there could be a possible conflict and the important thing is that the Board members recognise the possibility of conflict and manage it accordingly.

This year has presented unprecedented challenges for the entire dairy sector. ADF has remained focused on laying strong foundations that builds resilience rather than leaving farmers vulnerable and we will continue to advocate strongly on their behalf.

The events of 2016 have given ADF the opportunity to really cement our working relationships with state members - QDO, NSWFarmers, SADA, TFGA, UDV, WAFarmers, and industry partners such as Dairy Australia and Australian Dairy Products Federation.

Continuing to work together will give us the know-how and resilience to support dairy farmers to overcome adversity and thrive in the long term.

This season has been one of the kindest seasons we have had in many years. The extended season of grass growth has improved bottom lines and with world market prices continuing to strengthen over the second half of the year, things are looking much better for the future than they were mid-year.

May 2017 treat everyone in the dairy industry better than 2016 and we wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a safe, prosperous New Year.

Australian Dairy Farmers