VFF members again try to oust president Emma Germano as AGM descends into shouting match
Turmoil at Victoria's peak farming organisation has gone from bad to worse after its annual general meeting descended into a shouting match.
Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) members met in Melbourne yesterday for an annual general meeting when there was meant to be a vote on controversial changes to the organisation's constitution.
But those changes were withdrawn at the 11th hour after the board cited "significant irregularities" with the proxy voting process that had preceded the meeting.
VFF president Emma Germano had been criticised in the lead-up to the meeting for sending members proxy voting forms that would have given her their votes to cast in favour of the contentious constitutional changes.
Throughout the hours-long meeting, there were numerous attempts by members to put forward motions of no confidence in the board but they were rejected on constitutional grounds.
ABC News, 21st February 2024
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Australian Dairy Farmers
Tuesday 13 February 2023
MEDIA RELEASE
Update on unpaid VFF-UDV membership fees
Long-running talks between Australian Dairy Farmers (ADF) and the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) have failed to resolve a dispute over the non-payment of $500,000 in member fees by VFF, ADF has announced today.
“ADF has been very patient over the past 12 months. ADF has endeavoured to pursue a resolution via mediation and negotiation, yet the parties are too far apart. It has become apparent that the only way to resolve this matter will likely be via court action,” says ADF President Ben Bennett.
“The ADF Board considers it has a fiduciary duty to the organisation, to ADF’s other State members, and to the dairy farmers themselves, to pursue an outstanding debt that has been unreasonably withheld.
“Farmers should be aware these are dairy farmers’ levies that have been collected by VFF on the grounds they would be remitted to ADF but have been unjustifiably withheld by VFF.
“Not only has VFF withheld these funds, but the dairy farmer members of VFF, the United Dairy Farmers of Victora (UDV) themselves have continually requested that VFF remit these funds to ADF.
“It is unfortunate to find ourselves in this position and while ADF remains open to finding an amicable resolution, ultimately we must resolve the matter once and for all and move on for the good of dairy farmers and the industry.”
VFF members’ push to dismiss board stumbles in court
A legal challenge aimed at forcing the Victorian Farmers Federation to conduct an extraordinary general meeting — a move which could lead to the sacking of the group’s board — stumbled in court on Friday.
Lawyers for former VFF grains group president Andrew Weidemann argued the peak farming body was legally obligated to conduct an EGM under the Corporations Act after more than 100 VFF members requested it through a petition.
Federal Court Justice Jonathan Beach declined to order the VFF to hold the EGM, and has requested more information from both parties before a final hearing to be held next Friday, October 20.
“I am not going to grant you the form of injunction that you are seeking at this stage,” Justice Beach said.
The state farming lobby has been in turmoil since June, when VFF members, led by Mr Weidemann and former VFF grains group presidents Brett Hosking and Ash Fraser, launched a petition calling for the VFF board to be overturned.
Else Kennedy, The Weekly Times, 13 October 2023.
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VFF exodus: UDV leaders resign in anger and frustration
United Dairyfarmers of Victoria president Mark Billing and most of his policy council have resigned. Here’s why.
The leadership of the United Dairyfarmers of Victoria has resigned en masse, in frustration at what they say are the ongoing failures of the Victorian Farmers Federation to staff and fund their commodity group.
UDV president Mark Billing and nine of his fellow policy councillors have resigned to form the new lobby group, Dairy Farmers Victoria.
Mr Billing said the group had held off launching DFV for weeks, in the hope the VFF leadership would listen to their pleas for more of the $950,000 in dairy farmer levies to go to dairy advocacy and for greater co-operation on engaging members.
“We gave them ample opportunity to talk, but they wouldn’t sit down with us (policy council),” Mr Billing said.
Peter Hunt, The Weekly Times, 26 September 2023.
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VFF income crashes: Peak farmer body suffers $305,450 operating loss
The Victorian Farmers Federation is staying silent despite financials it lodged with ASIC showing a significant operating loss.
VFF president Emma Germano refuses to comment on the federation’s 2021 finances.
The Victorian Farmers Federation recorded an operating loss of $305,450 in the 12 months to September 30 last year, a slight improvement on the $445,162 loss of 2020.
However a $1.6 million gain on the revaluation of its assets, including the VFF’s Collins St headquarters, allowed the federation to claim an overall surplus of $1.35 million for 2021.
The VFF’s books show the value of Farrer House rose by $598,414 over the year to reach $30.88m despite a major slump in demand for rental space in Melbourne’s CBD.
But while the asset revaluation delivered a surplus, the VFF’s total income fell from $10.4m in 2020 to just $6.7m in 2021.
While the revenue loss may seem severe, most of it was made up of government grants that simply flowed into the VFF’s coffers and back out the door again to farmers – in the form of quadbike roll bar and cattle underpass rebates, as well as biosecurity and safety program grants.
It has meant that while government grant revenue fell from $5.34m in 2020 to just $2m in the 12 months to September 30 last year, it had little impact on the federation’s core finances.
All up the VFF handed out just $116,976 in rebates last year, compared to $4.33m in 2020.
Farmer member levy and subscription revenue remained relatively stable at $3.501m in the 12 months to September last year, compared to $3.545m in 2020.
The VFF did suffer a significant drop in revenue from commercial agreements, which fell from $1.3m to $851,905.
Rental income from Farrer House fell from $1.8m to $1.4m as Covid restrictions suppressed demand for office space in Melbourne’s CBD.
But these losses were offset to some degree by Covid stimulus funding of $280,032 last year, plus a one-off injection of $350,525, generated from the sale of the National Farmers Federation’s Canberra offices, in which the VFF held a stake.
VFF president Emma Germano refused to answer questions on the financials, stating “we want to ensure our members have the first opportunity to hear directly from the VFF at next month’s (Feb 23) AGM”.
“As a courtesy to our members, we will not be releasing further information until this date.”
However the VFF financials are available to the public, after being lodged with the Australian Securities and Investment Corporation on December 20.
All up over the past two years the VFF has received $849,532 in what it’s financials describe as “Covid stimulus” funding – mainly JobKeeper payments.
An absence of Covid support payments and VFF’s loss of a majority of its largest chicken-meat farmer members — who each paid an average of more than $3000 in membership levies annually — are expected to place further pressure on finances this year.
Communication expenses have already been halved from $233,057 in 2020 to $122,738.
But IT support costs have surged from $243,111 to $350,797 in 2020, while over the past two years, while in the past, while consultants fees jumped from $739,344 to $916,467 and Promotional, newsletter and project expenses rose from $110,905 to $365,133.
Source: Peter Hunt, The Weekly Times, 18 January 2022