Pay rates for dairy employees just the tip of the iceberg as labour shortage sees milk pool shrink
DAIRY JOBS DESPERATION: Attracting labour is now the number one challenge for the Australian dairy industry, leaders say.
Dairy farmers are so desperate to attract the right people to milk cows and manage farms, they're paying well above award rates and poaching employees from each other but labour is in such short supply, many are simply burning out.
Labour availability is among the top reasons why the milk pool continues to shrink, according to dairy industry leaders like NSW Farmers Dairy Committee president Colin Thompson.
"Farms have closed down because they just cannot get staff to operate the dairy," he said.
United Dairyfarmers of Victoria president Paul Mumford said, "labour is the thing everyone talks about wherever I go," and vice president Mark Billing, who farms near Colac, said farmer confidence had dipped in the face of rising input costs and labour shortages.
"I think until the labour thing is fixed, and I'm not sure how long it's going to take and whether it ever will be, there's a lot of farmers out there as I said before that are pretty tired and don't want to milk more cows."
South-west Victorian farmer and Australian Dairy Farmers director Ben Bennett was even more direct.
"Dairy farmers can't get the labour they need to be able to have enough time off and it's taking a toll," Mr Bennett said.
"A lot of dairy farmers are breaking down physically and emotionally in their 50s - they're not making it to retirement because they just can't do it any more.
"We are naturally drawn towards intensifying the system to make it more productive when we need to simplify so it can be manageable."
While there's no national count of just how many roles need to be filled in the dairy industry, a survey by the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association, DairyTAS and the Tasmanian Government about 12 months ago showed there were about 700 vacancies in that state alone.
Australian Dairy Farmers policy and strategy director Craig Hough pointed to the Dairy Australia Power of People of Dairy Survey, which was last published in 2020 before the pandemic.
It found:
47 per cent of farmers had recruited staff in the previous 12 months
70pc said it is difficult to recruit staff
93pc are filling roles within three months
47pc did not use labour agreements to fill roles
Competition for labour had since become fierce, both within the dairy industry and from other industries. Farmers with average-sized herds were paying relief milkers $250 to bring the cows in, milk, clean up and go home, Mr Billing said.
"There's a bit of poaching going on between businesses, it's become such a competitive market," he said.
"We're competing with the Australian Lamb Company and Bulla as far as staff goes, and the casual rates are getting up towards $40 an an hour and you can get $35 an hour just putting a stick into an ice cream."
The award rates are well publicised on Dairy Australia website, The People In Dairy, which shows even the lowest skilled casual farm hand must earn at least $25.41 an hour.
But advisors like Grow Dairy HR's Rachel Finch, Dairy Jobs' Anna Hazewinkel or GDM Agricultural Consulting's Gerard Murphy, all say most farmers are paying well above the minimum.
Mr Murphy, who consults in Gippsland, said all of his clients paid over the award rate.
"I think it's too competitive out there to stick to the award," he said.
Just how much higher than the award, Mr Murphy said, depended on the worker's experience and how well the prospective employer knew them.
It was the same for Ms Hazewinkel, who said her clients routinely paid about 10 per cent above the award rate and sometimes more.
"For instance, I'm actually working with a dairy in Gippsland offering their dairy farm manager anywhere from $80,000 to $120,000, depending on skills and experience," she said.
Of course, it's not all about money, with the standard of staff amenities playing a big role in attracting employees.
"Accommodation is a big drawcard," Ms Finch said.
"There's all sorts of different things farmers can help with, like transport."
One of them is on-farm accommodation.
"Accommodation is quite a big factor because sometimes farms are quite a way away from towns and people need to start early, like 3am, 4 or 5am starts," Ms Hazewinkel said.
But farmers were often hesitant to offer accommodation, Mr Murphy said, even if there was a spare house on the property.
"Supplying housing does make a difference but it's a dual-edged sword that can bring with it some other questions or anxieties," he said.
"Even before you employ someone, you're putting them into a house that you own and it takes a fair bit of trust to go there.
