Dairy Australia AGM votes in new Directors

Dairy Australia members have elected two new Directors at their 2022 Annual General Meeting and reappointed Chairman, James Mann, for a third year.

Andrew Maughan was selected for the Finance and Risk Management vacancy and Professor Alan Bell for the Research, Development & Commercialisation vacancy.

Mr Maughan grew up on a family farm near Tongala, in the Goulburn Valley, and has 24 years Board experience across 12 companies, mostly in the food and agribusiness sector, including being a Director of Gardiner Foundation.

Professor Bell grew up on a dairy farm in South Gippsland and has substantial experience in managing a diverse portfolio of R&D/innovation programs, including 15 years of experience in leading large R&D organisations at Cornell University (USA) and CSIRO.

Mr Mann addressed the online meeting from the Dairy Australia office at Southbank in Melbourne and congratulated the new Directors on their appointments.

“I welcome Andrew Maughan and Professor Alan Bell to the Dairy Australia Board – they bring a background and skillset that will help us continue to achieve for farmers.”

Mr Mann also acknowledged Paul Wood and Josephine Rozman, who retired from the Board this year.

“Paul’s wisdom, contribution and passion to driving research outcomes over many years has been outstanding. I am also grateful to Josephine’s experience and expertise in the area of risk.

“A ‘thank you’ must also go out to Russell Abotomey who has resigned from the Dairy Australia Board and will depart in December of this year.”

Re-appointed as Dairy Australia Chair for a third year, Mr Mann said despite the recent floods 2022 has been a great year for farmers and the industry.

“Australian dairy farmers have had a year of high farmgate milk prices, driven by stiff competition for milk among processors. Demand for dairy in the domestic market continues to be strong, and a reduced global milk pool also presents export opportunities,” he said.

Managing Director Dr David Nation also acknowledged the unique value of Dairy Australia to dairy farmers, providing an overview of the value of long-term investment for our industry in areas such as genetics and feedbase, the value of industry partnerships, and Dairy Australia’s commitment to creating value to farmers.

The results of the AGM and the presentations by the Chair and Managing Director, are available on our website.