FOUR WA growers are vying for positions on the GrainGrowers National Policy Group (NPG), with voting open for the western region panel.
The NPG is made up of 15 growers from across the country, with five appointed in each of the western, southern and northern regions.
Elected growers meet several times each year to discuss major issues affecting the grain industry with the aim of developing constructive national policy solutions.
WA’s Jasmyn Allen, Kallum Blake, Frank O’Hare and Paul Kelly are up against South Australia’s Michael Hunt and Tristan Baldock for one of five positions on the western panel.
Yuna grower Ms Allen is a graduate of the GrainGrowers Australian Grain Farm Leaders program.
From a farm in Victoria, Ms Allen runs a 4600-hectare cropping program with her husband and three children north east of Geraldton.
She has been a strong advocate for better on-farm human resource management and has worked to develop a guide for grain-growing farms.
A member of the Yuna Farm Improvement Group, Ms Allen is passionate about effective agricultural representation across industry.
“I’m keen to promote the human side of farming and people in agriculture because that is quintessentially important to driving agriculture forward,” Ms Allen said.
“When you listen to organisations such as the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development that hope to treble the amount of production that comes out of WA by 2025, the only way we’re going to be able to do that is by having good people in management but also at a farm worker level.”
In the Great Southern, incumbent NPG member Mr Blake hopes to extend his five-year term in the group.
Mr Blake operates his family farm in Katanning, which is run as a mixed dryland farming enterprise with a cereal cropping program.
He also runs a contracting business for harvesting and livestock transport and has a degree in agribusiness.
Mr Blake has comprehensive knowledge of the grains industry having sat on the WAFarmers grains council for nine years.
He was also a WAFarmers board member for three years and president of AgConnectWA for two years.
Mr Blake hopes to expand upon the progress the western panel has already made in improving transport infrastructure across the State.
“I’ve been involved with trying to get some real data together on WA transport to be able to go to government to try and get some upgrades,” Mr Blake said.
In the central Wheatbelt, Cunderdin’s Mr O’Hare is hoping to bring his 25 years’ farming experience to the NPG team, along with his extensive business qualifications.
Mr O’Hare owns and runs a mixed farming enterprise with his wife Jane, producing cereals, oil seeds and legumes along with a fine wool Merino flock and cross bred lambs.
A graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors with a bachelor of business and executive masters in business administration, Mr O’Hare believes he has the skills needed to make a positive contribution to the NPG.
If elected, he plans to encourage a better environment between government and the agriculture industry in research and development and agricultural technology to benefit agriculture and regional development.
He believes capitalising on the vast opportunities in the ASEAN and Indian subcontinental markets and leveraging off Australia’s clean and safe branding should be a priority for industry.
“We’ve got to keep a close eye on those markets and be proactive because we’re coming under a lot of competitive pressure from northern and eastern Europe, as well as our traditional competitors,” Mr O’Hare said.
Mingenew candidate Mr Kelly comes to the election with leadership experience from multiple agricultural organisations, including six years on the western panel of the Grains Research and Development Corporation.
Mr Kelly also served as a WAFarmers branch president, spent two terms on the Mingenew Irwin Group board and was the inaugural president of the Pasture Producers Association of WA.
Adding to this is Mr Kelly’s 41 years’ experience farming with his wife Sue at Mingenew, where they produce wheat, lupins, canola, coriander, field peas, faba beans and a variety of pasture seed and experimental crops.
If elected to the NPG, Mr Kelly said he would promote sustainable and profitable farming, farm safety and improved connectivity to enable grain growers to advance their business capabilities and meet the growing international demand for high quality Australian produce.
The Mingenew grower said championing the vast opportunities in the agricultural sector was integral to encouraging the next generation into the industry.
“I would like to see us putting a positive spin on agriculture, we don’t want to be portrayed as battlers,” Mr Kelly said.
“We’ve got a lot of clever young men and women out there and we’ve got to change our focus so we’re seen as positive people.”
South Australia candidates Mr Baldock and Mr Hunt are also up for election.
A NPG incumbent, Mr Baldock’s focus if re-elected will be on improving the transport network, accessing new breeding technologies and telecommunications.
Mr Hunt’s priorities include reducing supply chain costs, ensuring there are appropriate receival standards and delivering effective research and development with value to growers.
Western region GrainGrowers members have until 5pm on Thursday, December 14 to vote for their preferred candidates.