"As we see with house prices in regional areas, even an old farmhouse these days is worth a fair bit of money."
Aside from the pay rates and side benefits like housing or transport, all three consultants said the intangibles like hours, training and the relationship between employee and employer was crucial.
"Even if you're paying above award, that doesn't mean that you can expect someone to work 60 or 70 hours for you," Ms Hazewinkel said.
She said it was important to have a conversation early about average hours and the maximum anyone could be expected to work during peak times like calving.
"Just because you're a dairy farm owner and you do 80 hours a week, you can't expect your employees to do that, too; it's not their farm," she said.
Taking their cue from corporate employers, Ms Hazewinkel said, some dairy farmers even offer employee assistance programs that allow 24/7 access to counselling.
The best employers also had good people skills.
"I've had employees come back to me saying, 'There is no way I can work on a farm where I am sworn out or where the owner swears at other people on the farm," Ms Hazewinkel said.
Murray Dairy communication and engagement officer Melva Tyson said a local farmer who knew his neighbours were paying employees more was nonetheless renowned for retaining good staff.
"He was talking to me about just ensuring that you're dealing with the whole person and, when you're bringing staff on, induct them really well," Ms Tyson said.
"He set the standard very solidly at the very beginning and really ensures the staff feel valued all along, so he was just talking about even a simple 'thank you'.
"He talks highly of his staff and when problems occur, he's more likely to say, 'It's because of me', so perhaps training hasn't gone well, he doesn't send blame elsewhere."
Littleproud lays blame for massive new drop in dairy farm numbers
Supermarkets, unions, drought and poor advocacy are all to blame for a massive drop in dairy farm numbers laid bare by last week's levy poll figures, Agriculture Minister David Littleproud says.
The dairy levy poll data showed the number of Australian dairy farms entitled to vote was just 4401, a 13 per cent fall in two years from the 5013 farms in 2019/20.
Mr Littleproud said drought had hit the industry hard and many farmers had taken the opportunity presented by high land prices to leave the industry but he said supermarkets were also responsible.
"I think that supermarkets also played a significant role in that, in basically devaluing the industry," he said, referring to the dollar-a-litre milk war.
"There were big structural changes that need to take place and it doesn't surprise me, but it concerns me deeply," Mr Littleproud said.
While he said dollar-a-litre milk had been "broken, the way forward for the industry required "harmony" and "clear direction".
"I don't think supermarkets, not only on dairy but on a number commodities, are covering themselves in glory and I think that's one of the things that we want to look at, particularly the Nationals, and we'll be bringing our Coalition partners with us on this one, is that there needs to be better reform around how supermarkets deal with perishable goods," Mr Littleproud said.
There would be greater market transparency, he said, that would mean farmers had the same information about production levels and costs as supermarkets, so they could negotiate on a more level playing field.
The Australian Milk Price Initiative, which launched a month ago and was given $500,000 in funding after last election, was an example of a tool designed to increase transparency.
The Minister said the next phase would be to strengthen laws surrounding supermarket negotiations with farmers.
At the moment, he said, the penalties for breaches were just "a cost of doing business" for supermarkets.
"We need to shift to make sure those regulatory guardrails are clear to them but, if they step outside it, there's a penalty and it should be a sizable penalty so they know that, if they breach, it's not just writing out a check for $60-odd thousand dollars, they actually feel it with some financial might," Mr Littleproud said.
On the question of "harmony", Mr Littleproud described Australia's dairy advocacy as "fragmented".
"If you've got fragmented representative bodies, it makes it difficult to know actually what producers really want and that then means that it's difficult for a minister to make a determination," he said.
That fragmentation of dairy advocacy had been obvious, for example, when it came to developing the mandatory code, Mr Littleproud said.
"It was very difficult when you had different forces articulating different things to try and get it all into place," he said.
"Ultimately, what it means is that it either delays any action being taken or action being taken at all."
There had been a great deal of division in the lead up to the dairy levy poll vote, with peak national body Australian Dairy Farmers taking the unprecedented decision to defy its own national council and recommend no increase in the levy.
