Six vie for GGL positions

Current GGL chairman Andrew Carberry and past chairman John Eastburn, are both standing for re-election in the two open positions.

They face opposition from four other grower candidates - Moree family graingrower Rebecca Reardon; ex-AWB director and Mullaley grower Xavier Martin; Grains Research Foundation director and Yelarbon farmer Damien Scanlan, and NSW farm consultant and Wellington grower Andy Single.

Meet the six contenders:

John Eastburn has been a farmer at Baradine for 42 years, running a cereal and beef operation and has been a member of GGL since 1974.

He is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and completed the Chairman and Chief Executive Of?cer and Strategic Financial courses through Australian Institute of Company Directors.

He has held a number of positions through the years within GGL, including being a current director, 16 months as deputy chairman and six years as chairman), his incumbency having begun in 2006.

He has been a member and chairman of many board sub-committees and 16 years as a Grain Growers Association (GGA) member, including being on the committee of advice from 1989 to 2005 and six years on its policy group (1999 to 2005).

Mr Eastburn is also a director of Hawkesbury Institute (Environment and Agriculture) (2013-current), was a director of GrainCorp (2006-08), a member of the National Farmer Membership Council (2011-2014).

Mr Eastburn said he was proud of being a “key part of the building of our Company to where it is today a national organisation, well resourced and ?nancially sustainable.

Andrew Carberry was elected as director to the board in 2009 and elected chairman in September 2014.

He is currently a member of the remunerations committee and the nominee to the National Farmers Federation members council, grains policy council and trade committee and has also served as chair of the investment committee.

Mr Carberry has 30 years experience in the agricultural industry, including 21 years as owner and manager of a 5000 hectare mixed farm.

The property encompasses all aspects of cereal, legume and summer cropping with irrigation, as well as a commercial beef cattle operation incorporating an Ausmeat registered feedlot.

Mr Carberry says his time as chairman and as a grower director of GrainGrowers Ltd has provided him with leadership qualities, the ability to motivate others and a professional and responsible attitude.

He says he has been part of a strong, cohesive GrainGrowers board that has delivered services and programs that bene?ts all Australian grain producers, while increasing GrainGrowers capital base.

He is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is a previous member of the Grain Growers Association committee of advice and regional committee.

For more than 30 years Xavier Martin has farmed “Bourbah”, Mullaley, growing more than 1000 hectares of crops.

Mr Martin says he is a leader in the adoption of new agricultural technologies, moisture conservation and sustainable farming with strong experience in communication, representation, risk management, ?nance, grain marketing, trade, storage, transport and handling.

He has been a “force” within NSW Farmers since 1992, including senior vice-president, executive council, board director, grains committee (chairman), conservation and resource management committee, industrial, business economics and trade committee (chairman), quarantine and animal health, plus Grains Council of Australia and National Farmers Federation representative roles.

He was a director of Plant Health Australia from 2000 to 2011; including deputy chairman, member of ?nance and audit committee (chairman).

Mr Martin was also a director of AWB from 2003-08, while he also has extensive experience on both sides of statutory levy representative organisation processes (involving the Grains Research and Development Corporation and Plant Health Australia under the PIERD Act - relevant to GGL’s new representative role).

Rebecca Reardon operates with her husband a 3200-hectare grain enterprise near Moree.

With an agribusiness career spanning 20 years, she has extensive commercial, business planning and ?nancial experience. She has held leadership and management roles with GrainCorp, Jossco, ABB Grain, Viterra and WSOC.

Using this expertise, she is now managing director of her own consulting ?rm, advising organisations on the grain supply chain, risk management and grain markets.

During the past two years, she has used her knowledge and dedicated her personal time to furthering the interests of growers.

She served on the Australian government’s Wheat Advisory Taskforce and is currently a non-executive director of Grain Trade Australia and member of Agrifood Skills Australia Rural and Related Industries Standing Committee.

As deputy chair of NSW Farmers’ grains committee, executive councillor and on other representative roles, she has advocated extensively for growers in areas such as competition, quality standards, research and development and the Grain Harvest Management Scheme.

Farm consultant and Wellington farmer Andy Single wants to see targeted lobbying, direct investment, and clear positions matched by actions.

He wishes to see GGL enhance its position by being a more inclusive industry stakeholder, including how GGL interacts with other farming representative bodies, government, and members.

He wishes to undertake a review of GGL’s ?t in the grain sector and use direct action and lobbying to ?ll the gaps.

Also, if GGL is operating where it is no longer required it should withdraw and leave it to the market.

Mr Single would also ensure GGL had the most ef?cient cost base, while maintaining effective representation.

Along with the family farm, his experience includes the supply of farm inputs at GrainCorp and in his current business; general manager of AgPlus, GrainCorp, and business development manager at Suncorp Agribusiness Banking.

He has also had board experience at SunPrime Seeds, Australian Grain Accumulation Services (chairman), and the local Regional Development Board, and leadership training through participation in the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation Program.

If elected, Damien Scanlan, Yelarbon, will try and bring to a “conclusion” the disharmony that’s enshrined the Australian grains industry for the past 20 years.

He says GGL has been looking to dominate the industry’s representative landscape using its hefty ?nancial resources rather than seeking to facilitate a meaningful coalition.

“GGL has made a mistake in trying to dominate the landscape whether it’s with the industry’s representative organisation position or other areas, but it could be the father of a coalition of industry groups instead of trying to be the master,” he said.

Mr Scanlan would like to review the rule which allowed a director a fourth term if a term was served as chairman, extending the otherwise three-year maximum.

He said it was important boards were refreshed from time to time, so citing board continuity as the reason for backing the two incumbent directors was an excuse that “could go on forever”.

Mr Scanlan said he would also push for voting to be speci?c to directors’ regions along similar lines to state and federal elections, so as not to dilute regional preferences.