A word from the President

The board of Australian Dairy Conference Ltd would like to announce that next year’s event will be held in Geelong Victoria on the 25-27th of February, 2014. It will be the larger style conference with hopefully four hundred plus farmers attending. Paul Roderick from Queensland has been appointed to be the chair of the programming committee for next year. At Geelong we have some great facilities to work with at Deakin Waterfront Campus and we are in close proximity to the waterfront and some really good dairy districts for the farm tours.

Our recent Dairy Innovators Forum held on the Sunshine Coast went really well, despite massive rainfall. The quality of the program shone through and there was a constant buzz through all the meal and coffee breaks and farmers took full advantage of the networking opportunities available. The gala ADC dinner was a highlight and the speed painters portrait of U2’s Bono which he did upside down was nothing short of remarkable. Despite wet weather on the tours everyone said they were well worth it, and we need to thank the Queensland farmers and the dairy industry for being so welcoming to farmers from around the rest of Australia and the globe.

As part of our ongoing delegate exchange with European Dairy Farmers, our outgoing programming chair Andrew Tyler will be heading to Falkenberg, Sweden in June 2013. In a new development, board member Michael Perich will be the first delegate we send to the South African Large Herds Conference in early June 2013 to hopefully sow the seeds of a long term relationship.

The Australian Dairy Conference plays an important role in the industry breaking through traditional state and industry sector boundaries and bringing the whole industry to the one melting pot. It’s exciting every time it happens. We place an emphasis on developing young farmers and young leaders for the future of the dairy industry. Hopefully young or old or just entering your prime we will see you at ADC 2014.

Regards

Paul Bethune
ADC President

Dairy Innovators Forum 2013 a great success

With the closure of another successful ADC event held on the Sunshine Coast Queensland, I felt that the 2013 program delivered some fantastic sessions on a wide range of topics. One of the highlights was Murray Goulburn managing director Garry Helou beaming in from Dubai where he was attending the Gulf Foods Show. He talked about Australian dairy manufacturers over the last 20 years in failing to fully relate to what the consumer wants, and his plans for developing the co-op by connecting with the consumer through innovative packaging and targeting the rapidly growing Asian food sector.

What stood out to me this year was the quality of the Australian dairy farmers speaking throughout the program . We had some fantastic examples of what can be achieved in our industry and some truly inspiring stories.

Thankyou to the Queensland dairy industry for hosting us, and I look forward to seeing everyone again at ADC 2014 in the Western Districts, Victoria.

Andrew Tyler
2013 Chair
Dairy Innovator’s Forum Programming Committee