Mr Littleproud wouldn't be drawn on whether he felt the levy poll was a vote of confidence in Dairy Australia.
"Look, I don't think I want to get into the minutiae of politics of the dairy industry, that's for the members to decide," he said.
"But obviously, in any industry, it's an important principle that levy payers get to determine the percentage, the amount that they put out there and that's a principle but I'll continue to protect regardless of who and what industry body is there."
He would not say whether dairy farmers should have been given the option of a decrease in the levy, or whether the committee that decided on the voting options was truly representative of grass roots farmers.
Instead, Mr Littleproud said there was a mechanism that allowed levy payers to challenge the committee and that angst surrounding producer levies was common across most industries.
He said he had already been approached about having processors pay levies alongside farmers to help fund Dairy Australia, and was happy to explore that possibility if it was supported by industry.
Asked whether he would only act with the backing of peak processor body, the Australian Dairy Products Federation, Mr Littleproud said he needed to investigate further.
"That's the legalities that I'd have to work through but, if in principle that's where industry wants to go, then I'm prepared to explore what legal options I have," he said.
"I'm not afraid to do that if that's where industry thinks that should go, and if they can articulate a reason for that, I'm prepared to explore it."
It's the shortage of labour, however, that has united dairy advocacy groups around Australia.
The Morrison government announced the Ag Visa in September, promising there would be workers on farm by Christmas but only Vietnam has so far agreed to allow its citizens to participate.
Mr Littleproud laid the blame at the feet of the Australian Workers Union.
"We've only been able to get the Vietnam to sign up to the visa as the first country because the AWU demonized farmers and said that they'd exploit their workers so they went to embassies and ambassadors and said to them not to send their citizens because Australian farmers would exploit them," he said.
Small farmers urged to vote in Dairy Levy Poll but fears are that a few will bother
Even before the troubled Dairy Levy Poll closes on Thursday, its outcome is under question.
Farmers are not only concerned by the lack of choice the voting options present, but the perceived impotence of small to medium-sized producers.
The poll, which closes on March 31, only offers dairy farmers four choices: no change to the levy rate or increases of 15, 20 or 25 per cent.
Votes are based on production rather than on a one-vote, one-farm system, raising concerns that a handful of large farms could determine the result.
Despite direct questions, Dairy Australia would not divulge how many farms could control 50pc of the voting entitlements, but it's likely to be relatively few.
Research from 2015 stated just 13pc of Australian dairy farms milked more than 35pc of cows and DA acknowledged in a recent report there was "an emerging trend of large farm operations milking more than 700 cows".
Small farm fury
Joe Bradley milks 200 cows at Dayboro near Brisbane. He said he'd heard that 50pc of the vote is controlled by less than 20pc of farmers, which damaged his confidence in the poll.
"Some of the big guys will get 2 million votes and the little guys will get their 3000 votes," he said.
"It is absolute bullshit."
Like other industry insiders who did not want to go on record, Mr Bradley said he understood Dairy Australia had been canvassing large producers.
"If they get the big vote, it doesn't matter how the rest of Australia votes, which is wrong," he said.
"Until the government or ADF (Australian Dairy Farmers) or someone changes pulls them in the line and gets back to one-vote, one-farm no matter how big or small you are, Dairy Australia will never get its act together."
Large farm disappointment
In contrast, south-west Victorian dairy farmer Bernie Free milks 900 cows, so will have a far greater say in the levy poll outcome but still prefers a one-farm, one-vote system.
"A lot of farmers don't bother voting, because they'll tell you, 'Well, I'm only a little fish, why should I bother voting? It's a waste of time'," Mr Free said.
"You have to agree with them on that because I milk 900 cows and get the equivalent of four-and-a-half votes for every vote a 200-cow farm gets. How's that fair? We supposedly live in a democracy."
It's something that UDV president Paul Mumford last month suggested Agriculture Minister David Littleproud might take into account when the results of the poll came in.
