Colac farmer Brooke Lane joined the WestVic Dairy board at its recent annual general meeting.
Three farmer positions became available following the end of director terms held by Dan Parkinson, Bryan Dickson and Jacqui Suares — as well as the end of the associate director term of Lucy Collins.
This year, Jacqui and Lucy were returned as directors.
Brooke and her family lease a 400-cow farm in Alvie, where they started off 50/50 sharefarming in 2014.
Brooke said a desire to continue to develop her representation skills as well as contribute towards the dairy industry in a positive manner were her motivations for joining the WestVic Dairy board.
“I hope to be able to bring a critical and analytical way of thinking to the role to achieve good decision-making processes and outcomes, as well as bring a fresh farmer perspective into the organisation,” she said.
“I am also very passionate about getting young people from schools or other areas into our industry for the long term so I’m hoping to contribute in this space where possible.“
The AGM included a presentation of reports by the chair, treasurer and executive officer.
Attendees also heard from Camperdown local and Dairy Australia’s technical and innovation manager John Penry.
Dr Penry’s presentation — Innovation and its importance to dairying: Examples from Victoria and the Victorian era — included examples of innovators from Terang and Geelong whose work has helped significantly advance the dairy industry worldwide.
A board meeting was held immediately after the AGM to elect office bearers, which saw Jacqui (a farmer from Colac) re-elected as chair, Brendan Rea (a farmer from Allansford) returning as vice-chair and Rhonda Henry returning as treasurer.
Jacqui thanked retiring directors Dan Parkinson and Bryan Dixon for their contributions and welcomed Lucy and Brooke as full board members.
“The board looks forward to the implementation and delivery of new Dairy Australia initiatives in our region, together with our cornerstone programs, as we work to support dairy farmers in western Victoria successfully achieve their aspirations,” Jacqui said.