Bega Group executive chairman Barry Irvin has told dairy farmers that the single catchment area of the company’s valley of origin will revolutionise sustainability in farming.
Mr Irvin was the keynote speaker at this year’s Herd 23 conference in Bendigo on March 15 and 16.
He told the mostly dairy farming audience that the concept of ‘circularity’ had driven the dairy processor’s economic and social model to expand and fill the whole Bega Valley Shire on the NSW south coast.
Mr Irvin defined circularity as the process of looking at a business’s supply chain and determining “what’s in and what’s out” in terms of carbon footprint and sustainability.
He said the unique geography of the Bega Valley made it a good model for developing a sustainable future for agriculture.
“We will produce the most circular valley in the world,” Mr Irvin said.
“We need to be the proof of concept.
“There is no point in winning this battle locally if everyone else is still losing theirs.”
Mr Irvin said the Bega Valley had the advantage of being within a single catchment, had only one council and two roads entering and leaving.
“And because the valley is so enclosed, you can measure everything that happens in real time, for example water transport, and allow consumers to see this online.”
He said his philosophy was based on “hastening slowly to get efficiency”.
“My job is not to have the answers but to have the questions.
“Surround yourself with people in the know who have the right knowledge.
“My task is to listen to that community to manage change.”
The Bega Group was recognised by the Food Systems Summit in New York as a global game-changer.
Mr Irvin said while Australians had much trust in the nation’s farmers, they had less trust in agricultural sustainability.
He said the future of the Bega Valley would have a large impact on changing that perception.
“This is great; we’re not going to go away.
“Bega has joined the global community.”