"I disagree somewhat that only the big corporates are going to get this over the line because I think there's a circuit breaker in there with the minister and that's the participation rate," Mr Mumford said.
"I can't speak for the minister but he will look at a very broad spectrum to understand what is right for the dairy industry going forward.
"I am sure he would put into his thought process, 'Well, I can't just pick the top 20 farmers that are voting for a 25pc increase'.
"He would have to go back and think, 'Well, where's the grassroots membership and where is the general consensus of all of industry coming from?'."
The dairy levy poll legislation is unclear about how the federal Agriculture Minister should respond to the results of the vote.
It does, however, say that Dairy Australia must make a "recommendation" to the Minister that reflects the poll.
Australian Dairy Farmers has already announced it would like a formal review of the dairy poll process, a call supported by EastAUSmilk and Dairy Connect chief executive Shaughan Morgan.
Source: Marian Macdonald, Farmonline National, 28 March 2022
Billionaire farmer Gerry Harvey on making money in ag
FOR THE LOVE: Billionaire retailer Gerry Harvey's love of agriculture has taken him on a sometimes bumpy ride.
Gerry Harvey always wanted to be a farmer and even won a scholarship to agricultural college before a twist of fate saw him become a multi-billionaire retailer.
To pay for his education, he studied part time and held a door-to-door sales job, where he met future business partner, Ian Norman.
"I always used to think by the time I'm 30, I'll have enough money to buy my own farm," Mr Harvey said.
"When I got to 30, I was making so much money, if I became a farmer and made nothing, it would be embarrassing so I kept putting it off.
"So at the end of the day, I kept opening shops because it was a thousand times more profitable than being a farmer for me."
Even so, Mr Harvey is undeniably now a farmer. He might not be hands on but his extensive agricultural investments range from cattle to cucumbers.
No stranger to the horse racing industry, Mr Harvey's ag interests include Westbury Stud in New Zealand, with its hundreds of thoroughbred broodmares and Vinery and Baramul thoroughbred studs in NSW which also host a few hundred cattle in NSW.
He also owns a 500-head Angus cattle operation at Bundella in NSW, Security Foods with its decades-long Wagyu cattle business in Victoria and NSW, and a $30-million, 5-hectare glasshouse in Peats Ridge, NSW, where 65 million cucumbers are grown a year.
Mr Harvey is particularly proud of the Peats Ridge facility's productivity, which he said ranked among the best in the world, but it did cause a stir amongst locals in the early days.
"I drove up there and on the posts were 'No, Harvey, no' and I thought 'What the hell is this?' and found out there was a rumour going around that I had a marijuana farm," he said.
"At no stage, from my point of view would Harvey Norman have a marijuana farm, they'd sack me from Harvey Norman."
No matter which of his agricultural enterprises he talks about, though, the common theme is innovation and diversity.
Coomboona calamity
So, while agriculture has become the darling of rich-listers, this particular billionaire isn't in it for the money. For Gerry Harvey, it's just for the love of agriculture.
He loves watching things grow, whether it's in his home vegetable patch or on a grand scale, and he loves to see the best of the best in operation.
But there are limits.
"I lost $75 million on a dairy farm," he said.
Mr Harvey invested $34 million of Harvey Norman money in a joint venture with businessman Alex Arena into one of Australia's largest dairy farms, Coomboona, in 2015 while the financial press was talking up rivers of 'white gold'.
"Coomboona made sense at the time because we went into it with a guy who owned the property and had $30 million of his own money in there," he said.
"He claimed he knew what he was talking about but, unfortunately, he didn't and he was wrong on so many things and at the end of the day, it was just going to get worse and worse so I just said, 'Mate, we'd better pull the plug on this'."
Coomboona was sold by administrators to the Perich family in 2018 for $40m.
"He (the joint venture partner) wanted to be the biggest dairy in Australia with the best cows in Australia and, in his defence, he probably had 100 of the best cows in Australia, cows that were milking over 60 litres a day," Mr Harvey said.
