Grains100 Cohort

Denise is a first-generation farmer from the Wimmera region of Victoria. Denise has a background in agronomy, industry development, and agricultural communication and extension and has worked extensively in south-eastern Australia in various roles within the grains industry. These days she consults to agribusiness on marketing and communications and works with farm businesses on managing people and safety. Denise holds a Master of Business Administration, a Bachelor of Agricultural Science, is a graduate of the Australian Rural Leadership Program, and a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Denise is passionate about family farms and rural communities.

Fiona farms with her family at Mulwala in the southern Riverina of NSW. She has a background in applied science and education and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, the NFF Diversity in Ag Leadership Program and the Grains Social Leadership Program. Fiona is the Chair of the Riverine Plains Farming Systems Group and has served on the GRDC Southern Panel. She is passionate about building capacity within the grains industry through education, training, and leadership from the laboratory to the farm, to the end user and all in between. Fiona strives to improve the profile and profitability of growers.

Frank has 28 years’ experience of owning and managing a mixed farming enterprise with his wife Jane and son Lachlan at Cunderdin, WA. Frank has been an NPG member for the past 3 years and the NFF Economic Policy and Farm Business Committee. He is keen to continue to work to enable policy for continued expansion and improvement of markets, especially in the ASEAN and Subcontinent regions on the back of efficiencies in supply chain and Australia’s clean and safe image. He is also an advocate of education, skill development and leadership especially for those coming into the industry.

John is a grain grower at Lawloit, in Victoria’s West Wimmera region. John’s background is very much all farming. John is a member of the Birchip Cropping Group (BCG) Wimmera Advisory Committee and the Chair of the GRDC Southern Region panel.

Luke is a director of his family business and has over 10 years’ experience in farming in the Northern Region. Luke is a graduate of GrainGrowers’ Grains Future Leaders’ Program (2016) and completed a Nuffield Scholarship in 2017, studying technology. Luke is committed to sharing his findings with a vision to improve transparency in the industry. Previously Luke has been involved with GRDC advisory and benchmarking groups.

NSW grower

Sam grew up on the outskirts of Melbourne in Victoria. Sam worked as a grain trader and grain broker across Australia before moving to Mungindi on the NSW/Qld border with his wife, Annette, in 2012 where he is now operations manager on her family’s property. They grow dryland and irrigated wheat, barley, chickpeas, cotton and sorghum and run a small cattle grazing enterprise.

Stuart is a 2018 Nuffield scholar and farms wheat, canola, chickpeas, barley, sheep and cattle. Stuart has been Chair of the Canowindra NSW Farmers Branch. Stuart’s interests are converting rainfall into profit, increasing efficiencies of grain to freight and market access. Stuart believes that an efficient farm to market pipeline that offers Australian farmers a global advantage, broad grain market access, and plant breeding advances are important items on a policy agenda.

Stuart is a fourth-generation grain grower on the black soil plains of the central Darling Downs. He grows Sorghum, Wheat and Barley on his group of properties that comprise of 1600ha. Before moving back to the family farm 10 years ago, Stuart gained previous experience in Business Management (North Queensland), Accounting (Southern Queensland) and an electrical trade specialising in Solar Energy. His interests with the NPG are maintaining and improving practices in sustainability (including carbon), market access, and supporting smaller producers in a much larger industry. Affordable farming technology and input costs for the family farming enterprise are also key issues of interest.

Tristan operates a 5,500 ha cropping enterprise at Buckleboo in South Australia. Tristan is passionate about agriculture and the challenge that has been given to farmers to feed the world in a way that is sustainable given the earth’s finite resources, and in a way that is safe and enjoyable for employees. He considers the search for and adoption of new practices to always be a driver, and has an ongoing role within the Buckleboo Farm Improvement Group committee.