Six to contest three Dairy Australia board positions

Victorian dairy farmer Carlie Barry, NSW dairy farmer Phil Ryan and dairy agribusiness specialist and consultant David Beca all successfully gained the support of 100 levy payers to back their nominations.

They will run against current directors Tania Luckin and Roseanne Healy and dairy farmer Paul Roderick, who had been selected as candidates by the board selection committee.

The six candidates will contest the two positions for milk producer directors and one position for an agribusiness, innovation and change management director.

The board selection committee has determined, based on their skills and experience, that the following candidates will be standing against each other:

To be successful, a candidate will require more than 50 per cent of the votes cast at the annual general meeting to be held on November 27.

"We have a strong field of six candidates in this year's board director elections," board selection committee chair Professor Paul Wood said.

"They represent a mix of skills and experience and all share a passionate commitment for wanting Dairy Australia to be the best organisation possible in its support of dairy farmers and the wider industry.

"All levy payers are encouraged to register as members of Dairy Australia in order to vote."

Milk producer director vacancy one candidates

Tania Luckin has operated dairy and commercial enterprises for the past 23 years in both Victoria and South Australia and is currently in a family partnership dairy farm at Heywood, south-west Victoria.

Her off-farm contribution to supporting dairy has included serving as a Bonlac Supply Company director, WestVic Dairy Regional Development Program board member and Dairy Industry Advocacy Review Team member.

She participated in the Fonterra NZ Director Governance Development Program in 2015.

She is standing for election for a second term following her appointment as a Dairy Australia director in 2017.

Carlie Barry dairy farms in south-west Victoria.

She worked through lower-order sharefarming to 50:50 sharefarming then to leasing and farm ownership.

With husband Owen, she also leases a second dairy farm and milks a combined 600 cows at peak.

Mrs Barry developed an understanding of the many variations in dairy businesses when employed by Fonterra, looking after 130 farms.

She also provided human resources support for south-west Victoria, utilising her degree in human resources.

She was Victorian Young Farmers state president, a member of the Warrnambool Cheese and Butter supplier advisory forum and is a graduate of the Marcus Oldham Rural Leadership Program.

Milk producer director vacancy two candidates

Paul Roderick has operated his family dairy farm at Harrisville, south-east Queensland, for the past 27 years.

He has been actively involved in supporting dairy farming in Queensland during this time and is Subtropical Dairy Regional Development Program chair.

He was a Premium Milk Ltd director for 11 years and is a member of the Australian Dairy Conference board.

Phil Ryan is a dairy farmer in the Bega Valley, NSW.

He is a current member of the NSW Farmers' Association dairy committee and represents them on a number of industry committees.

He has represented local farmers through the Australian Dairy Plan, Mandatory Code of Conduct meetings and engages with the broader dairy community through social media.

He has more than 10 years' experience in business analysis and project management, primarily with major banks, with experience and skills in critical analysis, solution design, and issue and risk management.

Agribusiness, innovation and change management director candidates

Roseanne Healy is an experienced corporate adviser with more than 20 years in agricultural investment optimisation.

Ms Healy has long-term non-executive experience in not-for-profit, ASX-listed companies and statutory corporations in the agribusiness and innovation sectors, bringing a breadth of experience and insight on strategy, impact and change management.

She is currently Grains Research and Development Corporation deputy chair, Dairysafe chair; Airborne Research Australia Limited and Food Manufacturing and Services director and is a former director of AgriFutures Australia.

She is standing for election for a second term after her appointment as a director of Dairy Australia in 2018.

David Beca has experience in small, medium and large businesses across private, public listed and unlisted, and co-operative ownership.

He has specialised in the dairy industry, though he has experience across a wide range of agricultural enterprises and software.

This includes owning farms, as an asset manager overseeing agricultural businesses across five countries, as chief executive officer of one of Australia's largest dairy farming enterprises, as managing director of Uruguay's largest dairy farming enterprise (publicly-listed) and of an agricultural software company, as director of an agricultural consultancy company, and as non-executive director of a co-operative dairy company.

Mr Beca has experience with agricultural research and extension projects, and published papers on dairy business performance.

Required skills and experience

Dairy Australia has different selection criteria for each of the director positions.

Suitable milk producer director candidates must have a strong background and experience in all facets of milk production/dairy farm systems and demonstrated capability in identifying and evaluating technology and service programs to support the industry.

Ideally, they will also have had relevant experience in representing the needs of dairy farmers and in governance/board roles.

Suitable agribusiness, innovation and change management director candidates must have proven ability in leading an agribusiness entity of commercial scale and complexity, with a strong focus on innovation, commercialisation and adoption in the farming area.

A candidate must demonstrate capability in strategy related to research, development, technology and its adoption in agribusiness, with an understanding of the commercial drivers of business innovation and culture, market development, and the interface with the private sector and government.

Prof Wood said it was easy for farmers to become members and vote in the election.

Information on becoming a member is available via Dairy Australia's website (dairyaustralia.com.au/members) or by phone 1800 004 377.

The deadline for registration is October 23.