"He did have that part right but his infrastructure, rate of growth and all sorts of other things, were wrong. Designs for buildings were wrong that he'd swear were the best in the world."
The dairy misadventure drew sharp criticism and dented the big retailer's share price.
"I was one of the people that pushed it and it was a bad mistake," Mr Harvey said.
"If you asked me, 'Do you want to go into a dairy farm?' now, I'd say, 'I have no interest whatsoever, at all, in going into a dairy farm'."
Ag’s profit lag
Mr Harvey said, in his experience, retailing generated much higher returns on investment than agriculture and that if he wanted to "make real money", he would open another store rather than buy a farm.
"If you're doing cattle or sheep, especially over the years, you're looking at very poor returns for the outlay of money," he said.
"You might have $10m invested in a sheep or cattle enterprise and, if you make $300,000 or $400,000 a year, you're going okay.
"So there's no money in it but the money is in the appreciation of the land and, admittedly, there's a long-term proposition.
"I've argued for years, going back 40 years ago, that land's overpriced, everyone's mad, and I've been totally wrong because, every year, if it doesn't go up, it plateaus and goes up a bit later."
Land price doubts
While Australia's record high agricultural land prices had helped many farmers retire with unexpected wealth, Mr Harvey said, he thought it made new purchases less attractive.
"Is this a good time to buy a farm at the moment? I'm a bit shy. So when we've had three years of drought, that's when I'll probably buy another farm."
Indeed, Mr Harvey's most recent land acquisition was a 16-hectare luxury property in Narooma. Webster Nolan Real Estate agent David Nolan wouldn't reveal the price, but said it was a record for the region and bettered the $9 million to $11m indicative range quoted during the marketing campaign.
But Mr Harvey said it didn't signal any change of direction in his property investment strategy. It was the uniqueness of the land, a point surrounded on three sides by Wagonga Inlet with 1.2 kilometres of private water frontage, jetty and guest cottages, that was its allure.
"People go and pay $50 million on a waterfront place on Sydney Harbour but the water is much cleaner in Narooma," he said. "Would you eat a fish caught in Sydney Harbour?"
Ambitions strong
Despite that talk of coastal living and fishing, Mr Harvey is quick to say that, at 82, he's every bit as ambitious as he was at 22.
He thought agriculture was a great choice for people who loved the land and animals.
"Doing something that you love is much more important than doing something for money," Mr Harvey said.
"If you make money and you're not happy, what's the point?
"I think it's a wonderful way of life but if you're going to do it to make money, I'd say don't do it.
"If you love it, the way property prices go, one day, you'll probably just sell the property and use it as a type of superannuation and you've still had a good life."
Good times in farming could never be guaranteed, he said.
"If you're a farmer and you've been having two of the best years we've ever seen, enjoy it, because it's not going to last," Mr Harvey said.
"It's wonderful at the moment because you see so many tragic stories on the land of people committing suicide, and I know quite a few over the years, because you can go through seven years of drought and you make no money and and it's a really hard life and then then you can have this wonderful ride.
"It's a wonderful lifestyle when it's good."
Source: Marian Macdonald, Queensland Country Life, 21 February 2022
The 38-point list dairy will take to Canberra ahead of the election
COURTING CANBERRA: ADF strategy and policy director Craig Hough has released a 38-point list the peak advocacy body will present to politicians ahead of the federal election.
Australia's peak advocacy body for dairy farmers has released the wish list it will present to politicians in the run up to next year's federal election.
It's a long, 38-item, list and Australian Dairy Farmers' policy and strategy director Craig Hough said every single one was important and would boost members' bottom lines.
The big ticket items, he said, included the workforce strategy to help overcome labour shortages as well as climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Still, it was clear both he and ADF chief executive David Inall had a favourite: making sure the elderly get enough dairy in their diet.
"A new big ticket priority would be the fractures research and prescribing minimum standards in aged care around nutritional standards," Mr Hough said.
"That's a demand-side intervention but it plays into the issue around malnutrition."
