South-west Victorian dairy farmer Ben Bennett claims top dairy job

Mr Bennett, from Pomborneit, Vic, was appointed president and chair of the ADF board on December 12 after outgoing president Rick Gladigau, Mt Torrens, SA, withdrew his nomination.

This followed the appointment of dairy consultant David Beca as a new independent director to the board.

The election for president of Australia's peak dairy body was twice deferred.

It was initially deferred after the Victorian Farmers Federation withdrew its nominees on the national policy council and then blocked the appointment of their replacements.

Under the constitution, the ADF president is elected under a complicated formula - where each of the eight regions is represented either by a board member or one or two national councillors.

A subsequent vote for the president resulted in a deadlock between Mr Bennett and Mr Gladigau.

That vote was then deferred as the board sought nominations for the position of independent director.

Mr Bennett was elected to the ADF board in 2021 - promising to be a plain-speaking champion of the grass roots dairy farmers.

He farms in south west Victoria and has 13 years' experience in management roles in the meat industry in Australia, New Zealand and India.

"As president, I fully realise there are challenges ahead for the dairy industry," Mr Bennett said.

Mr Bennett paid tribute to outgoing president Rick Gladigau, who will remain on the board as a business director after serving as president for the past two years.

"The past 12 months has been very busy for ADF with lots of change and big issues to tackle," Mr Bennett said.

"Rick's stoic leadership with Trade Minister Don Farrell around the free trade agreement with the European Union helped Australian dairy double down on its long-held position on the deal."

Mr Bennett welcomed Mr Beca who was appointed to fill a casual vacancy.

"David Beca is no stranger to the dairy industry, having an extensive dairy consulting business focusing on profitability in Australia and New Zealand," Me Bennett said.

"David is exposed to the full plethora of dairy farming systems, from pasture only to total mixed ration."

Mr Beca unsuccessfully stood for the Dairy Australia board election in 2020, after gathering 100 signatures from dairy farmers to mount a challenge to the board selection committee candidate.

He was critical of the Australian Dairy Plan's profit targets, saying it missed the mark and was not a true measure of profitability.

Earlier this year, Mr Beca put out a call for the Australian dairy industry to return to its pasture base to revive the industry.

At the time, Mr Beca said Australian dairy farmers seemed unwilling to ask themselves hard questions about their businesses, instead focusing on outside factors as the cause of their woes.

Mr Bennett also welcomed the other new ADF director Queensland dairy farmer and past president of eastAUSmilk, Matt Trace, who was elected at the ADF AGM.

"Matt Trace is well versed in the regulatory and economic challenges facing dairy farmers, and is passionate about reform in the industry," Mr Bennett said.

Mr Bennett thanked independent director Andreas Clark and business director Brian Tessmann, who left the board at the AGM, for their service, and Heath Cook for serving as acting president and chair of the board since the AGM.

The ADF board now comprises:

South Australian Dairyfarmers Association recognised the significant achievements of South Australian Mr Gladigau during his time as ADF president and Australian Dairy Industry Council chair.

It said his achievements included his work with Trade Minister Don Farrell during the failed negotiations for an European Union Free Trade Agreement and his work supporting the dairy industry under the threat of foot and mouth disease.

"On behalf of the Australian dairy industry, Rick backed Trade Minister Don Farrell in walking away from a trade deal with the European Union that would have hurt the Australian dairy industry," SADA president Robert Brokenshire said.

"The industry has consistently reinforced that a free trade agreement with the EU was never going to deliver a positive outcome for dairy.

"Despite the best efforts of the Australian Government, the EU has continued to make unreasonable demands by insisting Australia adopt an anti-competitive Geographical Indications (GI) regime while at the same time resisting to provide equitable market access into the EU dairy market."

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