A very different eastAUSmilk board commenced in January

On 1 January 2023, the new board of eastAUSmilk commenced its 3-year term. This is the first time that elections have been held to elect all 6 directors of eastAUSmilk.

The directors are Glen Drury, Matt Trace, Waylon Barron, Kay Tommerup, Peter Graham and Ruth Kydd. Glen and Peter are new to the board and I’m sure will both contribute significantly over the next 3 years.

The board of eastAUSmilk and QDO previously has changed massively over the past few years. 6 years ago, the majority of the QDO board had been directors for a significant period of time with many having around 15 years’ experience. To some this was seen as a positive while others saw this as a significant negative.

Of the current 6 directors, the longest serving is Matt Trace who has been on the board for 7 years. The next longest serving director is Waylon Barron who has been on the board for around 15 months. Ruth Kydd has been on the board for 13 months, Kay Tommerup 5 months and both Glen and Peter have just started their term.

This change in the composition of the board is very stark and I think a real positive for the organisation. It shows there is interest from farmers on being on the board which is very positive. But also, there is real diversity on the board in gender, size of farms, farming systems and farm businesses. This is quite a change from the past.

I look forward to working with the new board as we strive to make a real difference for our members. There is a lot that could be done by eastAUSmilk and it will be up to the new board to decide the direction and priorities of the organisation.

Eric Danzi, Co-CEO eastAUSmilk