He said research showing the risk of bone fractures could be reduced with dairy consumption, while deficiencies in the diets of aged care residents had been identified by the Royal Commission.
The finding made this, Mr Hough said, the perfect time for the federal government to develop national mandatory minimal nutritional standards for food provision in residential aged care.
The long-running campaign to stave off European claims that would prevent Australian dairy manufacturers using common dairy food names like Gruyere, on one hand while on the other, demand the word "milk" be reserved for dairy only, would continue.
"ADF is calling on politicians to address misleading product labelling and marketing, including from plant-based alternatives to dairy, as well as trade barriers and supply chain constraints," Mr Hough said.
Another delicate topic on the ADF election list concerns investment in research and development.
Pointing to flatlined productivity over the last decade, the peak body was an increase in agricultural R&D funds, but Mr Hough said it was not suggesting an increase in the farm levy.
Mr Inall said dairy farmers seemed content with Dairy Australia's work on genetics but ADF would seek more input on DA's direction.
"It's going to be a bigger project for us next year," he said.
DA had invited ADF to have "wider and deeper" discussions about its five strategic plans, which would begin in January.
To grow jobs and liveability in regional areas, the ADF will ask for $300 million in funding for the National Agriculture Workforce Strategy, which would include agriculture in the school curriculum as well as improving training opportunities.
It also wants government to encourage more exploration and development of fertiliser production in Australia.
Environmental strategies include investing in the recommendations of the Dairy Industry Adaptation Pathways and Northeast Dairy Climate Futures projects; implementing the recommendations of the Productivity Commission's evaluation of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan; and providing a second round of the Energy Efficient Communities Program - Dairy Farming Grants.
Mr Inall said ADF would meet with key representatives of all the major political parties in 2022.
ADF hoped to enlist the state dairy organisations and their members in canvassing politicians, too.
"There's nothing more important than boots on the ground and farmers going into electoral offices out in their country towns," Mr Inall said.
As well as releasing the comprehensive election policy statement, the ADF would produce flyers and talking points for farmers keen to lobby their local members of parliament.
Source: Marian Macdonald, Queensland Country Life, 22 December 2021
Gladigau unapologetic but learnt his lesson
The Australian Dairy Farmers president says he has learnt his lesson after commenting on his fellow board members in the press and on social media, but is not apologising.
Rick Gladigau, who has been on the national dairy advocacy board since 2019 and has only just become president, told The Weekly Times that, "If you think you're going to change the world by getting on to the board, (then) you haven't been on a board before.".
The comment was apparently in reference to the two farmers elected to the ADF board a week ago on a change agenda, Ben Bennett and Heath Cook.
Mr Gladigau then took to social media to double down but, after a backlash, took a slightly different approach when asked what he had meant by the comments in an interview on Friday.
"We do have different opinions as directors, but we can work collaboratively to turn things for the better and, across the industry we need to be collaborative, to be able to achieve doables," Mr Gladigau said.
"So, I basically say my public comments over the new ADF board have probably been taken out of context and probably taken the wrong way to what it says, which is the way that it looks and I've learnt my lesson, it's not going to happen again."
Mr Gladigau would not say what the correct context or interpretation would have been, other than to repeat the importance of working collaboratively.
Asked if he meant others were not working as collaboratively as they should, Mr Gladigau said, "I'm not saying that at all.".
He also said he was not trying to walk back the comment, only that it had been misconstrued.
Regarding any need for change, Mr Gladigau said, "I've been around a long time, but there's plenty that we're doing and we do a lot right."
The structure of dairy advocacy was on the agenda, which he said "wasn't going away", although there "won't be instant change".
Mr Gladigau said ADF's new three-year strategic plan dealt with priorities like climate policy, labour challenges and the importance of dairy in the diet.
The advocacy body was also prepared for the upcoming federal election.
Still, he could not say what ADF would lobby for ahead of the election, other than that there needed to be "recognition" of both the dairy industry's efforts on climate and the role of dairy foods in health, as well as action on labour shortages.
