Programming Committee Chair and northern Victoria dairy farmer Monique Bryant will encourage delegates to explore opportunities and get out of their comfort zone in this empowering and progressive forum.

Paul Roderick, Chair Dairy Australia & ADC Board grew up in farming, following his parents’ example of community involvement and saying “yes” to opportunities. This shaped his path as a leader. He believes leadership isn’t about titles but about embracing opportunities, learning, and sharing with others. It is rooted in encouragement and influence.

Reflecting on his own doubts, Paul acknowledges the key figures who saw his potential and helped him find the courage to lead. Authentic leadership, he says, comes from seizing the chances we’re given. As we gather in Queensland, Paul will share his insights on leadership and challenge us to reflect on our own stories and the opportunities we can embrace.

Australia is often labelled as the lucky country, yet are we standing at the crossroads of tradition versus opportunity. Nathan Scott of Achieve Ag Solutions will address the importance of collective leadership and a chance to push the industry toward excellence, providing opportunities for those who truly care about and seek this country’s ‘luck’. He’ll question how can we avoid highly predictable regrets as farmers, while inspiring a new model where both experienced and driven individuals can sustain farming legacies, allowing current owners to enjoy life beyond the farm.

Nathan will continue this theme of opportunity as he facilitates the inspiring journeys of dairy businesses who have found success and opportunity in Australia. Learn about the challenges they faced, the obstacles they overcame, and why they believe Australia has been the key to realising their dreams.

Clint Stephens, has illustrated both growth and prospect (against the norm). Despite a pull to ‘farm down south’ he’s seen the Queensland dairy industry as an opportunity to grab a hold of.

Brian Corr, Gippsland has seized global opportunity to progress his dairy aspirations. Growing up in Ireland on a 150-acre mixed farm dairy, beef, sheep and poultry, and studying agriculture he spread his wings to dairy farming in New Zealand and the UK in management roles. In 2022, he and his partner purchased a 383-acred farm and expanded to 900 cows benefiting from land availability and favourable regulations in the region.

Nathan Scott believes nothing is missing and the people are right under our noses; its more of a mindset. Nathan will explore this further and be complemented with insights from three dairy industry businesses.
Panel members Include:

Lachlan Fry WA Farmer – an inspiring young farmer who has attempted to enter into dairy but has failed to get asset owners to change their thinking to make way for a new entrant.

Don & Jen Stolp – Hailing from NZ, Don and Jen originally managed a Chris Proctor property in SA’s South East. Don and Jen reflect on their success story from Farm Managers transitioning through to share farmers.

David & Penny Conn bring a unique approach to share dairy farming that emphasises realistic goals and growth for ALL parties. They take immense satisfaction in seeing their sharefarmers thrive financially and grow wealth alongside them. This philosophy of sharing both opportunity and prosperity makes them exceptional models of balanced, equitable partnerships in dairy farming and inspiring voices on the power of collaboration and shared success in agriculture.

We all want to explore how to simplify farm safety and make it a practical part of daily operations. A leader from a recognised farming business will share why culture is the key to effective safety practices and highlight the tools they use to embed safety seamlessly on-farm. This session is perfect for those looking to improve safety outcomes while building a strong, people-focused culture.

Andy Hancock presents examples of effective surplus calf management, showcasing the strategies and tactics that led to success. He’ll explore the approaches that drove these outcomes and link them to the broader industry goals. This session will provide inspiration for addressing the issue of surplus calves for individual businesses at an industry level.