GrainGrowers announces 2018 Australian Grain Leader Program participants
- By: "Farm Tender" News
- Cattle News
- Dec 05, 2017
- 906 views
- Share
National grain farmers representative body, GrainGrowers, today announced participants in the 2018 Australian Grain Leaders Program (AGLP).
The AGLP Program has been expanded for 2018 to include the whole of the supply chain in the grains industry.
GrainGrowers is pleased to have three industry participants and eight grain farmers from across Australia in the 2018 program.
The 2018 participants are:
Western Region
Symon Allen, Kimba, SA
Nick Davis, Adelaide, SA
Amery Drage, Northampton, WA
Kathryn Fleay, Mingenew, WA
Mitch Mouritz, Hyden, WA
Nick Panizza, Williams, WA
Tess Walch, Streaky Bay, SA
Southern Region
Katrina Dicks, Sydney, NSW
Veronica Terry, Dairy Plains, TAS
Northern Region
Millie Bach, Jandowae, QLD
Henry Moxham, Coonamble, NSW
GrainGrowers CEO, Dr Michael Southan, said the calibre of the 2018 group of participants was outstanding.
“Their applications show a diverse range of interests in important issues in the industry, overlaid by strong evidence of an overwhelming passion and enthusiasm for the industry’s future.
“Each year I am very proud to be associated with this program which brings out the best in our future leaders in the grains industry.
“This year we had a strong field of candidates from across Australia and the application process was extremely competitive. Each successful participant wants to help shape the future of the Australian grains industry and I look forward to watching them develop.
“On behalf of GrainGrowers, I congratulate the group for being selected into the AGLP and look forward to hearing more about their projects throughout the year,” Dr Southan said.
In the first face to face component of the program, participants will meet in Canberra next February with Program Facilitator, Jo Eady of RuralScope, to learn about communication styles, leadership potential pathways and to work on their projects for the year.
2018 participants
Western Region
Symon Allen, Kimba, SA
A fourth generation grain farmer running a 4050 ha operation at Kimba, SA, Symon has worked successfully to expand the business while reducing debt. He is keen to see the grains sector generally become more focused on profit margins, examining, for example, the opportunities for alternative markets and transport options.
Nick Davis, Adelaide, SA
A grain trader with Davis Grain Pty Ltd successfully operating three GrainFlow sites, Nick is relatively new to the grains industry but keen to learn more. After spending time in the United States examining the grains industry there, Nick is convinced Australia needs to become better at marketing grain overseas, partly through offering different marketing products. He is also keen to see more affordable/comprehensive crop/income insurance products for the industry.
Amery Drage, Northampton, WA
Amery has been a grain farmer for more than five years on the family farm at Northampton WA. He seeks to broaden his knowledge of the grains industry and use that knowledge to improve the farm’s efficiency and productivity while making a difference to the industry as a whole. He has experimented with super absorbent polymers on farm for greater yield and water use efficiency.
Kathryn Fleay, Mingenew, WA
Kathryn is Executive Officer for the Mingenew Irwin Group, having previously managed a broadacre cropping property in Morawa for three and a half years. She is also involved in the family’s mixed cropping and sheep farm in the south of WA, providing agronomic advice when required. She seeks to continue farming in the future, either as a grain grower or in other ways that allow involvement in farming enterprises.She is keen to focus on ways to see the industry have a sustainable future.
Mitch Mouritz, Hyden, WA
Mitch has been a grain farmer for 13 years and is involved in operating a 8500 ha mixed farming family enterprise involving cropping, livestock and an earthmoving business on farms in Hyden and the Lake King district of Western Australia. Mitch is interested in the move to large scale expansion and how this can best be managed whilst dealing with the problems of climate variability and the day to day business.
Nick Panizza, Williams, WA
Nick is a member of a family farming operation in Williams WA, farming 5000 ha with 80 per cent continuous cropping and the remaining, pastures for livestock. Through the use of online farm decision making software, Nick has been able to assess not just the most profitable crop in any given year but the most profitable rotation. He is keen to see the use of data and related technology drive forward the grains industry to greater profitability and efficiency.
Tess Walch, Streaky Bay, SA
Tess is a grain marketing adviser/broker and works as the Eyre Peninsula Representative for FREE Eyre Limited. Tess is keen to develop her leadership abilities through the course to benefit the 475 Eyre Peninsula farmers who are sponsoring her participation. Tess is focused on investigating new opportunities in upcountry processing/value-adding facilities for Australian grain, legume and oil seed growers.
Southern Region
Katrina Dicks, Sydney, NSW
Katrina is a Grower Relationship Officer at GrainGrowers in Sydney. She is undertaking the course to better understand grain farmers and the production issues experienced by farmers “at the coal face”. GrainGrowers is proud to sponsor Katrina to assist her to build her communication, engagement and leadership skills.
Veronica Terry, Dairy Plains, TAS
Veronica has worked in financial planning for more than 10 years. She and her husband Rob run the family farm at Dairy Plains in northern Tasmania. The Terrys have structured their business to service the feed needs of the local dairy industry prominent in the area and grow wheat, barley, hybrid canola seed and potatoes. Veronica is keen to develop an additional income stream for the farm which complements the grain production.
Northern Region
Millie Bach, Jandowae, QLD
Formerly a Domestic Grain Merchant with AGT Foods Australia, Millie is now working on the family farm at Jandowae where the business has been trialling canola. Millie is interested in exploring ways to ensure younger generations are given the opportunity to remain either on farm or within the industry, and how connectivity can improve traceability within the value chain to ensure Australia captures and retains overseas markets.
Henry Moxham, Coonamble, NSW
Henry is a farm manager in the family business in central west New South Wales. He is focused on how grain farmers can adapt with enhanced flexility and resilience to a more variable climate in the next decade.
The Australian Grain Leaders Program (AGLP) is a national leadership program designed specifically for young Australian emerging leaders in the grains industry. The program develops leadership skills, knowledge and potential. The program offers the participants the opportunity to:
* Meet like-minded individuals
* Develop leadership skills
* Gain an insight into the leadership pathways of established leaders and learn from inspiring speakers
* Set individual goals and implement a plan to achieve these via an Australian grains industry, enterprise or on-farm project.
Share Ag News Via