"Everyone's looking for skilled labour and a skilled workforce, so it's training people as well," Mr Gladigau said.
"And some people talk to me about how they need housing, that sort of stuff in regional areas. Obviously, the government isn't going to supply housing, but how do we make it all work?"
Mr Gladigau refused to answer his own question or give any details about what "recognition" meant when it came to the role of dairy foods.
After saying it was important dairy was included in the diets of elderly people in aged care facilities, Mr Gladigau would not say how that would be achieved or if it should be mandated by governments.
The form of that dietary recognition and the recognition of dairy's climate initiatives would only become clear when ADF released its policies, he said.
It was, however, only a "possibility" those policies outlined in the strategy document would become public.
What is certain, though, is that Mr Gladigau is opposed to releasing the directors' election results.
He said last year's results were only made public due to difficulties with the online voting process and this year's candidates had not been asked for their permission.
One of those candidates was Victorian dairy farmer and former ADF director, John Versteden, who was unsuccessful in this election.
Mr Versteden said he had not been told how many votes he had secured, despite separately asking the ADF president, chief executive and a director.
"I don't see why you wouldn't release the votes," Mr Versteden said.
"If you put your hat in the public arena, you have to deal with the results, whether they go your way or not."
Mr Versteden said the secrecy surrounding the election outcomes was "disrespectful to the process".
He also called for greater transparency when it came to proxies, which he said allowed two or three people to effectively control half the votes cast.
"Grass roots farmers have been asking for more transparency; let's give it to them," he said.
Source: Marian Macdonald, Farmonline National, 6 December 2021
Australian Dairy Farmers president takes swipe at new board members
Less than a week after the election, the new Australian Dairy Farmers president has sparked a public spat that appears to target two new board members.
It started with a quote in the media by the freshly-appointed president Rick Gladigau and was only exacerbated when he commented on a Farmer Power social media post.
In an article centring on the two farmers, Ben Bennett and Heath Cook, elected to the ADF board on the promise of change, The Weekly Times writer Peter Hunt reported Mr Gladigau saying: "If you think you're going to change the world by getting on to the board, (then) you haven't been on a board before.".
When that was posted to Farmer Power's Facebook page, Mr Cook responded with, "Just wow, challenge accepted.".
Mr Gladigau joined in the discussion on the Farmer Power forum, describing it as "too funny" and doubling down on his media comments.
"Yep, I take ownership of the comment and stand by it, even if it was the only comment in the 3 paragraphs that PH could find space for regarding me," he said.
We need to all remember Rick is new to this role and has his trainer wheels on.- Heath Cook
"Should I not be surprised no one questions a bold headline of Boardroom rebels and there (sic) going to shake up the national dairy industry! (sic).
"I have served on numerous boards and committees both paid and voluntary, I dont (sic) attend thinking I am going to change the world."
Mr Gladigau went on refer to the various responsibilities he had as a director.
"As an ADF President, I expect my board members to remember they are representing our members, that there are governance laws and procedures and they hold the position with the dignity it deserves," he said.
"I believe that while the focus is on 2 new farmer directors who I consider both bring skills to the board as does the new independent, we are grassroots and that as a board we will continue the great advocacy and policy work with our small but dedicated staff.
"Yep, we have work to do, structural reform is only one piece, but hey, at least let these new directors get an understanding of everything that is going on at ADF."
Approached for comment, Mr Cook called for calm.
"I don't think this should be blown out of proportion," he said.
"We need to all remember Rick is new to this role and has his trainer wheels on.
"The board should have a diverse range of opinions, that's what makes a good board great.
"Bring on the discussion."
Farmer Power chief executive Garry Kerr said he was surprised by Mr Gladigau's comments.
"First, I would have thought he'd have better things to do," Mr Kerr said.
"Second, you don't get down and dirty outside the boardroom when president of the ADF, there's no dignity in any of that."
Just 20 hours since it was published, Mr Kerr said the post had been viewed by about 2650 people and the numbers were rising rapidly.
Source: Marian Macdonald, Farmonline National, 2 December 2021